Sauce Series - Lasagna

I never met a lasagna that I didn't like.
- Garfield

Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food. With layers of cheese over meat over pasta over Béchamel sauce, the concept of lasagna is nothing short of culinary luxury. Our focus in this meal, however, is the béchamel sauce used in the base of our lasagna. Hailing from Franch, Béchamel is a mother sauce formed from milk and thickened with a roux of fat and flour. Thus, we begin our exploration of the world of sauces in its finest form of comfort and goodness.

AA Lasagna in the pictures:

 

This dish was named by Simon, and true to its name, it is an overindulgence of an already overwhelming meal.

 

 

Layer upon layer of indulgence.

Brunch Time: Full Meal

Brunch is a rather special meal that is usually served on occasions such as Mother's Day. Nonetheless, we sought to bring brunch to our table in the form of a full meal with a dish from each contributing member. The crux of this meal lies in the niche, the purpose, that only brunch can deliver and serve.
In my contribution for that refreshing niche is such a fruit salad as follows:

Orange and Grapefruit Salad with a Twist

Ingredients:

1/4 honeydew melon, peeled

2 pink grapefruits

2 white grapefruits

4 oranges

Grated zest from 1/2 lime

1 tablespoon sugar (optional) (15 ml)

Mint leaves, for decorating

 

Method:

1)    With a peeler, make melon shavings. Cut into halves as needed. Set aside.

2)   Peel the grapefruits and oranges to bare the flesh. To do this, cut the fruit at both ends. Place the fruit on a board. Cut the peel as closely as possible to the flesh. The white membrane must be completely removed. Slide the blade of a knife between each of the membranes so as to lift the skin. Work over a bowl to collect all the juice.

3)   Put the citrus fruit in a bowl. Add the melon, the zest and the sugar. Stir carefully. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

4)   Separate into 6 stem glasses. Decorate with mint leaves.

5)   Variation for adults: Finely chopped mint can be added to the salad.

Our brunch in pictures:

 

This was easily one of our largest labs, producing the most dishes in a single day.

 

 

Joon's salmon Eggs Benedict, the main course of the meal.

 

 

Simon's French toast with strawberry coolis; it is pronouced 'coo-lee'.

 

 

My orange and grapefruit salad with a twist of mint and honeydew melon.

 

 

The meal in full, with Wendy's strawberry kiwi smoothie to complete.

Breakfast Time: Frittatas

Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first.
- Josh Billings

Just like how a day is begun with breakfast, we started our year by making fritatas. Frittatas are similar to omelettes, where the eggs are beaten and the mixture is fried. However, the dish's optional ingredients are added directly into the egg mixture resulting a single disk of happiness. What makes the frittata so suitable for breakfast is the ability to bring a variety of nutrients and flavours into a single meal. Options can include meat, vegetables, cheese and seasonings of herbs. Out of the myriad of choices, we picked a simple ham and asparagus frittata recipe for our first lab of the year.

Pictures to greet the new year:

 

This is our ham and asparagus frittata, garnished with parsley.

 

 

Even though our class was in the afternoon, we still looked forward to this breakfast.