I happened to catch Throwdown with Bobby Flay yesterday; it was lasagna. The judges reviews of his spin on lasagna had me drooling. It's seems very labor intensive, but I'm definitely going to try it one of these days. Lasagna Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, 2007 See this recipe on air Saturday May. 10 at 4:30 PM ET/PT. Bolognese Sauce: 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 pounds pork shanks (on the bone) 3 pounds beef shanks (on the bone) Salt Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 pound pancetta, finely diced 1 1/2 cups finely diced Spanish onion 1/2 cup finely diced carrot 1/2 cup finely diced celery 4 whole garlic cloves 1 cup dry red wine 3 cups homemade beef or chicken stock 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices 4 fresh thyme sprigs 3 sprigs fresh rosemary 6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley 1 cup tomato sauce, recipe follows Chopped fresh parsley leaves Chopped fresh basil leaves Ricotta Mixture 3 cups ricotta, strained in a cheesecloth lined strainer for at least 4 hours 2 large eggs 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Salt Freshly ground black pepper Tomato Sauce 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large Spanish onion, finely diced 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves Bechamel (Mornay) Sauce 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 to 2 1/2 cups whole milk, heated Pinch freshly grated nutmeg Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup grated fontina cheese 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Assembly: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Bechamel Sauce 4 fresh sheets pasta, cooked for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling, salted water, drained or 1 pound lasagna noodles (cooked in boiling, salted water until slightly under al dente, about 5 minutes) Ricotta mixture Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Fresh basil leaves Bolognese Sauce For the Bolognese Sauce: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the shanks on both sides with salt and pepper, place in the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the shanks to a plate. Remove fat from the pan. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook until golden brown. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and lightly golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine, scrape the bottom of the pan and cook until completely reduced. Add the beef stock, diced tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and parsley and bring to a simmer. Add the shanks and 1/3 of the pancetta back to the pan, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Remove the shanks to a cutting board and when cool enough to handle, shred the meat into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl. Strain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Place 3 cups of the cooking liquid into a large high-sided saute pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Add the shredded meat and the remaining cooked pancetta to the pan along with 1 cup of the tomato sauce, parsley and basil and stir to combine and just heat through. For the Ricotta Mixture: Stir together the ricotta, eggs, parsley, basil, cheese and salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld. For the Tomato Sauce: Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and red chili flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bring to boil, season with salt and pepper and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and basil. For the Bechamel (Mornay) Sace: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of the hot milk and continue whisking until the sauce is thickened and loses its raw flavor, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season the sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper and whisk in the cheeses. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in some of the remaining milk. For Assembly: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Ladle a thin layer of bechamel evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of pasta dough, cut to fit the inside of the pan on top of the bechamel and top the pasta with the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Spread a thin layer of bechamel over the ricotta, sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan and some basil leaves. Top with another layer of pasta and spread the meat mixture evenly over the top. Ladle an even layer of bechamel over the Bolognese mixture, sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan and some basil leaves. Place the final layer of pasta dough over the meat mixture and ladle the bechamel over the top to completely cover the pasta and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of Parmesan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 25 to 35 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into slices and top with some of the tomato sauce, more grated cheese and chopped parsley and basil. Recipe Summary Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 55 minutes Yield: 6 to 8 servings

If you get the baking powder wet, it'll do its thing (or half if you have double action). The eggs can turn weird too. Can you assemble kits? Stir together all the dry ingredients and seal them in a ziploc, or just a covered mixing bowl since you'll be baking tomorrow. Measure out the wet ingredients individually in jars, and put the jars for a single recipe in an open container to keep them together, along with the whole eggs. Or maybe just use a food marker, or a piece of tape, to label each egg as to which batter it goes in so they're easy to grab. You could color code each recipe so you don't have to read the labels. Freezing is different than chilling. If you refrigerate the cakes, they could get tough. Cold causes the starches to tighten, which is what "stale" means. Better to make cakes that can be frozen a couple of days ahead and freeze them (freezing should suspend the starches rather than tightening them, plus cakes can be softer and fluffier after freezing), than closer to the day and refrigerate them. Good luck! That's an ambitious load, but it sounds delicious!

Scott I have made your lasagna one day and cooked and served the next day with excellent results. Just cover and refrigerate. It's better that way than cooked and reheated.

I make a lasagna every year in the early fall after the big garden harvest. Usually all veggie and sometimes a smaller side one like you did to have right away with the extra ingredients. Sometimes that one i add a top layer with a bit of prosciutto along with cheese. yum. I bake it in my big roaster pan and makes about 15 giant portions that i freeze to have throughout the fall/winter. I bake both to about 80%, cool, then portion and freeze. The smaller one i cool, then re-heat and bake again and get the top toasty. If for a crowd, the big one is always 80% baked the morning of or day before. I just don't take the foil off the first baking to toast. (but i do take the foil off when out of the oven to cool down faster for the fridge) Certain things meld and firm up and benefit from a pre-bake. Lasagna is top of that list. Or it may just be the way i make mine. A ricotta cream instead of a bechamel sauce. I save that version for when DH makes fresh pasta sheets and i have delicate ingredients like lobster or scallops. A more Italian style baked in individual oval ramekins. Usually just two pasta sheets not unlike a giant ravioli. It might be one of those things that can be carried out both ways. If using dense ingredients like a more American style with lots of sauce and cheese, prepping ahead and baking later should be fine. Mine packed with layers of veggies does best pre-baking.