Help modifying recipe

[bbro]

Hi all, I need help modifying a recipe. I am going to be having a bad day on Wednesday and I think this recipe would be great comfort food. The thing is, I want to make it before hand and bake it Wednesday so I can just relax. Any ideas how to modify the baking part of it? Do you think it will still be OK if I bake it a day or two after I make it?

Thanks!

from here: http://thecrepesofwrath.wordpress.co...erogi-lasagna/


Pierogi Lasagna
from The Omnomicon

1 lb. lasagna noodles (don’t use the no-boil kind; I tried doing this and they were much too dry for this dish)
4 lbs. red or white potatoes
1/4 cup low-fat/fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk
2 cups low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)
1 onion, sliced in rings

1. Cook the noodles, lay them out on tin foil or parchment paper greased with Pam.
2. Chop the potatoes into 1″ cubes, place in pot of cold water (enough to cover), and allow it to come to a boil. Continue boil until potatoes are soft enough to yield to a fork stab (about 15 minutes). Drain, mash, blend with a mixer. Toss in the sour cream and milk, and mix some more. Add salt to taste. Stir in cheddar (it will melt).
3. Melt all the butter over medium-high heat, then saute the onion until the rings no longer hold their shape (about 5-8 minutes).
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with some of the onion-butter (I also sprayed the pan with Pam – I’m terrified of food sticking to dishes, hah). Lay three of the noodles on the bottom of the dish, then spread the potatoes, a dollop at a time, along the length of each noodle.
5. Once done, smooth the potatoes, then spread about a quarter of the onion on top, and drizzle a small amount of butter as well. Repeat this twice (or more if your dish can accommodate), then top with noodles and the remainder of the onions and butter.
6. Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes, or until melty and golden looking. Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6-8.

[Pie]

I wouldn't worry at all about doing the potatoes or onions ahead of time; the major question will be about the noodles. If they're in contact with the moisture in the 'taters for days, they might get too mushy. (But it might not be such a bad thing if they did -- comfort food isn't supposed to be 'al dente'!)

Would you be willing to do the noodle-boiling and assembly on Wednesday? If not, it shouldn't be that big a deal. I've made veggie lasagnas 24 hours in advance with no ill effects.

If the lasagna is coming straight from fridge to the oven, I'd increase the cooking time by at least 15 minutes and drop the temp to 350 to let the center get warm before the top scorches, since the original recipe was based on having the filling already hot. If you have a probe thermometer, this can help take the guesswork out of knowing when it's hot enough. It may take significantly longer than an extra 15 minutes -- lasagna has a huge thermal mass! You can also test the temperature by stabbing it in the center with a sharp knife, then carefully touching the tip of the blade - if it's cold, the lasagna is still cold. If the top looks like it is over-browning and the center is still cold, cover it loosely with aluminum foil for the rest of its sojourn in the oven.

All the ingredients are cooked prior to assembly, so that reduces food-safety concerns one might have.

Best wishes for your 'bad day'! Let us know if there is anything we can do to help!

[bbro]

Thanks for the ideas Pie. I will most likely make it tomorrow (too much ironing tonight), so it will be in the fridge for less than 24 hours. I will let you all know if it works. I was also thinking of putting foil over the top for most of the cooking so it doesn't burn before the insides are cooked.

Hopefully the bad day will only be a few bad hours which can be solved with food and sleep

[barefoot serpent]

if you freeze it after assembly the noodles should remain intact but that'll lengthen the heating time if the core is still hard after thawing.

[Aliantha]

Make sure you cook the lasagne noodles really well so they can't absorb too much more of the moisture.

Also, try soaking the potatoes in water for a day or so before you cook them. That'll leach out a lot of the starch which is what will make it gluggy.

Most lasagne is actually better after it's been baked, cooled and reheated. Maybe this one will be the same.

What do you need comfort food for? Is something bad going on? I hope it all works out ok, whatever it is.

[zippyt]

Bacon makes EVERY THING Better !!

[Urbane Guerrilla]

You have that button too, zipp?

[bbro]

zippy - I am actually thinking of adding bacon into it!

Ali - I just have to have a procedure done tomorrow that is going to SUCK! Nothing serious or life-threatening, just sucky, probably painful, but completely necessary.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Beest]

Originally Posted by zippyt

Bacon makes EVERY THING Better !!

Red wine also

Add a glass or so, this is an Italian dish.

Then what to do witht he reat of the bottle that you had to open

[Pie]

bbro, best wishes with the procedure!

[bbro]

Well, the bad day didn't turn out as bad as expected, just uncomfortable and tiring. Unfortunately, the pierogi lasagna also did not get made because I may have gone out Tuesday so that I could get to sleep and didn't want to try and make it inebriated. I WILL MAKE IT THOUGH!!

[xoxoxoBruce]

And it WILL be good.

[bbro]

Exactly Bruce, exactly!

[bbro]

So I made the lasagna! It was pretty good, but too much butter for my guts to handle.

I have some leftover filling and this is what I am going to change:
- carmelize onions instead of just softening them.
- mix the onions (not the butter) into the filling
- fill large shells
- drizzle butter over shells and cover while baking
- maybe put some extra cheese on top

I am hoping the potato filling will last in the freezer because I am losing my taste for mashed potatoes!