Individual Lasagna Hors D' Oeuvres

[Andy M.]

I was thinking about holiday entertaining. We're having a "small" family open house Christmas weekend (35-40 people). Trying to think of something interesting to serve, I came up with an idea for mini lasagnas and I'd like your thoughts.

Here's what I was thinking:

Use a jumbo muffin tin lined with foil muffin liners.

Using round cookie cutters, cut disks of cooked lasagna dough and do the traditional layers of pasta, sauce, meat and cheeses, repeating as necessary to fill.

Bake, cool, wrap and freeze for later use.

Then I can defrost, reheat and serve.

I'll have to figure how long to cook them. Then how long to defrost and reheat.

Please share you thoughts on concerns, suggestions or whatever. (or what a great idea it is!)

 

[pdswife]

They sound great to me. Though... they might be hard to eat. With that many people will there be enough room to sit down at a table? I can see these spilliing and making quite a mess. Maybe... you could use mini pans instead of jumbo? Then you wouldn't have to worry about your guests needing to cut them up to eat?

 

[Andy M.]

Good point! I forgot one of the basic rules - one or two bite maximum size.

Thanks!

 

[pdswife]

No problem. I do think these would be great for a smaller party.

 

[ironchef]

That sounds good. Basically, what you're making is called a "timbale". I would spray the inside of the muffin pan with non-stick spray (or you could oil it), and use parchment paper instead of foil muffin liners. You could also use eggplant instead of pasta to layer it.

 

[Andy M.]

...I would spray the inside of the muffin pan with non-stick spray (or you could oil it), and use parchment paper instead of foil muffin liners...

ironchef, thanks for the tips. Why would you use parchment in place of the liners?

 

[ironchef]

ironchef, thanks for the tips. Why would you use parchment in place of the liners?

Partly for aesthetics (if you don't mind the ridges) and say you're pressed for time and you need to defrost in a microwave, the foil would make it harder to do that(assuming after you freeze the timbales you're removing it from the muffin pan). Also, since you'd only be lining the sides with parchment paper, the tops of the timbales should be all flat and even, assuming you're inverting it when you present the dish. Plus, the combination of parchment + non-stick spray will make it easier to remove than the foil muffin liners since foil can stick and rip when directly attached to some frozen foods.

 

[Constance]

Have you thought about making lasagna roll-ups? Check out this recipe"

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda...OOD_9936_18806_PRINT-RECIPE-FULL-PAGE,00.html

 

[mish]

I would make it easier on myself with a crowd of 40 - or just because I like these - how about lasagna roll ups? You could do any number of fillings - ricotta/par/mushroom, seafood (shrimp, crab), ricotta/cheese/spinache or mexican lasagna rolls - with a tomatoey, Alfredoey or pestoey sauce. There was another thread for cold appy stuffed shells. I'll see if I can find it again. Were you looking for other appy/main dish/finger food ideas?

Another thought - try manicotti, and slice the shells in half vertically - for smaller portions.

 

[Andy M.]

Ironchef, thanks. Good points.

Constance and mish: the roll-ups look good!

 

[mish]

Ooops, I didn't see Constances response. Guess we think alike

Here's is an idea for the shells. You could use homemade spinach souffle and homemade sauce.

http://www.stouffers.com/RecipesAndMenuIdeas/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=28424

Another thought - bake won ton skins in muffin tins, let them cool and spoon in fillings of choice.

 

[Andy M.]

mish:

We think alike! My SO suggested the large shells and I had considered using wonton wrappers in some way.

 

[Constance]

They say great minds run in the same channels, Mish.