Because we wish we could be together...
Distant Creatures
Two Online Plays
Trudy, Carolyn, Martha and Regina Travel To Outer Space and Have A Pretty Terrible Time There
by James Kennedy
Remembering Richard Wills, 1948-2020
by J.Stephen Brantley
directed by Suzanne Agins
Sunday, July 19, 2020
7:00 PM
Online!
with
Carla Briscoe
Emilee Dupré
Sam Ellis
Carol Halstead
Logan Kovach
David Larsen
Linda Larson
Celina Polanco
Abby Royle
Eugenio Vargas
and a gourmet meal
lovingly prepared by...YOU!
Eating a shared meal is a huge part of being at an Upstart Creatures event, and we don't want to give up on that.
Please join us in making a wonderful vegetarian lasagna (plus a cosmo)! Recipes below, plus some video help from the Upstarts.
Trudy, Carolyn... is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.
(www.playscripts.com)
We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions:
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS, AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS, SAG-AFTRA
through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program.
We know some ingredients are hard to find these days, so feel free to substitute!
UPSTART ALISON'S FAMILY LASAGNA:
Make tomato sauce — or use whatever marinara is in your pantry!
Olive oil
2 onions
A few garlic cloves - crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes (or crushed, or diced, whatever you can find!)
Dried oregano and basil to taste (if you have fresh and want to use them, great – just add them towards the end)
A couple of bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of sugar (optional)
A few whole cloves (also optional)
Chop onions.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat, add onions, and cook for a few minutes before adding crushed garlic. Cook, stirring, until the onion is softened and just beginning to turn golden, but not browned.
Add a pinch of two or salt, then tomato paste. Cook off the tomato paste for few minutes (just to tame the astringency).
Run a knife through the tomatoes in the can and add to the pan, or just mash with a wooden spoon in the pan, till you reach a saucy consistency.
Add herbs, a pinch of sugar and clove if using.
Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes - until it begins to thicken. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Remove cloves and bay leaves before assembling lasagna (or before serving with any other type of pasta)!
Make filling:
Olive oil
1 package of chopped frozen spinach (anywhere from 10-16oz)
1 tub of ricotta or cottage cheese (full fat, ideally)
Nutmeg (if you have it — ideally whole and grated using the fine side of a box grater, or a microplane)
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and cook the spinach from frozen. The cooking is just to get rid of extra moisture. You can also use fresh spinach, but then you want to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
Stir in ricotta/cottage cheese (ratio should be roughly 50/50). Season with salt/pepper.
For super basic béchamel cheese sauce:
1 ½ Tbsp flour
1 ½ Tbsp butter (other fat substitutes work too though butter is nicest; the important thing is equal parts flour and fat)
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups Parmesan, or other freshly grated cheese (or packaged! it’s fine!
Salt and pepper to taste
Options depending on how much you like these flavors and/or whether you included them in the tomato sauce: nutmeg and/or a bay leaf simmered in the milk before adding to the roux
Make a roux: gently melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and stir to cook off the flour. It should bubble a little but not color.
Add the milk in a slow stream, while stirring. If you aren’t confident about making a roux, it can help to warm the milk in another saucepan before adding.
Bring it to a light boil and then reduce heat and simmer until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Stir in the cheese (slowly, so you don’t split the sauce) and add salt and pepper to taste. The cheese will further thicken the sauce.
Assembly:
Dried Lasagna sheets – No-boil sheets are the best. (Or make a baked ziti! Or stuffed shells! Use what you've got!)
Spread a little of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place dried lasagna sheets to cover the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of the spinach/cottage cheese mixture, then a layer of tomato sauce, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Keep adding layers of lasagna, spinach mixture, tomato sauce and cheese, until you get to the top of the pan. Pour over cheese sauce, sprinkle with more cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and place in a 350 - 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for about another 15 minutes until the top is browned in spots and pasta is tender. Let rest 10 – 15 minutes before serving. If you want to be fancy, some chopped green herbs on top looks nice.
NARDO'S JOURNEY TO THE COSMOS:
(makes 2 Cosmopolitans)
Ingredient list:
5 oz. Vodka (Citrus Vodka is preferred by many for this cocktail, but not required. Adam even prefers gin!)
1.5 oz. Cranberry juice (unsweetened if you like things more tart, cranberry juice cocktail if you like it sweeter)
1.5 oz. Triple Sec (Cointreu is recommended)
1 oz. Fresh lime juice (fresh squeezed is best, but in the middle of a pandemic, you might need to use bottled)
Ice cubes
Lime wheel or orange peel for garnish
Equipment:
Cocktail shaker (if you don't have a shaker, just fill a glass with ice and stir until nice and cold)
Cocktail strainer (or a spoon!)
Martini glass (any glasses will do)
Citrus juicer (this can be your hands)
Garnish knife (or a paring knife!)
Instructions:
Add vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec and lime juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain contents into a chilled martini glass and garnish with either a lime wheel or an orange peel.
