Lasagna tonight?

Let's skip talking about cars for a while as I need to tell you folks about something else.

I was busy at the office overseeing many issues that needed fixing, when out of the blue, a good buddy of mine called me on my handphone. Now, this particular friend never calls unless there's something really urgent. Guess what he said?

"Hey man, why does my LASAGNA TURN OUT STIFF & UNCOOKED?"

Oh, my..

Now for those out there, let your Abang Andak here give you some advice on life.

You don't have to know how to cook precisely everything to be a great chef. Or to impress your girlfriend. Or to be in the F&B business. Or to survive.

My tip is to learn a few recipes and be REALLY damn good at it. It's really helpful if you learn to prepare what you would love eating, cause I wouldn't really go to all that trouble not being able to eat what I've cooked (although some people seem to think that what you've made would taste better to you if someone else cooked it!)..

Anyway, lasagna is such a dish that I have taken the liberty of learning to prepare and as the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect".

IMHO, just like any other pasta dish, you can basically make any sauce that your heart desire. There are virtually many recipes out there, but the basic one consists of primarily 3 things:

1. The red (meat / marinara / bolognese) sauce
2. The white (cheese / bechamel) sauce
3. The pasta (lasagna or what ever you fancy)

Again, there are zillions of recipes for a good sauce, and I won't say mine's the best because everybody has their preferences. Have a look at epicurious.com to browse for a few good ones.

Unfortunately, like any other recipes, the notes that you jot down while doing it determines whether you end up with the piece de resistance or just plain simple crap.

My tips are:

1. Always soak the lasagna sheets (eventhough the package says it doesn't need pre-cooking)
2. Make the sauces a bit watery
3. If you put in leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach), make sure you blanch it first, if not take into account the water that comes out of it during cooking
4. Make sure you preheat the oven
5. Rest the cooked pasta before serving
6. Use good quality stock if possible for the sauce
7. Cheese sauce should taste of cheese
8. Use the freshest herbs possible

One thing quirky about my pasta though, is that I tend to not have chicken in my 'red' sauce. I'd rather cook it Alfredo style in the Bechamel and have a basil-infused tomato sauce instead.

To save time, of course you can use the canned version of the sauces, but doing it the hard way ensures tons of love gets mixed in the preparation of the recipe!

BTW, for those who ended up with such a result as my poor friend, I would try to steam (kukus) the lasagna for about 20 minutes on low heat to get something edible out of it.

Good luck!