With colorful Christmas décor like paper chain garlands, rainbow incandescent lights and whimsical, handmade ornaments trending, this Christmas has felt like stepping into the past. As a child of the ’90s, I’ve been loving every second of it! It also made me wonder: what made my childhood Christmases feel so magical to begin with?

Sure, the presents were exciting, but the moments I now feel nostalgic about were the ones that felt mundane as a kid. Waiting impatiently while my mom brewed her coffee before my siblings and I could open anything, eating warm, gooey Pillsbury cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven, and the smells wafting through the house as my dad spent all afternoon making homemade lasagna for dinner. Those are the memories that made Christmas truly special.

This year, in an effort to recreate that love at the heart of my nostalgia, I decided to take on my dad’s labor of love and make homemade lasagna for my family.

My dad’s original recipe included ricotta cheese, which he somehow always seemed to forget to buy. After several Christmas Eves spent sending his four children on ricotta hunts only to find stores closed, he eventually learned to make it from scratch. While I considered following his method, I opted for a more traditional lasagna recipe combining ragu with a bechamel sauce, based on Sofia Misabishvili’s recipe from her blog Sofiaa Foodie (Sofiaafoodie.com). Her recipe is a testament to simple ingredients coming together to make something extraordinary with deliberate time and effort.

I did make a few tweaks to elevate the flavors without straying too far from tradition: adding Italian sausage to the ragu, a bouquet garni of fresh thyme, rosemary and basil, a parmesan rind while the sauce simmered, parmesan in the bechamel (turning it into a mornay), and mozzarella between layers. The only shortcut? Oven-ready lasagna sheets instead of homemade pasta. (Though if you’re feeling ambitious, making your own pasta while the ragu simmers is a beautiful touch.)

The key to excellent lasagna is time. The longer the ragu simmers, the more the flavors develop. I let mine cook for about four and a half hours, though twelve is even better if you have it. Keep the heat low and stir occasionally to prevent burning. The beauty of this dish is that, although time-consuming, it scales easily – you can double, triple or quadruple the recipe and freeze several pans at once.

I visited my family a few days before Christmas and brought each of them a pan of lasagna, prompting both nostalgia for Christmases past and a chance to tease my dad about the always-forgotten ricotta. While presents are exciting, I hope anyone enjoying the holidays with friends, family and good food sees the memories being made for the gifts they truly are.

CHRISTMAS LASAGNA

Ingredients for Ragu:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb mild Italian sausage
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
2 tablespoons Mutti tomato paste
15 oz can Mutti crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan rind
Bouquet garni:
1 sprig fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 6 fresh basil leaves tied with baker’s twine
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Mornay Sauce:
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Ingredients for Assembly:
1 box oven-ready lasagna sheets
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil, chopped

Directions:
■ Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add vegetables and sauté until softened but not browned (5–10 minutes).
■ Add beef and sausage; cook until browned.
■ Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes over high heat.
■ Deglaze with red wine for 1–2 minutes, scraping browned bits.
■ Add crushed tomatoes, beef broth, herbs, parmesan rind, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. (Low heat; can simmer up to 12 hours.)
■ Remove bay leaf, bouquet garni, and parmesan rind before assembly.
■ About 30 minutes before assembling, make mornay sauce: gently heat milk in a small saucepan. In a separate pan, melt butter and whisk in flour. Cook 2–4 minutes over medium-low, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in warm milk. Simmer until thickened. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Parmigiano Reggiano; whisk until smooth.
■ Preheat oven to 400°F. In a 9×9 pan, layer: mornay sauce, lasagna sheets, ragu, thin layer mornay, mozzarella and basil. Repeat 3–4 layers.
■ Top with generous mornay and mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes until cheese is lightly browned.
■ Let set 20–30 minutes before slicing.

Kristin is a Columbus local and a graduate of MUW’s Culinary Arts Program. She lives downtown with her husband, Jon, her naughty cat Sokka and her retired sled dog, Megan. In her free time she enjoys baking, making stained glass art and hanging out with her friends. If you see her in town, say hi!