Just Breathe ...

So ... is there anything lovelier than Baby's Breath? Oh sure ... a real baby's breath ... but I mean in the world of floral bliss. I had a luncheon at my home today and felt compelled to purchase some as part of the centerpiece. I still have dried Baby's Breath from some of my children's wedding receptions. The bliss just goes on forever, I tell you.

Speaking of Bliss. The above Mushroom Lasagna was the main course this afternoon, and let's just say I am blogging right now for the sheer purpose of passing enough time until I can eat the leftovers for dinner.

Yes ... that good.

It's an Ina recipe. As in Ina Garten. As in The Barefoot Contessa. It's from her next-to-the-latest book called Barefoot Contessa at Home. I highly encourage you to buy the book, and now I'll give you the recipe. Here goes:

3/4 lb dried lasagna noodles
4 cups milk
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 C flour
salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 lbs portobello mushrooms
1 C grated parmesan cheese (I mixed in some mozerella)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil with 1 T of salt and put in lasagna noodles. Cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

For the white sauce, bring milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 1 stick of butter in a large suace pan. Add flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1T salt (or less), pepper and nutmeg and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside off the heat.

Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4" thick. Heat 2 T olive oil and 2T butter in a large saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set them all aside. (You'll need to drain them after they cool.)

Assemble the lasagna by spreading some of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Arrange a layer of (3) noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 C grated parmesan/mozerella cheese. Repeat two more times layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms and cheese. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, sprinkled with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Trust me. It tastes like Baby's Breath looks.