Host: Welcome to Now We’re Cooking!—where eating gourmet doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Each week we break down culinary masterpieces from world-famous chefs, and take you step by step from choosing the right ingredients to serving them up. Today we’ve got a lasagna by our guest chef Vincent Charbelle that will knock your socks off. I mean, it’s really out of this world. Chef Charbelle is here with us to share his recipe and teach us a few tricks of the trade. Welcome, Chef Charbelle. Thank you for joining us.

Chef Charbelle: Thanks for having me, Brian.

Host: The lasagna we’ll make today is your own recipe?

Chef Charbelle: Yes.

Host: And we’ll make it all from scratch . . .

Chef Charbelle: Certainly, and all with fresh ingredients. That’s really the secret to top-notch cooking.

Host: When did you first dream up this special lasagna?

Chef Charbelle: About eight years ago. I was eating at a friend’s party and realized how lifeless most people’s lasagna is. I wanted a lasagna with zip, something that would stick to the ribs, but wouldn’t weigh you down. So I went home that night and baked about fifteen trays of it until I came upon this recipe.

Host: Incredible! It took some time, but you really came up with something unique. Well, let’s get started. As usual here on Now We’re Cooking! to prove that even amateurs can make meals to die for, we invite a member of our studio audience to lend a hand in the preparation of the dish. Today we have Beatrice from San Diego. Welcome, Beatrice.

Beatrice: Hello.

Host: Are you ready?

Beatrice: I’m really a terrible cook. . . .

Host: That’s why you’re here, Beatrice . . . To show the world that you too can make exquisite food. Just give it your best shot.

Beatrice: Okay. I’ll try it. I guess the proof is in the pudding! Or at least the lasagna, in this case.

Host: That’s right. Okay, let’s take a short commercial break, and then we’ll pick up with our lasagna where we left off.
(Commercial break.)

Host: Hello, welcome back to Now We’re Cooking! During the commercial break, we mixed the cheeses and spices, boiled the noodles, and made a sauce from home-grown tomatoes. So now we’re ready to put this baby together!

Beatrice: I think I over-boiled the noodles.

Chef Charbelle: No, Beatrice, you did fine . . . You caught them in the nick of time.

Host: Well, that brings up a good point. For lasagnas, or any pasta dish that will be baked or re-heated later, you want to undercook the noodles . . . This prevents them from getting soggy when you re-cook them later.

Chef Charbelle: Absolutely, Brian.

Host: So, let’s get to it.

Chef Charbelle: You might notice that Beatrice has laid out the noodles flat while we were waiting to use them. This is so that they don’t dry in weird positions before we get a chance to put the lasagna together.

Host: Great. Now, the rest of this is really a piece of cake.

Chef Charbelle: You said it. We’re just gonna put down a layer of noodles, then sauce, then cheese, and keep on like that till we fill the tray. Here Beatrice, you try.

Beatrice: Okay.

Chef Charbelle: Now to give this lasagna some kick, you want to lace the lasagna throughout with a grated cheese that has bite . . . Beatrice is using a nice robust pecorino cheese. Lookin’ good, Beatrice!

Beatrice: Thanks.

Chef Charbelle: While Beatrice finishes up here, I’ll show you a tray that I finished and baked ahead of time.

Host: Let me help you . . . Can our cameras get a shot of that? Now that’s a lasagna you can sink your teeth into! Thanks, Mr. Charbelle. That’s all for our show today. Folks, as always, don’t forget what we always say here at Now We’re Cooking!—The devil’s in the details and the secret’s in the sauce!