Lasagne party

Eastside Road, October 21, 2011—

LINDSEY MADE THE LASAGNE a week ago, basing it on a recipe from Marcella Hazan, for another party. In the event we decided to set it aside for later: lasagna is, to me, a cool-weather dinner, not a hot-afternoon lunch.

In fact we both came to the same conclusion separately, each of us a little embarrassed to admit it — one doesn't normally serve leftovers to friends: but last week it was so warm, and the leftovers were so delicious, it seemed appropriate.

So we had the lasagna, finally, tonight. Just lasagna, or lasagna — as Wikipedia says, "As with all the other pasta shapes, is generally used in its plural form lasagne" — and a green salad. Plenty for all six of us (sorry you weren't there, Gaye and John!). Fresh pasta from the Phoenix Pastaficio. Béchamel sauce, Bolognese. (We asked the Phoenix guy for "plain pasta," and he relayed the request to the owner, a Frenchman who is serious about his metier. Oh do not say plain pasta, he said, I do not make plain pasta, plain, that means nothing, you cannot say plain pasta, it is egg pasta. I take his point.)

Dessert: ice cream sundaes: vanilla ice cream, with chocolate sauce, salt caramel sauce, chopped almonds, macaroon crumbs. Life with a pastry chef has its advantages.

Syrah, Radio-Coteau "Las Calinas" (Sonoma Coast), 2009 (nice varietal, forthcoming); Cabernet Sauvignon, Husch (Mendocino), 2007 (serious, a little austere); Cinsault, Preston of Dry Creek, 2008 (pointed, edgy, refreshing, straightforward)