Invite To A Big Lasagna Party

We all need a big get together and party right now.Luckily there is just that thanks, to regular New York Times Food contributor, Samin Nosrat, She is hosting a gathering this Sunday 7 PM Eastern standard TIme. on Instagram. Come one, come all.

Chef Nosrat is not new to dinner parties and gatherings. Since her college days she has thrown together meals that ranged from paellas cooked on a rusted fire pit in a yard to churning out gallons of ice cream in her apartment. She has thrown parties in abandoned airplane hangars and deserted beaches and sprawling farms. Then there were the  get togethers at Tartine, the famed San Francisco eatery, where their corner bakery was set up to feed the restaurant's bakers. The group enjoyed Chef Nosrat's shrimp boils, brisket and latkes. She baked twelve layer lasagnas and billowy  souffles they all enjoyed. Now
 Chef Nosrat is coming into our homes as we go into her Southern Californian one.Her dish of choosing? An old fashioned lasagna, perfect with a bottle of red wine. For some of you novice chefs out there freaking out right now, don't worry. You can make your own creation, whether it's spaghetti and meatballs or just a sandwich. Just so long as you're there. That's what matters.

Is Chef Nosrat's recipe an easy one? It's a classic one, familiar to those who have grown up with Southern Italian recipes and big Sunday pasta dinners. The filling is ricotta along with fresh or even frozen spinach. She suggests using string cheese - fun - if you don't have Provolone or mozzarella handy. There's also grated Parmesan Asiago or Grano Padano. You can use dried Italian seasoning or fresh basil along with fresh Italian parsley and chives. There is the Bechamel sauce, an easy mix that can also go over chicken or fish. Again it's just flour, butter, milk and nutmeg mixed together. The tomato sauce can be your favorite jarred one or the one from the NY Times Simple Tomato sauce located in NYT Cooking. If you're really ambitious make the sheets of lasagna noodles yourself (again the recipe is on the NYT Cooking site). There's more cheese added. from Grano Padano to string. Assembling it may be labor intensive however if your family is joining you, then employ them to help. As for the wine, Chef Nosrat suggests Chianti or a barbera from Piemonte. The kids can have a celebratory soda or chocolate milk.

Mark  this Sunday at seven as a dinner date. Make Chef Nosrat's lush and classic homemade lasagna or not. Just be there to enjoy good food and good talk.