Hello from Spring Break! My mom was out here visiting this last week, so the blog definitely fell to the wayside for a while. We went up into San Francisco to see Alcatraz, and toured around beautiful Monterey for a while. It was an awesome visit, and now that mom is back in Alabama it’s time to get down to the blog! Fair warning, I’m going to be in LA this week so expect another delay next week. *shrugs

This week was Petite Syrah week, and I was less than thrilled. It is not my favorite, and definitely gives me a major headache. I just did a tasting of this one for the blog, because I knew that the headache wouldn’t be worth a couple glasses of wine. I decided to pair this with a meatball lasagna. I do have some recommended adjustments for this one, simply because we ran out of sauce! Next time, we will double the sauce to make sure we have enough to go around. The recipe is for the single serving. I also plan on making the meatballs a little bit smaller.

Lasagna

• Sauce
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, diced
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 28-oz can San Marzano tomatoes
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup basil, sliced
  • salt
• Meatballs
  • 12 oz ground beef
  • 4 oz ground lamb
  • 1/2 cup toasted panko
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 egg
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • salt
• Base
  • 1 lb lasagna noodles
  • 1 lb mozzerella cheese, sliced
  • 1 lb ricotta
  • 3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

You’re going to need a big pot for the noodles! While you’re cooking the sauce, get that pot full of salted water and start it boiling. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet, and then add your onion, garlic, and some salt. Saute for a few minutes before adding your red pepper flakes and sugar. Cook for a few more minutes before adding your tomatoes (with their juices) and the oregano. I crushed the tomatoes up with the same tool I use to break up ground beef. Let it simmer while you get your meatballs together. Add your basil in towards the end, when you’re wrapping up the meatballs.

I keep mentioning these meatballs! They need to be about 3/4 an inch in diameter. Ours were a little bigger, and kind of a pain to eat with the lasagna. To start, mix your meats into a mixing bow. Add 2 tsp salt, bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and parsley. Mix together with your hands. In a small bowl, mix the egg and garlic, and then add into meat mixture and continue mixing with your hands. Roll them all out into the previously mentioned 3/4 inch diameter. You should have about 40. To cook, heat oil in a skillet and add half the meatballs. Spread them apart a little bit so they brown. Constantly turn them so they brown all over and don’t burn. Check with a meat thermometer (if you don’t have one, you should) to ensure they’re done. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked.

At some point your water will boil, and then add your lasagna sheets. Preheat your oven to 350. Stir them gently to ensure they don’t stick. Only cook them for a few minutes, maybe 4, and then drain them. To stop the cooking, rinse them with cold water and then drain again. Lay them out flat to assemble.

In your lasagna pan put sauce down first, and then add a layer of pasta. Next is 1/4 the mozerella, ricotta, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, more sauce and 1/3 of your meatballs. Repeat this 2 more times, for a total of 3 layers of noodles. On top of the last meatballs, add another layer of pasta, sauce, and cheese. We skipped this layer because our dish wasn’t deep enough and we were out of sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes remove the foil and up the oven temp to 400 for the last 10 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Petite Sirah

I didn’t realize that Petite Sirah and Syrah were two totally different grapes. I tend to stay away from both, so I think that’s fair. Petite Sirahs are super dark, almost inky in appearance. They are very fruit heavy on the nose, and you smell all those dark fruits. It is super bold and in your face, and leaves you looking for a glass of water. The grape has an interesting history. It was originally called Durif in France, and is a combination of Syrah and Peloursin. It was imported to America in the mid 1880’s and the name changed to Petite Sirah. It is recommended to serve this wine in a decanter, and let it breath for a few hours to open up the fruit flavors.