Italian Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

10 thick slices bacon, diced
2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 (28 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 pounds Italian sausage
1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
2 pints part-skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup milk
9 slices provolone cheese
7 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours

Chessecake with ricotta and creamchesse

PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
2 Hrs 30 Min
READY IN
3 Hrs 10 Min

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds ricotta16 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
6 eggs
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTION

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C.) Wrap the outside bottom of a 10 inch springform pan with foil to prevent water seeping in while baking.
Cream together ricotta cheese, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add flour one tablespoon at a time, mixing well. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into a 10 inch springform pan.
Place cheesecake in a large rectangular pan filled with 2 inches of hot water. Carefully put into preheated oven without spilling water. Bake for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes turn oven off, but leave the cake in the oven for another 60 minutes (do not open door).
Cool on counter for 60 minutes and then refrigerate. Serve when thoroughly chilled.
Serve when thoroughly chilled

Baked apple, ricotta and honeycomb

Ingredients

4 small red apples
80g sultanas
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp honey
60g butter
250g ricotta
120g honeycomb

To improve the final presentation of baked apples, slice off the top 5 millimetres of each fruit with a sharp knife before cooking.

Remove the core and, once the centre of the apple has been filled, replace the top before baking.

This way the cooked dessert looks more like a whole apple and, if the fruit was bought with stalks, these can be removed and reserved before baking and then popped back into the top of the apple for serving.

Directions

Preheat oven to 200C.

Slice the tops off the apples, reserve.

Remove cores with an apple corer. Mix sultanas and cinnamon in a small bowl and stuff into apple cavities. Place in a baking tray, drizzle each apple with honey and top with a tablespoon of butter. Roast for 10 minutes.

Turn oven to 170C.

Baste apples and bake a further 20 minutes. Serve with a spoonful of ricotta, a chunk of honeycomb and a drizzle of pan juices.

Serves 4