White chicken lasagna

[Rightupinthere]

When in the chat room, several us were speaking of white lasagna. I decided to set out on my own (bout a month ago) to see if I could create one. I decided not to cut corners and make it a rich dish. As you will see and read, I made it rich and then some. Rich to a fault, but it was very, very tasty. I will go through my process and then take you through future adjustments/changes to the recipe.

The first thing I needed was a baseline recipe. Behold: http://www.newitalianrecipes.com/chicke ... fredo.html

As you can see, there is no shortage of dairy in this recipe.

First off, I halved the receipe. Next, I used fresh mozzarella and just 4oz of cream cheese for the "bechamel" instead of an herbed round (Like Rondelle). Not a fan of that. I also pumped up the herbs a bit to give it a little more earthiness. Instead of cayenne pepper, I used a couple of splashes of Frank's red hot. It adds just a hint of a flavorful edge to the recipe.
Instead of the white onions, I used a mixture of sweet onion and shallots which blends out perfectly. I love shallots and use them whenever I can. Finally, instead of milk I used a mixture of cream and chicken stock. Intead of button mushers, I used baby bellas/Criminis.

Images: http://picasaweb.google.com/Steelclippe ... achLasagna
Notes about the images: board: orange; knife 10" Shun; cookware: Allclad; cook: balding.

The dish was great. Fantastic flavor and a dish you really want to eat slowly (and you should - truth be told). It was a little too rich for me and the wife, however.

The next time I will use 2% shredded mozzarella sparingly between the layers. The bechamel will be a true bechamel and not a knock-off. The bechamel won't be as prevalent. I really wanted more of a veggie taste to this dish. I would double the veggie portion and have more of that wonderful presence. I initially thought of adding diced eggplant, but that didn't seem to "fit". Ultimately, I want a brighter dish instead of this dish I lovingly dubbed "bossie's overtime".

It was a great dish, but it could be better. Your comments are most welcome.

[Ohiogal]

I forwarded it to the cooks in my family! I sure hope one of them makes it at the next get together! I'll let you know!!!

Oh, and LOVE the orange!

PS Happy early birthday!!!