Real authentic cooking anywhere is using up what one has on hand at the time. Thanks for doing these videos out of your home kitchen (full trash bags and all). Hopefully they will help the people who are so worried about "doing it right" relax and enjoy exploring food.
Back in December 2019, I did at rotation at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) with Purdue University. Our commander, an Italian research scientist, wanted to make a pasta dish for Christmas with a béchamel (our rotation covered Christmas and New Years). However, we ran out of milk! There was a moment of sadness, and I said, "I'll make the Béchamel, you take care of everything else." Powdered Milk, Powdered Butter, Flour, Water, and a loooooooooooot of elbow grease. I'm talking like 20-30 min of vigorous stirring over low heat, but you can do it! Took forever for it to emulsify, but ended up in a delicious dish. :D
Talking about your different experiences with lasagna made me realize that the lasagna I make is completely untraditional, but I love it! I do a meat sauce with sausage and chuck and lamb. Then I add onions, carrots, garlic and 3 big cans of SM DOP whole peeled tomatoes and basil. Some red pepper flakes and whatever Parmesan or pecorino rinds I have lying around. I make my cheese layer with ricotta and low moisture mozzarella and a ton of pecorino with an egg yolk beaten into with tons more basil. Thanks Kenji for inspiring me to just do what I like and what tastes good!
It doesn’t sound untraditional except for the lamb. It’s pretty much what I make but not usually w/ “tons of basil.” I often use provolone layered in with the mozz layer, and actually I generally make it roughly by a certain framework, but it’s different every time depending on what I want to use up, what I have on hand. Probably you do the same. I’ve never made it w/ bechamel though, like Kenji does here.
Seriously kenji.. I am stopping in the middle of watching this video just to say thank you for giving us your youtube channel.. I am certainly a big fan and all this knowledge that you share is absolutely worth coming to see you cook things!
35 grams butter, 35 grams flour, 5 dl milk, is my go-to ratio (1 ounce, 1 ounce, 2 cups, roughly). And for the milk part I usually use some mixture of milk and cream with a final fat content of 5-10 %, because fat is tasty (also a good way to use up small quantities of leftover heavy cream, half-and-half, crème fraîche etc before they go bad on you).
@@JKenjiLopezAlt Ah, béchamel, the universal mother glue that binds all cooks together. In my experience, doing equal parts by volume often leads to too little flour. That is to say, I've messed up a few béchamels this way, which is why I now always go equal by weight. But I feel like this is one of those things where there's a few different ways to get to the same result, so it's best to find a method that works for you and stick with it until it's really reliable and intuitive, right?
When you mentioned hard-boiled eggs in lasagna from Southern Italy, that is the only time I've ever heard anyone else mention eggs in lasagna. Many years ago when I was a teenager my parents and I went to the house of a family (members of my mother's Bridge Club) for dinner, and they served lasagna. The lady of the house was of Italian descent and she had put a layer of fried eggs in the lasagna. It was beyond incredible.
Your cooking videos are just so jam-packed with information for the every day person, the food looks absolutely delicious, but always at the end, you throw some of the food to your dogs. That just completes the awesomeness. Keep up the great work, Kenji!
Not first but pinned, so first. EDIT: Re: the Garfield comment: Garfield notoriously was never intended to be funny! He was created as a marketable character, which Jim Davis, his creator, readily admits. Humor wasn't his goal, the goal of the strip was to offer some comfort in the exact same punchlines over and over, which in turn could then be marketed. Garfield hates mondays. Garfield is fat. Garfield is mean to Odie. Garfield loves lasagna... and that's about it. And it worked! www.quora.com/Garfield-comic-strip/Is-Garfield-supposed-to-be-funny?__pmsg__=+d3R4dkhwTUJUR1J3Ykc2M1VXQzU6YS5hcHAudmlldy5wbXNnLmFsbC5Mb2dnZWRJbkZyb21MaW5rOltbMzI1MzE4MF0sIHt9XQ**
Kenji: "I made a ragu, I made my own ricotta, I'll probably make a bechamel." Also Kenji: "These are just regular store-bought noodles." A truly relatable king.
With cold milk you can actually add it all at once, or in two batches if you're cautious. I don't know the physics behind it but it won't make lumps as long as you whisk thoroughly. The way Kenji is adding the milk here is even safer, and also let's you gauge the consistency better for small batches, (and is the only way of adding WARM milk to roux) but if you have your ratios down you can basically add cold milk as quickly as you want. (source: used to work in a school kitchen)
I always add my milk cold the way kenji does. I didnt have the time to waste heating milk. Glad to know its actually perfectly fine it never failed me.
@@elleboman8465 At the culinary school I attended you'd have to start again if you used a whisk. Of course, after being smacked round the head with the wooden spoon you were supposed to use
One of my favorite things about these videos is learning how to make use of what you got. Too often I get too caught up worrying that I don't have the right this or that, and then I see Kenji throw some queso oaxaca in his bechamal and remember that many (most?) ingredients exist on a spectrum.
I'm so happy I stumbled across this video because I've used those Barilla "oven ready" noodles about a half dozen times and they've always left something to be desired. The non-soaked noodles tend to dry out and become tough and I now know that soaking them is the key to getting them to cook properly. The fact that the noodles can be soaked in the lasagna pan is just a win for convenience. I have some turkey meatballs and fire-roasted tomatoes that might just wind up in some lasagna very soon... Thanks Kenji!
The best thing about your cooking is that you care enough to not only know the true recipes, but to also know the variants among the different offshoots of the culture. This is true "authenticity".: knowing that there is more than one way, but to actually know the ways.
Kenji your content is incredible, every video I'm learning new things. And your format of using a gopro, to me, is much more humble and real than other typical studio-produced instruction videos. I'm obsessed with your channel, keep it up!
For me the most helpful thing in this is when you make the bechamel. I've read how to do it and tried so many times but never have actually seen it come together by someone who knows how to do it. Thanks!
Best lasagna I ever had was in Rome cooked in a wood burning oven. I've tried to recreate it and I think it's a sausage ragù pretty similar to the one you made, besciamella, and scamorza cheese. The scamorza is a really nice touch.
excuse me SIR but you simply canNOT throw a cheesy, crispy, saucy pasta dish at me at 11:00 at night. the audacity to make me hungry and crave lasagna at this atrocious hour is inconceivable. how dare you.
I’m making this right now because I had the stuff, more or less. Kenji just may be the most knowledgeable chef on the planet. Experienced technique coupled with just enough science to make you dangerous. Such an inspiration.
Using the milk to make the ricotta is absolutely brilliant. I would have NEVER thought of that. How you use ingredients is truly incredible, I would love a whole series of tips just like that.
Dude you have the best cooking videos on RUclips. Your ability to communicate the process and thought behind cooking is top notch- even wordlessly such as in the recent late night nachos video. The simplicity and sincerity of these videos are so impressive to me. Not sure if that is valuable, but I said it anyway.
Ah, American lasagna is what I grew up with. No bechamel, regular wavy-edged lasagna noodles, special meat sauce, plus lots of ricotta, provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Final topping of Parmesan. Many layers! Much deliciousness!
0:42 i'm italian and i discovered thanks to this video that the traditional lasagna is made with spinach in the pasta, like i eat this dish almost every week and i have some friends from Bologna, i'm stunned
Love the doggo's get their taste. Got a wrinkly boi/grl/alt + a spud. I also love that Babish's channel is basically "let me show you what I learned from Kenji".
Finally I understand my mother-in-law’s lasagne - she grew up in Napoli! Hence the addition of egg! My mother in law, Rocchi, also add ham instead of sausage 😁
I hate parboiling lasagna sheets for lasagna so this way is so much more convenient! I LOVE lasagna, mmmm I could have it every day and not get sick of it! And so rich with ricotta AND bechamel sauce, yum yum yum!!!
It's becuse he clearly acknowledges how a lasagna bolognese is made. So we know he knows it and then can decide whether we stick around for his version or go back to pasta grannies lol.
@@DHGroove What happens there is mainly the kids getting quieter because otherwise they can't hear you. But yeah, works with people in generel who have some respect :D
I do the same on the phone - my best friend has a baby & if the baby's asleep and she's whispering, I'll whisper back. Even though we're on opposite ends of the country. The baby can not hear me. But just in case, I guess 🤷♀️
I love that you're cooking with all leftover stuff that you're cooking so it doesn't go bad/go to waste lol. That's 90 percent of how I cook in my kitchen, using leftovers and turning it into something new. Because my family hates eating leftovers or eating the same kind of meat/dish twice in a week. So I love that you're being resourceful! Very relatable!
Lasagna was the first proper meal that I learned how to cook, and it's still my go to when I'm trying to impress someone (mainly in the pursuit of romance).
Recommend learning Caldo de Pollo, it's a super easy Mexican chicken and rice soup that is very comforting and light because of the veggies and homemade stock always impresses
Watching you make the béchamel made me think of cheese dip and the possibility of you making a gourmet velveta-less cheese dip video that would be amazing!
Hey Kenji, what advice would you give to young aspiring cooks regarding how to fit in at a new workplace (kitchen)? I can properly do most of the stuff that's asked of me in a professional kitchen, but I still don't feel confident doing those things because of my lack of experience and I'm afraid that will have a negative effect on my growth as a cook
Just work hard and be willing to learn. Take notes. Don’t stand around. Offer to help. Learn as much as you can and if the workplace is toxic, as many kitchens are, don’t engage in that part of it and let it roll off you.
I just recently started watching your videos and I love them you make everything simple for someone who does not have the information of a professional cook keep up the good work
Whisk Florentine! I love the cook's illustrated method for soaking the no boil noodles and I've had Italians compliment my 'homemade noodles' lasagna.one tip I've picked up along the way is to alternate the directions of the noodles
Made it for first time ever few months back. I’d seen the pre soak sheet stage and was too lazy to do it. Now you’ve pointed out it absorbs some of the sauce and dries it out means I’ll have to do it next time. The authentic the nutmeg-y bechamel reminded me of this famous butchers who made pies and huge lasagne as part of his offering. It’s classic flavour
Thank you very helpful. Could you lease do one video where you break down the top 4 or 5 sauces? from proper to acceptable ingredients, to when it's done, overdone, underdone? and what they can be used for?.. Thanks. Great video very well explained how to make lasagna. Thank you.
It just means layers, any pasta will do. Lol. No matter what part of Italy your from everyone is doing something different, except the layers. My grandmother was directly from Italy as was my grandfather, one from the south one from the north and it was amazing to see the different cooking styles. With that being said nothing is wrong its just how you like to cook it. I miss my grandmothers clam sauce, that was amazing.
Just wanted to come back to this and say I made this lasagna with the latest ragu video for the sauce and it was the best lasagna I have made. There was plenty of sauce in the lasagna because my oven ready noodles didn't absorb it all like my last one after I soaked them. The sauce was a great compliment to everything and was shockingly easy to bring together using a lot of things I had around (had to go buy wine, doesn't last long in my house). All in all, surprisingly easy combination of recipes and exceeded all expectations.
this may be a dumb question; does cooking *almost* spoiled food extend its' life at all? or would you want to consume prepared dish in the same time frame you had planned to eat the individual ingredient?
So I took Kenji's advice (from another video) and made ricotta from my milk that was starting to go sour and I was pretty proud of the results. So I put the cheese in the fridge coz I didn't have a use for it at the time and I kept it in there for a few days until I noticed that the cheese went bad so I threw it out 🤦♂️ would've been easier to throw out the milk.
Whenever I watch Kenji put something in the oven, I always expect he’s going pull the rack out with his bare hands! I forget for a moment that he’s a real person!!
@11:00 talking about the baked ziti, used to get baked ziti at piccola venicia in the north end and man... I wish that place was still around so I could have that again
Always like seeing how other varieties of lasagna are made, even these modern american kitchen variations and I've no doubt it's delicious. I wish I could share with you the traditional lasagna from my family which originates in the Emilia Romana but is a bit different from the bolognese style typically associated with traditional style.
@@JKenjiLopezAlt The meat sauce is made using tomato paste (but only a relatively small amount) and is without bechamel; We use a variety of ground meat including beef, veal, and sausage/pork...turns out venison is quite good in it too...which is added to base of well carmelized onion and carrot/celery. and simmered with a few cloves and cinnamon (salt and pepper of course too)...it's layed using hand rolled sheets of spinach pasta as thin as is practical, partially boiled and allowed to cool and dry to a leather like texture, which is pretty conventional there...but then use a combination of cheeses including swiss, mozzarella/scamorzza, and good parmesan, layered with meat sauce and cheeses so that it results in 7 or 8 deep...baked till bubbling resulting in a pretty dense dish, served with more meat sauce on the side and of course more parmesan. And for me, it's best reheated the following day. Damn...I'm suffering some pretty profound nostalgia now. Cheerio.
Chef John would lamtent the absence of cayenne and the lack of a tap-a-tap-a before it went into the oven. Kenji's ability to pick up the correct amount of flour with a whisk is impressive. I could never bee that bold to even try it.
As someone who makes a lot of biscuits and gravy, if you ever add the milk to a bechamel too quickly and you get that clumping, don't toss it. Just pour it through a strainer, put the clumps back in the pan and let it heat up a bit before adding the milk slowly to the bechamel again.
Real authentic cooking anywhere is using up what one has on hand at the time.
Thanks for doing these videos out of your home kitchen (full trash bags and all). Hopefully they will help the people who are so worried about "doing it right" relax and enjoy exploring food.
First time I’ve seen Jamón go to the food instead of waiting for Kenji to bring it! Must be a lasagna fan
Jamón confirmed Garfield, what a twist.
Im one myself😌
Ohhhh, I wonder if it’s the tomato! Kenji mentioned once how much Jamón likes tomatoes.
VC CB
Rest in peace Jamón
Back in December 2019, I did at rotation at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) with Purdue University. Our commander, an Italian research scientist, wanted to make a pasta dish for Christmas with a béchamel (our rotation covered Christmas and New Years). However, we ran out of milk! There was a moment of sadness, and I said, "I'll make the Béchamel, you take care of everything else."
Powdered Milk, Powdered Butter, Flour, Water, and a loooooooooooot of elbow grease. I'm talking like 20-30 min of vigorous stirring over low heat, but you can do it! Took forever for it to emulsify, but ended up in a delicious dish. :D
more or less what you get if you buy powdered bechamel sauce, just without seasonings in yours
I'm jealous of whatever you do for a living.
If you just ran out of milk wouldn’t the powderd
Milk be good enough? lol like you said you only ran out of milk
You're a real hero.
powdered butter??? never heard of that.
Talking about your different experiences with lasagna made me realize that the lasagna I make is completely untraditional, but I love it! I do a meat sauce with sausage and chuck and lamb. Then I add onions, carrots, garlic and 3 big cans of SM DOP whole peeled tomatoes and basil. Some red pepper flakes and whatever Parmesan or pecorino rinds I have lying around.
I make my cheese layer with ricotta and low moisture mozzarella and a ton of pecorino with an egg yolk beaten into with tons more basil.
Thanks Kenji for inspiring me to just do what I like and what tastes good!
That sounds delicious!
It doesn’t sound untraditional except for the lamb. It’s pretty much what I make but not usually w/ “tons of basil.” I often use provolone layered in with the mozz layer, and actually I generally make it roughly by a certain framework, but it’s different every time depending on what I want to use up, what I have on hand. Probably you do the same. I’ve never made it w/ bechamel though, like Kenji does here.
Seriously kenji.. I am stopping in the middle of watching this video just to say thank you for giving us your youtube channel.. I am certainly a big fan and all this knowledge that you share is absolutely worth coming to see you cook things!
It’s free too🙏🏽
"some measurement of butter to some measurement of flour to a different measurement of milk"
The good old some-tric system.
35 grams butter, 35 grams flour, 5 dl milk, is my go-to ratio (1 ounce, 1 ounce, 2 cups, roughly). And for the milk part I usually use some mixture of milk and cream with a final fat content of 5-10 %, because fat is tasty (also a good way to use up small quantities of leftover heavy cream, half-and-half, crème fraîche etc before they go bad on you).
In US measures I do about 1 TB of butter, 1 TB of flour, and 1 cup of milk. Basically the same ratio as yours.
I am now going to remember 2TB is 35gms.
Tablespoons not terabyte, I guess
that depends on the density of the ingredient. A tablespoon is a volume measure, grams are mass.
@@JKenjiLopezAlt Ah, béchamel, the universal mother glue that binds all cooks together.
In my experience, doing equal parts by volume often leads to too little flour. That is to say, I've messed up a few béchamels this way, which is why I now always go equal by weight. But I feel like this is one of those things where there's a few different ways to get to the same result, so it's best to find a method that works for you and stick with it until it's really reliable and intuitive, right?
When you mentioned hard-boiled eggs in lasagna from Southern Italy, that is the only time I've ever heard anyone else mention eggs in lasagna. Many years ago when I was a teenager my parents and I went to the house of a family (members of my mother's Bridge Club) for dinner, and they served lasagna. The lady of the house was of Italian descent and she had put a layer of fried eggs in the lasagna. It was beyond incredible.
Your cooking videos are just so jam-packed with information for the every day person, the food looks absolutely delicious, but always at the end, you throw some of the food to your dogs. That just completes the awesomeness. Keep up the great work, Kenji!
Not first but pinned, so first.
EDIT:
Re: the Garfield comment:
Garfield notoriously was never intended to be funny! He was created as a marketable character, which Jim Davis, his creator, readily admits. Humor wasn't his goal, the goal of the strip was to offer some comfort in the exact same punchlines over and over, which in turn could then be marketed. Garfield hates mondays. Garfield is fat. Garfield is mean to Odie. Garfield loves lasagna... and that's about it.
And it worked! www.quora.com/Garfield-comic-strip/Is-Garfield-supposed-to-be-funny?__pmsg__=+d3R4dkhwTUJUR1J3Ykc2M1VXQzU6YS5hcHAudmlldy5wbXNnLmFsbC5Mb2dnZWRJbkZyb21MaW5rOltbMzI1MzE4MF0sIHt9XQ**
dang he got pinned lucky guy
I love you, Kenji!!
me too kenji
!!
this guy so lucky to be first and pinned!
Kenji: "I made a ragu, I made my own ricotta, I'll probably make a bechamel."
Also Kenji: "These are just regular store-bought noodles."
A truly relatable king.
How can you not love this guy, hes so relaxing when he cooks
I immediately remembered Chef John's advice when Kenji was adding the milk straight from the fridge:
"Hot roux, cold milk, no lumps".
I always thought that was a nod to Martin Yan, "Hot wok, cold oil, food won't stick."
With cold milk you can actually add it all at once, or in two batches if you're cautious. I don't know the physics behind it but it won't make lumps as long as you whisk thoroughly. The way Kenji is adding the milk here is even safer, and also let's you gauge the consistency better for small batches, (and is the only way of adding WARM milk to roux) but if you have your ratios down you can basically add cold milk as quickly as you want. (source: used to work in a school kitchen)
I always add my milk cold the way kenji does. I didnt have the time to waste heating milk. Glad to know its actually perfectly fine it never failed me.
@@elleboman8465 At the culinary school I attended you'd have to start again if you used a whisk. Of course, after being smacked round the head with the wooden spoon you were supposed to use
@@russyJ20 Thanks for the reminder to never go to culinary school :^P
One of my favorite things about these videos is learning how to make use of what you got. Too often I get too caught up worrying that I don't have the right this or that, and then I see Kenji throw some queso oaxaca in his bechamal and remember that many (most?) ingredients exist on a spectrum.
I've been waiting for 10 years for this video
Today is a good day
Your videos during this pandemic have been a godsend. I look forward to each new video, thanks Kenji.
I'm so happy I stumbled across this video because I've used those Barilla "oven ready" noodles about a half dozen times and they've always left something to be desired. The non-soaked noodles tend to dry out and become tough and I now know that soaking them is the key to getting them to cook properly. The fact that the noodles can be soaked in the lasagna pan is just a win for convenience. I have some turkey meatballs and fire-roasted tomatoes that might just wind up in some lasagna very soon...
Thanks Kenji!
Kenji's out here making me a happy camper pronouncing where my family is from so perfect. ❤️
Can I just say how much I appreciate you being REAL about whats in your fridge and how you are making it?
The best thing about your cooking is that you care enough to not only know the true recipes, but to also know the variants among the different offshoots of the culture. This is true "authenticity".: knowing that there is more than one way, but to actually know the ways.
I was waiting for a Kenji lasagna
Cheers from Montreal 🇨🇦
🍻 from Ottawa
Cannibalism much
The best tip I got from this video was using the whisk to grab the flour. Save a spoon and it looks like just enough!
Kenji your content is incredible, every video I'm learning new things. And your format of using a gopro, to me, is much more humble and real than other typical studio-produced instruction videos. I'm obsessed with your channel, keep it up!
For me the most helpful thing in this is when you make the bechamel. I've read how to do it and tried so many times but never have actually seen it come together by someone who knows how to do it. Thanks!
Best lasagna I ever had was in Rome cooked in a wood burning oven. I've tried to recreate it and I think it's a sausage ragù pretty similar to the one you made, besciamella, and scamorza cheese. The scamorza is a really nice touch.
excuse me SIR but you simply canNOT throw a cheesy, crispy, saucy pasta dish at me at 11:00 at night. the audacity to make me hungry and crave lasagna at this atrocious hour is inconceivable. how dare you.
that first bit when he can’t fit his face in the screen always makes me laugh
It's the charming signature of a Kenji video 😊
It screams dad energy 😂 I love it
I saw this video right as I was going to bed, guess that's waiting 24 minutes.
Preach bother!
Same here lol
Watching these videos before bed is always a bad idea lol
Big mood
Facts brother
That grams conversion was hilarious 😂😂😂
I’m making this right now because I had the stuff, more or less. Kenji just may be the most knowledgeable chef on the planet. Experienced technique coupled with just enough science to make you dangerous. Such an inspiration.
I love how you ALWAYS end by giving your dogs samples! A man after my own heart!
Using the milk to make the ricotta is absolutely brilliant. I would have NEVER thought of that. How you use ingredients is truly incredible, I would love a whole series of tips just like that.
i just want to curl up into my blanket on a cold winter night and have Kenji say Ricotta to me over and over again
Dude you have the best cooking videos on RUclips. Your ability to communicate the process and thought behind cooking is top notch- even wordlessly such as in the recent late night nachos video. The simplicity and sincerity of these videos are so impressive to me. Not sure if that is valuable, but I said it anyway.
My Firsties LOVE “Every Night is Pizza Night” especially the French Onion P…. bit!
Ah, American lasagna is what I grew up with. No bechamel, regular wavy-edged lasagna noodles, special meat sauce, plus lots of ricotta, provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Final topping of Parmesan. Many layers! Much deliciousness!
Made this lasagne yesterday and it was bangin. I love not having to look at a recipe/exact measurements and it still comes out amazing. Thanks Kenji!
Love the tip about soaking the oven-ready sheets!
I was going to make a good-natured joke at Chicago's expense, but I just can't be mad at baked ziti with lasagna ingredients. That sounds amazing.
0:42 i'm italian and i discovered thanks to this video that the traditional lasagna is made with spinach in the pasta, like i eat this dish almost every week and i have some friends from Bologna, i'm stunned
so basically you have a lot of things that will go bad and then you turn all of those things into delicious lasagna? so awesome
I love the transitions, so smooth
Love the doggo's get their taste. Got a wrinkly boi/grl/alt + a spud. I also love that Babish's channel is basically "let me show you what I learned from Kenji".
"this week on 'Kenji burns himself eating', we have lasagna"
Finally I understand my mother-in-law’s lasagne - she grew up in Napoli! Hence the addition of egg! My mother in law, Rocchi, also add ham instead of sausage 😁
I love how you teach us little tips along the way!
I hate parboiling lasagna sheets for lasagna so this way is so much more convenient! I LOVE lasagna, mmmm I could have it every day and not get sick of it! And so rich with ricotta AND bechamel sauce, yum yum yum!!!
I made lasagna 2 days ago. Kenji's original advice about soaking regular lasagna was Perfect!
Suspicious absence of angry Italians in the comments...
I like how you pronounced Barilla as if it was a Spanish word :) Grazie per la ricetta, Kenji.
It's becuse he clearly acknowledges how a lasagna bolognese is made. So we know he knows it and then can decide whether we stick around for his version or go back to pasta grannies lol.
@@gabrielepumo9784 both Bolognese and Neapolitan! Mad respect from me! (Born and raised Napoletano here!) - Kenji did a very good job imho!
Daje rega bella pe er sor kenji
LOL!
Funnily enough, one of my friends just challenged me to a lasagna cook off. He’s gonna learn I just got the kenji secrets haha
Did you win?
You can hear Shabu tap dancing in excitement 😂
I would take "Kenji's dog" but if the position of "Kenji's neighbour" opens up, please let me know.
Who wouldn't?
There would be a lot of applicants for that position.
Love the content, found you a few weeks ago. The late night recipes with a drink on the side as you prep is my kinda vibe. Cheers
One of my favourite cooking channels
Not the best editing but the content is 🔥 💯
Milk about to go sour.
Me: Drink the whole milk.
Kenji: Make a cooking show in the middle of the night.
These videos are the best on RUclips I swear
It’s funny, when Kenji is being quiet I feel the need to lower the volume because I think I need to be quiet
As someone who used to teach young kids, this also works in the classroom! Well, most of the time :)
@@DHGroove What happens there is mainly the kids getting quieter because otherwise they can't hear you. But yeah, works with people in generel who have some respect :D
I do the same on the phone - my best friend has a baby & if the baby's asleep and she's whispering, I'll whisper back.
Even though we're on opposite ends of the country. The baby can not hear me. But just in case, I guess 🤷♀️
idk if is been said before but I really love the small edits you add with the different angles Kenji - much love!
I love your channel, you got a vibe I can really relate too! Great cook and person.
I love that you're cooking with all leftover stuff that you're cooking so it doesn't go bad/go to waste lol. That's 90 percent of how I cook in my kitchen, using leftovers and turning it into something new. Because my family hates eating leftovers or eating the same kind of meat/dish twice in a week. So I love that you're being resourceful! Very relatable!
Lasagna was the first proper meal that I learned how to cook, and it's still my go to when I'm trying to impress someone (mainly in the pursuit of romance).
Romance ain't dead, rawdog.
Not a bad date night meal
Romance and hopefully rawdog afterwards, amirite? k, I’ll see myself out
This guy fucks. Appropriate username
Recommend learning Caldo de Pollo, it's a super easy Mexican chicken and rice soup that is very comforting and light because of the veggies and homemade stock always impresses
Your take on the metric measures is totally priceless!
your videos make me calm, thank you
Watching you make the béchamel made me think of cheese dip and the possibility of you making a gourmet velveta-less cheese dip video that would be amazing!
This video reminds me of watching my Mom make home made “American lasagna” 😉 growing up in California too. Cheers
Glad to see even great chefs just dig in right away and burn their mouth lol and that it's not just me
Hey Kenji, what advice would you give to young aspiring cooks regarding how to fit in at a new workplace (kitchen)?
I can properly do most of the stuff that's asked of me in a professional kitchen, but I still don't feel confident doing those things because of my lack of experience and I'm afraid that will have a negative effect on my growth as a cook
Just work hard and be willing to learn. Take notes. Don’t stand around. Offer to help. Learn as much as you can and if the workplace is toxic, as many kitchens are, don’t engage in that part of it and let it roll off you.
@J. Kenji López-Alt I think this advice is perfect for any work environment. Don't engage! Negativity is contagious!
@@JKenjiLopezAlt thanks a lot Kenji! I really appreciate it
@@GSM3019 good luck! you got this!
@@RamtheCowy thanks!
It makes sense what he said about odds and ends- lasagna is a casserole and casseroles are all about using up what you already have lying around.
I’ve been craving hearty comfort food like lasagna all summer. I blame the pandemic. Thanks for the video!
You absolute God. How did you know this is one of my favorite meals? And now your telling me I can cook it like a pro?
Like life....kitchens are sometimes a bit messy!! Thanks for sharing your creative talents!!
I just recently started watching your videos and I love them you make everything simple for someone who does not have the information of a professional cook keep up the good work
Whisk Florentine!
I love the cook's illustrated method for soaking the no boil noodles and I've had Italians compliment my 'homemade noodles' lasagna.one tip I've picked up along the way is to alternate the directions of the noodles
Made it for first time ever few months back. I’d seen the pre soak sheet stage and was too lazy to do it. Now you’ve pointed out it absorbs some of the sauce and dries it out means I’ll have to do it next time. The authentic the nutmeg-y bechamel reminded me of this famous butchers who made pies and huge lasagne as part of his offering. It’s classic flavour
The fact that a professional chef is casually cooking food for us is astounding
I love the use of plain yogurt in the ricotta mixture. I frequently sub in full fat yogurt with cheese mixtures or any place I would use sour cream.
DAWG that excessively long and tiny wooden spoon you tasted the sauce with needs more screen time.
Thank you very helpful. Could you lease do one video where you break down the top 4 or 5 sauces? from proper to acceptable ingredients, to when it's done, overdone, underdone? and what they can be used for?.. Thanks. Great video very well explained how to make lasagna. Thank you.
It just means layers, any pasta will do. Lol. No matter what part of Italy your from everyone is doing something different, except the layers. My grandmother was directly from Italy as was my grandfather, one from the south one from the north and it was amazing to see the different cooking styles. With that being said nothing is wrong its just how you like to cook it. I miss my grandmothers clam sauce, that was amazing.
Just wanted to come back to this and say I made this lasagna with the latest ragu video for the sauce and it was the best lasagna I have made. There was plenty of sauce in the lasagna because my oven ready noodles didn't absorb it all like my last one after I soaked them. The sauce was a great compliment to everything and was shockingly easy to bring together using a lot of things I had around (had to go buy wine, doesn't last long in my house). All in all, surprisingly easy combination of recipes and exceeded all expectations.
Kenji way to 1 million, let's goooo!
Rather than soak the sheets, I just make my sauces thinner, the effect is the same & it saves me having to reduce or soak things.
My first foray into lasagna making was from The Food Lab! Excellent recipe, the in-laws loved it. Thanks Kenji!
this madman took a bite out of a lasagna straight from the oven. love it
Kenji,
You are the man that I want to be, and you lead the life that I want to lead. Thank you for reminding me that it's possible.
Thanks, Kenji. I learn a lot from your cooking tutorials.
Chavo knows exactly when to show up in every episode. He's my spirit animal.
this may be a dumb question; does cooking *almost* spoiled food extend its' life at all? or would you want to consume prepared dish in the same time frame you had planned to eat the individual ingredient?
Cooking absolutely extends life. It kills bacteria and drives off moisture, both of which will slow spoilage.
This was a good question!
Congrats on the launch of your new book Kenji! Been trying to get a copy of it for my little cousins
I'd love to see a "what's in my fridge (and why?)" video 😋 I currently enjoy your book over the Holidays - greetings from Germany!
Love your videos. This one was hilarious because I stopped it to go check the timer in my kitchen. Turns out it was your oven timer!
So I took Kenji's advice (from another video) and made ricotta from my milk that was starting to go sour and I was pretty proud of the results. So I put the cheese in the fridge coz I didn't have a use for it at the time and I kept it in there for a few days until I noticed that the cheese went bad so I threw it out 🤦♂️ would've been easier to throw out the milk.
@@xXJokerAtWorkXx Yeah, I didn't think I needed to because it was a small amount.
Whenever I watch Kenji put something in the oven, I always expect he’s going pull the rack out with his bare hands! I forget for a moment that he’s a real person!!
@11:00 talking about the baked ziti, used to get baked ziti at piccola venicia in the north end and man... I wish that place was still around so I could have that again
best roux tutorial I've seen, brill
It’s 1 am. I have school tomorrow. I have 2 tests and a quiz.
But kenji uploaded so it can wait
You gonna fail your tests and quiz.
The Food Lab arrived a couple days ago, and my copy of Every Night is Pizza Night is supposed to arrive today!
Always like seeing how other varieties of lasagna are made, even these modern american kitchen variations and I've no doubt it's delicious. I wish I could share with you the traditional lasagna from my family which originates in the Emilia Romana but is a bit different from the bolognese style typically associated with traditional style.
How is it different?
@@JKenjiLopezAlt The meat sauce is made using tomato paste (but only a relatively small amount) and is without bechamel; We use a variety of ground meat including beef, veal, and sausage/pork...turns out venison is quite good in it too...which is added to base of well carmelized onion and carrot/celery. and simmered with a few cloves and cinnamon (salt and pepper of course too)...it's layed using hand rolled sheets of spinach pasta as thin as is practical, partially boiled and allowed to cool and dry to a leather like texture, which is pretty conventional there...but then use a combination of cheeses including swiss, mozzarella/scamorzza, and good parmesan, layered with meat sauce and cheeses so that it results in 7 or 8 deep...baked till bubbling resulting in a pretty dense dish, served with more meat sauce on the side and of course more parmesan. And for me, it's best reheated the following day. Damn...I'm suffering some pretty profound nostalgia now. Cheerio.
Chef John would appreciate the freakishly small spoon
I'm sure he'd also mention "hot roux, cold milk, no lumps!"
And some FRESHly ground nutmeg
Chef John would lamtent the absence of cayenne and the lack of a tap-a-tap-a before it went into the oven. Kenji's ability to pick up the correct amount of flour with a whisk is impressive. I could never bee that bold to even try it.
@@epistte But, you are after all the Cat Power of whisk-measured flour.
But not the lack of cayenne! :P
Corner pieces on lasagna is always the best part
It’s interesting to see a mixture of béchamel and ricotta, I’ve only always had it with one or the other .
As someone who makes a lot of biscuits and gravy, if you ever add the milk to a bechamel too quickly and you get that clumping, don't toss it. Just pour it through a strainer, put the clumps back in the pan and let it heat up a bit before adding the milk slowly to the bechamel again.