Hi Jim,

 JW> Cottage cheese is more readily available, less expensive and lower
 JW> in fat than ricotta, so it often gets used in lasagne in North
 JW> America.

 RH> Steve grew up with his mom using ricotta; he won't let me use
 RH> anything else.

 JW> That's certainly the proper way to go for authenticity's sake.

I'm not even sure if the grocery stores in my home town sold it when I
was growing up. Not that I ever looked, having no need for it then. My
mom made my mil's lasagne a few times after I gave her the recipe; I had
to show her how to do it properly. (She was putting the meat balls and
all the sauce in the same pan as the noodles and cheese.) I got the
impression that she didn't make it again after I showed her how. It's a
dish you make for a family gathering, not just 2 people, so I don't do
it that often any more. When I do, for the 2 of us, it's sub divided,
like I did the stuffed shells.

 JW> Some other similar cheeses that can be used an alternative for
 JW> ricotta cheese in things: young (fresh) goat cheese, homemade pot
 JW> cheese. Mexican queso fresco and Indian paneer.

 RH> Some might be worth trying for other things but for Italian cooking,
 RH> I'm staying with ricotta.

 JW> It is of course the best choice for that style of cooking.

I wouldn't have it any other way. One of these days I'm going to try
some quese fresco for real Mexican cooking; most often my Mexican is
more psuedo Mexican.


 JW> About two weeks after Roslind's Eritrean friend brought us a
 JW> traditional Roman lasagne (tomato sauce with a little meat in it,
 JW> ricotta and spinach), we defrosted a portion of a huge Ital-Canadian
 JW> lasagne (very meaty ragu with diced green dell pepper in it, cottage
 JW> cheese, no spinach) that Roslind had made some time ago and we made
 JW> sure she got a taste. Everyone enjoyed both versions.

Both of them sound good. Mine is more like the Roman, not always with
spinach and usually meat balls on the side. Occaisionally I'll do a
layer of cheese, layer of spinach or thick meat sauce, layer of cheese
but most of the time it's 3 layers of cheese.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... 90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.

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