Lasagna

Here is the recipe I made for our Christmas Eve dinner.

2 pounds Lasagna noodles (You will only need about a box and a half)

41/2 cups tomato sauce (I used a sauce that I got from a friend, it contains: diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic, basil, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, red wine and black pepper)

1 pound ricotta cheese

16 ounces fresh mozzarella (you can either slice or shred)

1 pound ground Italian sausage

1 pound ground beef

1 can of black olives, chopped

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the sausage and beef together.  Drain off fat.  Boil 6 quarts of water, add pinch of salt, and cook pasta to almost done. Remove from water and shock in ice bath.  In a 10-by-14-by-3-inch baking pan or dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce in bottom and around sides. Layer lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Add 1/3 amount of ricotta, 1/3 amount of mozzarella, 1/3 amount of sausage, then sprinkle generously with the Parmesan, add 1/2 cup tomato sauce.  In the process of layering add a layer of the chopped black olives.  Repeat this 2 more times.   On the very top sheet, top with remaining ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and dust with Parmesan. Bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 45 minutes until cheese is nice and bubbly. Remove from oven; let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately.  

Along with this dinner we had a side salad, garlic bread and a 2005 bottle of Castello Di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico.