Yesterday, when I was on Martha Stewart Radio with my buddy Sandy Gluck, the subject of meatball lasagna came up. What makes Christmas meatball different is that the ground meat not simply added to the sauce, but rolled into small meatballs first. I hadn't made it since testing for I LOVE MEATBALLS, and my mouth started to water as I described the recipe. Now, I have already planned my Christmas dinner (roast pork of some kind), but I will find room for this delectable pasta on the table sometime during the holiday week.
I've already gotten a few personal emails wondering what I am going to make for my own Christmas dinner this year. Usually, it is a big hunk of roast beef, but this year, I need to keep to down to a dull roar with lots of make-ahead dishes. Lasagna has got to be the All-Time Classic Make-Ahead Dish. I've been making this one with both red and white sauces and a light chicken-spinach filling for years. In fact, it gave me one of my first moments of pride as a young chef when I served it at a catered dinner for one of my university professors. He told me, "This is the best lasagna I've had since I left Rome...and I am not kidding!" You just might agree--whether or not you've been to Rome! (Photo by Ben Fink.)
