We were planning a casual dinner party with friends and wanted to make something special, and we also wanted not to compromise our evening trapped in the kitchen over the hot stove. After a turn through the recipe box, we came across one of our favorite pasta dishes, a shrimp and four cheese lasagna that is deliciously decadent and easy to make. It looks like a fancy dish so you’ll impress your guests without exhausting yourself in the process.

We went to our seafood section at the grocery store and found some beautiful shrimp. If you can’t find something already peeled and deveined, ask the fishmonger to take care of that for you. The shrimp offer a nice bit of elegance to the final presentation of the dish. Now for the cheese: we’ve got a wonderful blend of four kinds of Italian cheese, fontina, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan and each one adds something special to the dish. To contrast the decadence of the cheese, we add a little brightness and crisp flavor with lemon zest in the cheese mixture and lemon juice over the shrimp. What we end up with is layer upon layer of richness that is balanced with light citrus flavor and lemon-tossed shrimp.

An elegant meal is ready in no time, and we’re left with plenty of time to socialize with our friends. A side salad and a slice of crispy bread are all we need to complete the dinner, and we’ve not compromised our desire to make something amazing with our desire to enjoy time with good friends. This will be a restaurant-quality meal made with love right in our own kitchen. Our shrimp and four cheese lasagna doesn’t require an occasion – with ingredients like this, we can whip this up for a nice family meal during the week, too. There’s no better way to spoil friends or family than with a lovely meal made fresh at home.