Parsnips, Carrots and Leeks Gratin

My very good friend, Beej, made this for a Thanksgiving dinner we attended. It was soooooooo amazingly good - one of those things I couldn't stop eating despite my intolerance for dairy.

2 tablespoons butter (I add 2 T of olive oil too so the butter won't burn)
2 - 3 shallots, finely sliced (this is my own addition)
2 pounds leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lenthwise, rinsed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
1½ pounds large carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices
1½ pounds large parsnips, peeled, cut diagonally into ¼-inch slices
2½ cups whipping cream
2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

- Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots and leeks and sauté until soft and beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
- Cook carrots and parsnips in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well; place in bowl with leeks.
- Whisk cream, sage, mustard, salt and pepper to blend in medium bowl. Pour cream mixture over vegetables and stir gently to combine.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan over. Cover dish with foil. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead; refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.)
- Bake gratin 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until vegetables are tender, top is golden brown and cream is thickened, about 30 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve hot.

The Most Homemadest Lasagna I've Ever Made

This is not to say that everything about this lasagna is homemade. The sausage is courtesy of Colosimo's and the noodle are Barilla's homestyle (read: flat) rustic noodles. I am typing this without the luxury of having tasted it, so I'm just guessing how that will turn out...but it smells pretty darn good! It is freaking FANTASTIC!!!

3 cloves garlic
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef (I used 91/9 lean:fat ratio)
1/2 lb Italian sausage (I use Colosimo's red wine sausage, remove casings - mmmmmm)
1/2 t. ground fennel
1/2 t. basil
salt & pepper
1 qt jar + 1 pint jar marinara sauce (Susan's Magic Sauce per previous post)
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb sliced mushrooms (I use button & cremini mix)
shredded mozzarella
shredded parmesan

- Soak the noodles in hot water while you do the rest (I usually use Barilla's rustic no cook noodles, if you use these, they do not need to be soaked).

- Saute garlic and onion until tender and translucent.  Add ground beef, sausage, fennel and basil (also some salt/pepper to taste) and cook until done.  Remember to constantly break up the chunks of meat...unless you like big chunks of tough meat. Add the marinara, let simmer for 20 minutes.

- While the marinara is simmering, mix ricotta with egg and Italian seasoning, a handful of mozerella and parmesan, set aside.

Assembly:
- meat sauce
- noodles
- ricotta mix ("painted on" is the phrase used from the Peanut Gallery)
- mushrooms
- mozerella/parmesan
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- meat sauce
- noodles
- ricotta mix
- mushrooms
- shredded mozzarella/parmesan
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- meat sausce
- noodles
- mushrooms
- meat sauce
- mozzarella/parmesan (lots of it - no...really, LOTS of it)

Baked at 350 for 40 minutes (with foil on), then another 15 minutes without to brown the cheese on top. Let's hope it's as good as this post makes it sound!  Really, it is that good!