My first "real" job out of college was working as a writer for a man who was a complete character. I idolized him and his wife, who was a columnist for a big paper & would say things like, "You'd be surprised what a good shoemaker can do." (!) They left me stunned with their sophistication and witty repartee. They had a Golden Retriever, Max, and I would occasionally & happily dogsit/housesit for them, which I found completely glorious since I was broke and living at home, and they had four things I loved: a dog; an espresso machine; a kick-ass sound system (of course, Bosslady owned an Edith Piaf cd -- wha?!); and a loose supply of Haagen-Dazs (usually macadamia brittle -- something I would have *never* thought to buy). During one of these house/dog-sitting adventures, I discovered the cookbooks of the Mistress of the House. James "Beard on Pasta" was one of them, and to my 25-year-old mind, it seemed thee height of extravagance to have a cookbook JUST ON PASTA! I never forgot about it, and many, many years later, I acquired a copy. There is a recipe inside for a Basil Lasagne, which has just basil-flavored ricotta tucked into two layers of noodles. I resorted to this once when I had company coming and few ingredients on hand, and it was light and yummy. Very simple.
So here it is again, light and summery, with the simplest sauce of San Marzano plum tomatoes imbued with a couple cloves of garlic and some good olive oil.
James Beard is dead; and the couple I thought had it all, is divorced. But we still have lasagne, and boy, is it good!
p.s. Tony Bourdain says Beard was reportedly kind of a prick.
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