individual moussaka

greek food is hit or miss for me. i am particularly partial to moussaka because it reminds me of lasagna. i kept it real simple, made it in individual ramekins and topped with a bechamele sauce.



Moussaka

thinly slice up an eggplant (i used a chinese eggplant)
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of milk (i used buttermilk because that's what i had)
tomato/spaghettie sauce (i had some leftover with meat)



for the bechamele sauce, i melted the butter in a sauce pan, added the flour and stirred till incorporated. add the milk (or buttermilk) and stir till thickened. salt and pepper to taste.

assemble in layers, first with the eggplant, the tomato sauce and then another layer of eggplant. top it all off with the bechamele sauce. if i had had bread crumbs available, i would've added that to the top but i didn't, so i sprinkled some oats. bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.



watch that growing ass and stay warm!

A twist on the standard lasagna ...

I'm a big fan of the brasserie's in the Boston area, and the mac'n'cheese that's served at the retaurants. Most either are ham or lobster mac'n'cheese so for this month's challenge, it's lobster mac'n'cheese lasagna!

1 lobster, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb in size
8 oz Ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup Sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/3 cup Gruyere cheese (shredded)
Lasagna noodles
1/2 cup Milk
1 tbsp garlic powder
pepper
1 large egg

Since I was only making a small amount, I decided to make it in a loaf pan instead of a standard lasagna pan, adjust amounts accordingly as needed for more servings.

Steam lobster, remove all meat from shell and cut into very small pieces, set aside.

In a bowl, combine well ricotta, egg, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and milk. In a second bowl combine the mozzarella, gruyere and cheddar. Prepare your lasagna starting with a thin layer of the ricotta, topped with lasagna pasta, some lobster and then finish off with a layer of the mixed cheese. Repeat. Cover and place into a 375 oven for 45 mins. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 until the top of the lasagna is perfectly brown.