Lasagna!

(not her lasagna... just for illustration)

Although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy, the word "lasagna" comes from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning "trivet or stand for a pot", "chamber pot. The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", in Latin, meaning "cooking pot". The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. It wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.

Another theory suggests that lasagna might come from Greek λάγανον (laganon), a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.

The recipe was featured in the first cookbook ever written in England, leading to an urban legend that the dish originated in the British Isles. The claim is dubious, in light of the much earlier Roman use of "lasanum".
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasagna]

Every once in awhile, Faye cooks lasagna. This is a special time because her lasagna is to die for (not die from). I am sure it is because of the special recipe that she has developed and the ingredients she has added to it over the years.

The problem is that she doesn't make it often enough... for me. She makes it too often for her. It's a lot of work. First, there's the shopping for the particular Italian sausage and other meats she uses and all the ingredients and spices that have been used up on other dishes. Wine was purchased for the occasion. Then there is the cooking of the meats. This is all done ahead of time, a day or so ahead. But there is still the preparation on the day the lasagna is finally prepared.

Plus, because this is a special occasion and guests will be here, there's the cleaning to be done. Not that there isn't cleaning done on other days but this is that extra cleaning that is done for guests. The counters will be empty, the chairs and various tables will be unburdened of the magazines and leftover mail that hasn't been filed or tossed out. I will have to put away the laptop which normally graces the coffee table in front of the TV. I will wait until the last moments for this, I suspect, as I usually do.

A fresh tablecloth will be laid out. Clothes will be put away (or tossed in the hamper). The back porch will even be swept. I even cleaned (partially anyway) the gutters of the pine needles which clog them most of the time.

Yes, even I do some work on these occasions. And cheerfully. Because there is nothing quite like Faye's lasagna. And I encourage her to make a lot. So there will be leftovers. Because even frozen and then thawed and heated in the microwave, it is the best lasagna I have ever tasted.

And tonight is that special night.



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