Mushroom Lasagna

We made the mushroom lasagna from page 92 and it was DELICIOUS!

After searching high and low for dried porcini mushrooms, we had to settle on a "Mixed Wild Dried Mushroom Medley" from Trader Joe's. (It has some porcini mushrooms!)

I guess it worked out ok, since we also couldn't find an exotic mushroom blend anywhere. We got some portobello mushrooms instead, since that was the most exotic kind at the grocery store.

However, we did successfully find cremini mushrooms! (So we're 1 for 3 on the mushrooms.)

Nathan chopped all the mushrooms for me. There were sure a lot of them!

I think next time I'm going to chop the shallots smaller. The thin slices are pretty, but they're so long that they tangle together and it was really hard to stir in the mushrooms.

As usual, we put in more cheese than the recipe called for. I used mozzarella and some romano. Here is some unsolicited cheese advice: get some romano. We got a little block several months ago; it was probably August or September. We have been putting it on EVERYTHING ever since, and it still hasn't run out! I was positive I'd be able to use the last of it for this because it was down to about a cubic inch, but it fluffs up so much when you grate it that I called it quits only halfway through my little piece.

Look at all that cheese! From that tiny little cube!

The other substitutions I made were:

• dried thyme instead of fresh (my plant's still too small). I used about 1/2 t
• chicken broth instead of wine
• green onions instead of chives

I also cut back on the garlic a tiny bit, since I thought the butternut squash was too garlicky.

Here's all the ingredients ready to be layered together:

And here's my piece of lasagna! Doesn't it look tasty?

The only thing we would change is the dried mushrooms. Some of them were really chewy and they ruined the texture without adding much good flavor. I'm pretty sure the shiitakes in the mix were the culprits, so maybe I'll just pick them out next time I make it.

Other than that, we really loved this stuff. The sauce was rich and creamy and there was just the right proportion of mushroom to noodle. The best part is, we have lots of leftovers for lunches! Mom, you might have to try this sometime when Jake is visiting friends. No matter how tasty I think it is, I don't think you'll be able to convince him.