Train's Pinot Noir and Vegetarian Lasagna

What do I do on a Friday night when there's snow on the ground and it's 22 degrees outside?

Enjoy being inside with the love of my life (my german shepherd) listening to big band music, cooking and drinking wine!

I love the band, Train, and Jimmy from the band, is the winemaker of San Francisco Wine Company. I have tried three of their wines and they were fairly good - the Chardonnay (not my oaky buttery style, yet still good), the Cab Sauv which was delicious and the California Red Table wine which was also pretty decent. Tonight I am trying their Pinot Noir. All of their wines are named after their songs or reflective of their lyrics in some way. Tonight is Pinot Noir - Soul Sister.

I am a fan of Oregon Pinot Noirs b/c they usually are earthy and oaky.  California Pinots are usually too fruity - especially cherry flavored. I am not a cherry fan. I can handle dark cherry or black cherry but if a wine smells or tastes of cherry, I'm usually not a fan. It reminds me of cough syrup or throat losenges. 

This Pinot is from 2011 and is very light in color and in taste. It has the cherry aroma and taste that I tend to not enjoy but I'm giving it a chance. The label states it goes well with "your Sunday Italian dinner" and I had lasagna on the brain today so we'll see how it goes.

I also put half the bottle in my decanter to see if that changes the taste any. It's not too young and it's definitely not old so decanting may not do much good but it's all about experimentation. I'll have a glass while I cook (or more) and then try it again with the lasagna and see if it's any better.

Now for the lasagna:

1. Boil a package of whole grain or wheat lasagna noodles (usually anywhere from 6 to 9 depending on the size of the dish you are using)
2. Combine a 28oz can of  (low sodium) crushed tomatoes, a 28oz can of diced tomatoes and a 6oz can of tomato paste in a bowl. So it's not very liquidy - drain most of the liquid out of the diced tomatoes.  Add oregano and garlic to the sauce. Heat it on the stove on medium low.
3.Put a package of frozen spinach  in the microwave for 4 minutes and drain all of the water out.
4. Thinly slice 2-3 zucchini and sauté with olive oil and black pepper. Set aside.
5. Dice up half of a small onion, sauté it and toss it in the sauce.
6. Combine 2 eggs, 15oz fat free ricotta cheese and the spinach in a bowl.

Spray your casserole dish with olive oil non stick cooking spray. Put 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place 3 to 4 noodles on the bottom of the pan. Cover with sauce, spinach/ricotta mixture, zucchini, mozzarella cheese, shaved parmesan cheese and repeat this layering until all noodles are gone. You want to finish with just noodles on top. Then cover the noodles with sauce, making sure the edges are covered to prevent burning and crisping.  Top with shredded mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. The last 5 minutes, let it bake with the foil off. Once it's bubbly and done, set it on the stove for about 10 minutes to let it set. Then enjoy!

You can pretty much add any vegetables you want - mushrooms, eggplant, squash.  Just make sure that it isn't too liquidy or it will make the lasagna runny. I am a saucy/cheesey lasagna lover so I tend to use a lot of both of those.  . Of course, that is truly up to you. Just like wine, you like what you like so make it the way YOU like it! You may find the lasagna is even better the next day after it has set for a while.

 

Well, lasagna is done and delicious!  Can't say it makes the wine any better, but certainly doesn't change the taste for the worse.  When all else fails, turn to chocolate!