eggplant parm

i could eat eggplant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  a lot of people THINK they don't like it, but when it's fried and smothered in sauce and cheese, i really don't see how anyone couldn't enjoy it.  here's my recipe, give it a try!

ingredients:
3 cups italian breadcrumbs
egg-wash made from 3 large eggs
flour for dredging
vegetable oil for frying
tomato sauce (use any kind you'd like, jarred or homemade!)
one bag grated mozzarella
one bag grated parmesan (you can grate it yourself if you'd like, but i bought mine in a bag)
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella (cut thinly)
1 big eggplant or 2 small ones


to prepare:
cut the eggplant into even slices about 1/2 in. thick
put it in a strainer and salt it (this will pull the moisture out of the eggplant so that it's not soggy when you fry it)
put flour (I add salt and pepper to my flour, that's totally optional), egg-wash, and bread crumbs  into 3 separate bowls
dredge eggplant slice into the flour (tap off excess), then the egg-wash (again, drip off excess), and finally into the bread crumbs.  Set aside on a plate or a cookie sheet.  repeat until all of the eggplant slices are breaded
cover the bottom of a big frying pan with oil and put on med-heat.  you want the pan to be hot enough that the eggplant will sizzle when you drop it in, but not so hot that it will burn.  for those with a kitchen thermometer, you want the oil to be about 385 degrees.
put a few eggplant slices in (don't crowd your pan)
fry on each side for a few minutes (until golden brown, if you peek under and you can still see dry breadcrumbs, let it sit for a little bit longer.  if you look and it's burnt, you've left it too long. i usually have to test one or two to get my timing right, good thing there are plenty!)
transfer the fried eggplant to a pan covered with paper towel

preheat oven to 300

cover the bottom of a casserole dish or a dutch oven with tomato sauce
lay eggplant slices over the sauce and then cover them with more sauce, grated mozzarella and parmesan
repeat this until you reach the top of your dish or until you've used all of your eggplant.  you should end by covering the top layer of eggplant with sauce and fresh mozzarella slices
bake about 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has been slightly browned

serve with pasta or eat it as is!

pesto pork pizza!

everything we ate tonight was completely home made. the following recipes culminate to create a yummy pizza.  they are long, and a tad old school (for example, andy made his peso with a mortar and pestle.  any normal person would have use a food processor--just saying), but the end result was so worth it.  give it a try and tweak it so that it works for you!

pork and pizza sauce

3 lb bone-in pork shoulder

3 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs salt

tbs black pepper

tbs paprika

tbs minced garlic

tbs dried oregano

tbs dried parsley

tbs cinnamon

tbs mace

3 tbs cumin

3 onions, chopped

1 head garlic, smashed

quarter lb. carrots, chopped

6 oz can tomato paste 

2 c. beef stock

1/2 c. cider vinegar

to prepare:

preheat oven to 200

mix all spices together in a bowl to create a dry rub.  rub the pork down and put into the fridge for an hour

put a dutch oven on the stove over med. high heat

sear the pork on all sides (about five min. per side)

take the pork out and turn the heat down to med. 

put in onions, garlic, and carrots and cook for 8 min, mixing frequently

add half can tomato paste, stir until paste is browned and caramelized

add stock, and cider vinegar to the pot and return the pork to the pot.  bring to boil, put the lid on the pot, and put it into the oven for 3.5 hours.  take the lid off the pot and continue to cook for 30 more min. 

take the pot out of the oven and once it's cool, pull the pork off of the bone

set the pork aside and put the remaining liquid and veggies in a blender and puree until smooth (add salt and pepper to taste, if need be).  if, at this point, the mixture is thick enough to use as a pizza sauce, put it aside in the fridge.  if it's too thin, put it back on the stove and let it simmer to evaporate some of the moisture. once it's too desired thickness, set aside in the fridge until ready to use. 

pizza dough

stir together:

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

add and mix well:

1/2 cup flour

allow this mixture to sit until quite bubbly, about 30 min. 

mix together in another bowl:

3 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp salt

stir this into the yeast and flour mixture with:

3/4 c. cold water

1/4 c. olive oil. 

once the dough starts to form, pull it out of the bowl and kneed it until it's soft and elastic in texture 

put into a greased bowl and cover for 2 hours

after 2 hours, separate dough and form two smooth balls 

cover with plastic and set aside for one hour

once an hour has passed, the dough is ready to be rolled out

pesto:

if you have a favorite pesto recipe, use what you like.  here is what andy did:

one clove garlic

tsp salt

1/4 c. pine nuts

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

cup basil

1/4 c. olive oil

mortar and pestle one clove or garlic, tsp salt until it's like a paste

add pine nuts and parm and mix until combined

remove this mixture and set aside

grind up the cup of basil.  once the basil is like a paste, add back in the pine nut mixture.  once incorporated, drizzle in 1/4 c. olive oil 

pizza:

we added mushrooms and fresh mozzarella to our pizza, you can add any toppings that you love!

preheat oven to 500 and put in pizza stone

top pizza dough with sauce, pork, sliced mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and pesto

slide onto pizza stone and cook for ten min. 

twice baked mashed potatoes

most amazing twice bake potatoes i've ever eaten!

ingredients:
2 potatoes
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. pepper jack cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 pieces bacon
one small onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 carton mushrooms
10 stalks kale, chopped


to prepare:
preheat oven to 350
poke holes in the potatoes with a fork
put the potatoes in the oven for an hour

cut up bacon into bits and render on the stove on low

while potatoes are cooking,(using the same pan in which you cooked the bacon) sautee together diced onions, garlic, mushrooms, and chopped kale or spinach

cut up potatoes and mash them with sour cream, pepper jack cheese, butter, and salt and pepper

fold in the veggie mixture and the bacon

put in souffle dish and top with more cheese.  put into the oven for 20 minutes.  finish off under the broiler for less than a minute to get the cheese bubbly.  top with more bacon, if desired.

this seems like a side dish, but i promise it is so rich and dense (and delicious!) that it is more than enough for  an entire meal.