Preparation Time For This Lasagna Worth Every Minute

Dear Merri Lou: I am looking for a recipe for Seafood Lasagna. I had copied it at one time but lost part of it. Would appreciate it if you could print one. Thank you. Barbara, Spokane

Dear Barbara: This recipe takes a little preparation, but it’s worth every minute. Directions call for a small, square pan, but it might be better to use a regular lasagna pan or a 12- by 9-inch pan. You may still have some leftover lasagna noodles. Enjoy!

Seafood Lasagna

Adapted from “Wandering & Feasting: A Washington Cookbook,” by Mary Houser Caditz (Washington State University Press, 1996).

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14-1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 bay leaves, divided use

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon salt, divided use

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 (8-ounce) package lasagna (about 8 pieces)

2-1/2 cups nonfat milk

1/8 teaspoon mace

6 peppercorns

Slice of onion

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 pound crab meat, drained

1/2 pound small cooked shrimp, drained

8 large scallops, halved, or 16 small scallops

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

For tomato sauce, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook lightly. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, thyme, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Partly cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to directions on package. Place under cool running water. Drain and lay pieces on clean towel to dry.

For white sauce, heat milk over low heat for about 10 minutes with 1 bay leaf, mace, peppercorns and onion slice. In another saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Remove butter mixture from heat and add heated milk through a sieve (to catch peppercorns, onion and bay leaf). Return to medium heat and stir constantly until slightly thickened. Add reserved 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Cover sauce with buttered waxed paper to prevent a skin from forming and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish. (Before mixing seafood with tomato sauce, be certain that all seafood is dry. If not, dry completely with paper towel.) Mix the crab, shrimp and uncooked scallops and mushrooms with tomato sauce.

Spread about 1 tablespoon white sauce on bottom of pan. Layer 1/2 of cooked lasagna noodles in bottom, cutting off ends that do not fit. Spoon 1/2 of the tomato sauce on pasta, cover with about 1/2 of the remaining white sauce and sprinkle with all of the grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers of lasagna, tomato sauce and white sauce; sprinkle top with grated mozzarella cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with loosely vented foil, and let stand for 10-12 minutes. Serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (based on 6 servings): 516 calories, 17.6 grams fat (31 percent fat calories), 33 grams protein, 58 grams carbohydrate, 90 milligrams cholesterol, 1,165 milligrams sodium.

Dear Merri Lou: Tony Roma’s restaurant makes the best barbecue and dipping sauce I’ve ever tasted. What is the chance of getting that recipe? Thank you. - Connie, Veradale

Dear Connie: Chances aren’t good for the actual recipe, but read on. Dan Robbins, manager at the Tony Roma’s in Spokane, said their sauces are a trade secret, although they are available for sale at the restaurant. But Todd Wilbur may have answer for you. He’s a gentleman who enjoys cloning commercial recipes, and has written three “Top Secret Recipes” cookbooks. Here’s his version of the sauce that made Tony Roma’s famous.

(Just Like) Tony Roma’s Barbecue Sauce

From “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes,” by Todd Wilbur (Plume, 1997).

1 cup ketchup

1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over high heat, blending until smooth with a whisk. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes, until thickened; remove from heat. If you want a thicker sauce, heat it longer. If you make the sauce too thick, thin it with more vinegar.

Yield: Enough sauce for 2 to 4 servings of ribs.

Nutrition information per serving (based on 4 servings): 197 calories, 0.2 grams fat (1 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 54 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1,042 milligrams sodium.

Dear Merri Lou: I was flipping through the channels last week and saw the “Home & Family Show” on the Family channel. They had a woman from Universal Studios make S’mores. Could you please print the recipe? It looked like a fun party recipe. Sincerely, - Lani, Veradale

Dear Lani: Donna Roman of The Family Channel faxed me the recipe. It’s rich, rich, rich!

S’More Pick Up Sticks

From International Family Entertainment.

3-3/4 pounds graham cracker crumbs

30 ounces butter, melted

2 pounds miniature marshmallows

36 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

6 ounces milk chocolate, melted

6 ounces white chocolate, melted

Lightly spray 2 (12- by 16-inch) baking sheets with cooking spray. Cover the bottoms with wax paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until the mixture is moist and holds together. Divide the crumb mixture evenly between the two trays and firmly press into an even layer, using a rolling pin. Bake for 10-15 minutes until set and lightly browned. Let cool, and then place in freezer until cold and firm.

Remove one sheet from freezer and sprinkle about 3/4 of the marshmallows over the crust. Bake for 10 minutes until the marshmallows are lightly toasted.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining marshmallows in a microwave oven until soft. Remove the other sheet from freezer and gently spread with the melted marshmallows. Quickly flip the frozen sheet on top of the warm sheet pan; remove the top pan and gently press down on top layer of crust so it adheres to the marshmallow filling. Refrigerate until cold and firm.

Cut into 24 (4- by 6-inch) squares. Gently push a stick into the marshmallow layer of each bar. Holding by the stick, dip each bar into the warm, melted semi-sweet chocolate. Refrigerate until set, then swirl the melted milk and white chocolates over each bar.

Yield: 24 bars.

Nutrition information per bar: 889 calories, 52 grams fat (53 percent fat calories), 7 grams protein, 110 grams carbohydrate, 78 milligrams cholesterol, 661 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NOTE TO READERS Last month, we published recipes in this column for meat jerky made in a home food dehydrator. We have since been notified that Washington State University’s cooperative extension service no longer recommends making jerky in home dehydrators, because of a 1995 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 from deer jerky made in a home food dehydrator in Oregon.

Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian in Spokane, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210, or e-mail to merrid@spokesman.com. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Merri Lou Dobler The Spokesman-Review