Sometimes the best dinners don’t need a recipe. In this episode of In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin, Renee and Harry make it up as they go along with ingredients they have on hand. Before you know it, a few pantry staples—including a jar of Harry’s Famous Sauce—and fresh veggies become a delicious, improvised lasagna. Then, we learn a thing or two about improv from the hilarious comedy podcasters Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.

Roasted Veggie Lasagna with Harry’s Famous Rosemary Red Wine Sauce  
Serves 8-10 

Ingredients: 

1 small head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets 

1 small head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets 

2 large zucchini, cut into ½-inch-thick batons  

1 large globe eggplant, cut into ½-inch-thick cubes 

Extra-virgin olive oil 

Flake salt and freshly ground black pepper  

1 ½ -2 jars store-bought Harry’s Famous Rosemary Red Wine Sauce  

3 (7oz) containers grass-fed buffalo mozzarella, patted dry and thinly sliced  

2 cups freshly-grated Parmesan cheese  

1 (1lb/ 25 noodles) box no-boil lasagna noodles, slightly hydrated in hot water *See Cook’s Note   

For the Bechamel sauce: 

1 yellow onion, halved  

6 whole cloves  

2 cups organic grass-fed milk 

1 fresh bay leaf 

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, plus more, to taste  

Flake salt and freshly ground black pepper 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter  

3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour  

Instructions:
Arrange an oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 400 degrees F.  

To roast the veggies: arrange all on 2 separate baking sheets in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and season with flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven, rotating the pans halfway through, for 20-25 minutes until softened and lightly browned (You want the veggies to remain al dente -with a slight crunch - to avoid leeching too much moisture into the lasagna.). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature. 

Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.  

To make the Bechamel:  Pierce the outside layer of the onion with the cloves, pushing 3 cloves into each half all the way in, to stud the onions. Add the clove-studded onion halves into a medium saucepan. Add the milk, bay leaf, a couple passes of fresh nutmeg on a microplane, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Heat on medium-low until bubbles form around the perimeter of the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse the flavors. After 30 minutes, remove the clove-studded onion and bay leaf.  

In a separate, medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter to melt. Add the flour and whisk to form a roux. Cook for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the infused milk, vigorously whisking to avoid clumps. Cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling and coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg. Remove from the heat and set aside to build the lasagna.  

To assemble the lasagna: Into the bottom of a 9x13” baking dish, spoon 3 tablespoons of Harry’s Famous Rosemary Red Wine sauce and spread evenly to coat. Distribute a single layer of mixed roasted veggies on top. Top with a single layer of 4-6 (depending on how the noodles are oriented) hydrated noodles. Ladle a heaping cup of bechamel sauce on top to fully cover the noodles. Top with slices of mozzarella to evenly cover the sauce. Then top with a thin layer of Rosemary Red sauce to evenly cover the cheese. Repeat the layer 2 more times, finishing with a top layer of bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top of the bechamel to cover.  

Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling, turning the dish halfway to ensure even browning.  

*Cook’s Note: Soaking the no-boil noodles in hot water gives them a slight head start in the cooking process and ensures no hard, crispy corners.  


Crisp Romaine & Frisee Salad with Toasted Walnuts, Parmesan & Lemon Dressing 
Serves 4  

Ingredients:

For Harry’s Lemon Dressing: 

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon) 

2 lemons, juiced (yield: ¼ cup)  

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste  

For the Salad: 

½ red onion, sliced and added to a bowl of ice water for 20 minutes. Pat dry. 

1 head romaine, chopped  

1 head frisee (or romaine heart), inner tender leaves only (reserve the outer leaves for another use) 

½ cup toasted walnut halves, roughly chopped into pearl-size pieces 

To serve: 

Shaved Parmesan cheese  

Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste  

Warm, store-bought or homemade focaccia bread with room temperature, salted butter  

Instructions:

To make the dressing: In a small mixing bowl, add the lemon zest and juice. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside. 

To make the salad: To a large mixing bowl, add the lettuces, red onion and walnuts, reserving some for garnish. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over and lightly toss to coat. Divide the salad among serving plates. Finish with shaved Parmesan and a sprinkling of flaky salt and black pepper.  


Mini Sugar Cookies with Hot Spiced Chai Lattes 
Makes 2 dozen cookies (depending on the size of the cut-outs)  
 

Ingredients:

For the sugar cookies: 

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

½ teaspoon baking powder  

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature  

½ cup granulated sugar 

1 large egg, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Instructions: 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until the butter is lighter in color and fluffy (scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, as needed), 4-6 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on slow speed until just incorporated.  

Line a clean, flat work surface with a double-wide layer of plastic wrap. Turn the dough out onto the plastic wrap and gently push the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to rolling out.  

Arrange an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out on a lightly-floured work surface until it is ¼-inch thick. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut out the dough and place the cut-outs onto a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can decorate the cookies or serve as is.  

For the Hot Spiced Chai Tea Lattes:
Ingredients: 
1 quart organic whole milk, plus 1 cup cold milk for foam 

4-5 Chai Rooibos tea bags (such as Nuni brand) 

1 jar local wildflower honey  

Instructions:
To make the chai tea: Heat the milk and tea bags in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form around the perimeter of the pan. Do not boil. Turn off the heat, add a couple spoonfuls of honey, to melt, and cover the pot to steep for 5-10 minutes until infused. While the tea is steeping, make the milk foam. 

Pour the milk into an electric milk frother and choose the desired setting/level of foam. Set aside for just a moment. 

Remove the lid from the steeped tea and extract the tea bags, gently squeezing them to release flavor without breaking the bag. Pour the tea into serving mugs and top with cold milk foam.  


In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin airs on Wednesday nights at 11/10c on IFC. Episodes are available to stream on ifc.com (with a cable provider login). You can also watch episodes via AMC+ at amcplus.com or through the new AMC+ app available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku plus Samsung and Vizio smart TVs. AMC+ can also be streamed through a variety of providers, including AppleTV, Prime Video Channels, DirectTV, Dish, Roku Channel, Sling, and Xfinity. Sign up for AMC+ now.