For a British woman (in heritage as well as in culinary style), my mother has certainly churned out many a lasagne. I remember nibbling on warm, just-cooked noodles right out of the strainer in the kitchen while she piled all the ingredients into the pan on Sunday afternoons more times than my waistline might suggest. I remember grating the mozzarella for her and lining up the narrow, rectangular noodles “just so” and taste-testing the sauce when she wasn't looking. It was a delight to put so much time and effort into a dish that always turned out delicious, no matter the changes made each time it was put together.

I also remember when her favourite lasagne pan broke. She actually looked as though she might cry when she told me about a year ago. It was just a white Corning Ware Roaster, probably twelve by ten by 2 inches. It had the traditional Corning Ware cornflower blue detail on the side and the inside was filled with stains that appeared to be from Victorian era - all from her lasagnes. THIS was her pan for baking the best lasagne in the world…when it broke I think she actually stopped making lasagne for a while. I replaced it with my own Anchor Hocking 3L roasting pan, which she took to immediately. Of course when I attempted to take it back about a month ago she insisted it was hers…so S. and I went out and got me a new one – I wanted to make lasagne for the Super Bowl party we were invited to.

When you make things such as chilli, home-made soup or lasagne -- recipes that you have learned from someone else by watching, helping and asking questions -- your recipe will of course, always be different. Different from the last time you made it, different from the last time you saw them make it, different from anyone else’s recipe.

Every time I make a lasagne my technique is learned from my mother but the ingredients and taste are always different. For instance, I make a fabulous vegetarian lasagne, which my mother happens to think is blasphemous. I also make a pretty fantastic meat-lovers lasagne, which is different than my mom’s but follows the same principles. Meat: ground beef AND some type of sausage, whatever veggies you like and happen to have on hand and some sort of cheesy layer with ricotta, mascarpone or cottage cheese…or a delightful mixture of all three.

It's the principles behind all cooking that matter most: cook from your heart and not from your head and it will always be scrumptious. Guaranteed.