Ginny's sister and her family are coming for a visit next week. Ginny likes to be prepared so we spend over a week beforehand "getting ready". As you might imagine, a good portion of "getting ready" involves fretting about every little detail of the visit. As a guy, I handle my share of the fretting, answering the most important question, "Do we have enough beer?" Part of the "getting ready" process is the preparation of food for the freezer so we can just pop it into the oven when needed. Ginny is a great cook. This is a good example. She is preparing lasagne, a staple for the heat and eat crowd.

Now, we are not Italian. We are true blue middle Americans who like good food, not snob food. I am sure that Giada would gush over the preparation of lasagne on her show, choosing just the right noodles, spices and sauces; combining them in a particular way to provide the nuanced flavor that TV show gourmands require; and plating it on a weird shaped plate that gives it just the right presentation and capping it with a few grams of freshly grated parmigiana regiana, fresh from the cheese shop.

Well, I can tell you Ginny's lasagne beats the crap out of Giada's. As a matter of fact you can tell it from a quick glance at this photo. You will notice that the volume of noodles is quite small compared to the cheese and sauce. It appears to be about 3 to 1 cheese and sauce to noodles. Additionally, what you can't tell from the picture, the sauce is largely composed of meat. The tomato sauce part is there only for lubrication. What more could you want? Now, we'll garnish it with some of the pre-grated parmesan you get in the shaker bottle and wash it down with the adult beverage of your choice and VOILA, middle American gourmet dining at its finest! Eat your heart out Giada.