Better Safe Than Sorry – Lasagna

I must have been traumatized as a kid. Or perhaps it was Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, which Marci and I suffered through when we lived in St. Thomas in the mid-1990s. I am extreme when it comes to preparations for a disruptive event, especially when it comes to food.

As COVID was growing and spreading in early 2020, I knew we would be going into lockdown. So, I prepared. I stopped at supermarkets almost every day for two weeks straight on my way home from work to stock up. By the time our kids came home from college, and we were sequestered in our home, our fridge and pantry were fully packed, and the basement freezer was bursting. We ate well during COVID, really well.

So, about two weeks ago when a massive winter storm was building across half the country I had to prepare. The storm wasn’t the only issue. Construction in our house was nearing completion, and the floors were getting done. The dust and odors from sanding, staining, and sealing meant that we would have to dismantle our kitchen, move all the food into the garage, and vacate the premises for four or five days, culminating just when the storm peaked, dropping over a foot of snow. Chaos.

We were fortunate to be able to stay at a small cottage where my wife works, rustic, but perfectly acceptable. However, it meant that I would not have access to my squirrelled away stores. And unable to travel to restaurants or the supermarket, or schedule deliveries because of the storm, we were in serious danger of starvation. At least that’s how my thinking went when I woke at three in the morning a day or two before our departure. I tossed and turned, unable to get back to sleep, worrying about what we would do for food.

Of course, the solution was simple. The cottage, with a perfectly functional kitchen, was only a few miles away. I’d just bring food from home. It’s not like I was flying and had to limit my luggage. I could just box up whatever I needed and then carry it inside, a few feet from my car. I wouldn’t want to do any serious cooking, but I had plenty of soups and stews that only required defrosting and heating. In addition, I would do a pre-storm shop to buy anything else we required for a few days away and for comfort during the storm.

The result was over the top. I brought frozen homemade lasagna, green chicken stew, and burritos. There were two kinds of soup – beef barley and chicken noodle – just in case we couldn’t make up our mind. A meal is not complete without vegetables, so they were packed up as well. For breakfast we could choose between eggs and yogurt with fruit and granola. Of course that meant we had to have bread for toast. And I brought snacks: apples and peanut butter, oranges and nuts, and cheese and crackers just in case the mood struck. Of course, if you expect to be stuck inside during a snowstorm, you need comfort food. That meant potato chips and dip, along with tortilla chips and cheese (with hot sauce), to make nachos. When I go to a house like this I can’t count on cooking equipment, spices, or condiments, so I kept my personal chef supplies in the car, just in case there was an emergency and I needed a knife, or perhaps chili powder or cumin. Hey, you never know. And we almost never leave home without chocolate.

Needless to say, we didn’t starve. Actually, we ate pretty well, and what we didn’t consume simply went back in the car and was unloaded at home when the ordeal was over.

Perhaps I need to go to therapy for my behavioral disorder of packing too much food, even though, really, what’s the harm? I know addicts always say that “it’s not affecting my day to day,” but in this case, it’s true. I may be extreme when it comes to preparations for disruptive events (and if I’m being honest, vacations too). I think I’m okay. Better safe than sorry.

Lasagna

Lasagna is the perfect winter storm food, as long as the power stays on. It’s warm and comforting, and easy to make. Everyone is happy when it comes out of the oven bubbling and hot. It also freezes beautifully, ready to be popped in the oven a couple of hours before dinner, no need to defrost. Whenever I make lasagna I make extra for the freezer and place it there assembled without cooking.

2½ hours, mostly unattended, serves 8

25 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

cooking oil spray

2 quarts tomato sauce, with or without meat

1 package oven-ready lasagna noodles or traditional lasagna noodles (prepared according to package directions)

1 lb. cooked Italian sausage (hot or sweet, pork or chicken), cut into pieces, optional

1 lb. low-moisture mozzarella cheese, grated, divided

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
2. In a large bowl combine ricotta, egg, salt, and pepper.
3. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch lasagna pan with cooking spray.
4. Cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of meat sauce. Place three lasagna noodles over the sauce so they do not overlap (if using oven-ready noodles). Cover with ⅓ of the sausage (if using), ⅓ of the ricotta mixture, and ¼ of the grated mozzarella, and then ¼ of the remaining sauce.
5. Add three more noodles and another layer of sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce.
6. Repeat one more time.
7. For the top layer add three more lasagna noodles and cover with the remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
8. Cover loosely with foil, place on a foil-covered sheet pan, and bake for 50 minutes to one hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly.
9. If needed, turn oven to broil and brown the top, just for a minute or two, watching very carefully so it does not burn.
10. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes prior to cutting and serving. It will stay hot.

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