Last Parker Post: Grammy finishes up Cooking

Well, today is the last day before we go home. How sad am *I* to leave my Parker behind? Very sad. Before I leave I had to make sure that mom and dad had some food in their freezer for days that they couldn't cook. I am getting ahead of myself though. We had stew last night. I will let Parker take it from here for the last time.

Parker here. Grammy made stew. Yeah, stew. It didn't call for beer but my Grammy snuck beer in there anyhow. Mom and dad liked it. There was none left for leftovers so it couldn't have been too bad. Grammy insisted on making garlic bread too.



Grammy has made this before so if you want the recipe you can find it here

Grammy kept telling mom that she wanted to leave stuff in the freezer for her and dad. Mom kept saying that Grammy didn't need to but Grammy is kind of stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. She saw a recipe on one of the blogs she reads by this guy name Sippity Sup (who has a name like that?) and she had to make it. I sat back and rested.



She fried up leaves. I think she told Gramps that they were sage.






She took butternut squash and pan roasted some of that too. Yuck.



She boiled some New Doos um..noodles.




Here it is all done. Man you would think that there was going to be no food available at grocery stores after she left. She had to make 3 of these things. Hope they are good or mom and dad are going to have to choke down lots of it.

I had better things to do, like playing with my new toys.






Ok now maybe mom and I can get some rest.






Butternut Squash Lasagna
Adapted from Diane Morgan but gotten from Sippity Sup
Printable Version
1 bay leaf
1⁄4 t black peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh parsley
3 c milk
kosher salt as needed
1 lb dried lasagna noodles (about 20 pieces)
1⁄2 c canola oil
1⁄2 c fresh sage leaves
2 lb butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1⁄4 t cayenne pepper (or to taste)
ground pepper (to taste)
1 lb ricotta cheese
1⁄2 c fresh paesley, leaves only, minced
3 T unsalted butter
1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 T all-purpose flour
1⁄4 t nutmeg, grated
vegetable oil cooking spray
1 c parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Cut an 8-inch square of cheese cloth and place the bay leaf, pepper corns, thyme sprigs, and parsley sprigs in the center. Bring up the ends and tie securely into a pouch. In a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat, combine the milk and the herb and pepper filled pouch. Heat until hot, but not boiling. Simmer 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and let steep, covered.

Bring a large stock pot filled with water to a boil, stir in a few tablespoons salt. Add the lasagna noodles and cook about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse well. Set aside laying flat on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet.

In a small heavy-bottomed saute pan, heat the canola oil until a thermometer reads 365 degrees F. It should be hot but not smoking. Working quickly and in small batches fry the sage leaves about 10 seconds and transfer them to a paper towel lined tray to drain. Sprinkle with salt. Save the oil.

In a medium-sized saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved sage infused oil over medium heat. Working in batches cook the squash slices in a single layer until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Continue until all the slices are cooked adding more oil as needed. Transfer them to a paper towel lined tray to drain. Sprinkle the cooked squash with salt, cayenne and ground pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta and minced parsley. Set aside.

Make the white sauce: In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan, add the garlic and onion. Cook stirring often, until just beginning to color. Add the flour, stirring constantly, until the mixture is blended and cooked through. About 1 minute. Remove the herb and pepper pouch from the reserved milk and slowly whisk the milk into the flour mixture. Bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking all the while. Keep whisking until the sauce is thickened somewhat. Add salt and nutmeg to season. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Lay 3 strips of lasagna noodles along the bottom lengthwise. Add half the white sauce and spread evenly. Place 3 more strips of lasagna noodles on top, then layer on 1/2 of the squash slices. Crumble the fried sage on top of the squash. Place 3 more noodles on top. Spread a layer of all the ricotta evenly on top this layer of noodles. Add another layer with the remaining squash and crumbled sage. Then top all that with 3 more noodles, and the remaining white sauce. For the final layer. Lay 4 noodles across the lasagna lengthwise, overlapping each other slightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake the lasagna until bubbly and nicely browned, about 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot.