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.

white bean chili and cheddar biscuits

it literally has been raining all day long. i liked it at first, but now i have a tinge of cabin fever. there's something about crock-pot cooking on a rainy day. when i woke up and it was dark, grey, and quiet, i knew that it was going to be a slow cooker kind of day. today i made white bean chicken chili and cheddar biscuits. enjoy!

chili
 ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped,
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 carton mushrooms, chopped
half of a bunch of kale, destemmed and chopped
3/4 lb chicken, cubed
2 cans white northern beans
3 cups chicken broth
cumin
salt and pepper

to prepare:
heat a pan over med-high heat sautee garlic and onion in pan for a few minutes
add mushrooms, jalapeno, and kale, cook for a few minutes longer
put veggie mixture into the crock pot
salt and pepper the chicken, add to the pan, and brown on both sides (3 min per side)-then add to the crock pot
mix a cup of beans and 1 1/2 cups broth in a blender or food processor until smooth and combined
add that mixture to the crock with the remaining beans and broth.
add cumin, salt, and pepper
cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, then turn to low for the remaining 1 1/2 hours. the broth should be thick and creamy at the end of cooking

biscuits 
ingredients:
2 cups bisquick biscuit mix
1 cup sharp cheddar
2/3 cup milk
tbs garlic powder
2 tbs melted butter
dried parsley

to prepare:
preheat oven to 400
grease a cookie sheet
in a bowl, combine biscuit mix, cheese, milk, and garlic powder- mix until combined (should be sticky)
drop heaping spoonfuls of dough on the cookie sheet and bake 10 min
brush biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and parsley
bake 5 more min

chili-pasta

mom and i went to boston over our spring break and we had an amazing time. we would have stayed for much longer had we had the time. we stayed on newbury street an area known as the shopping district. it has a lot of high-end shops mingled in with really cute independently owned shops and boutiques. one shop we went into was an olive oil store. though we didn't buy any oil we did pick up some other things. i purchased a bag of chili pene pasta. i had never seen chili pasta before and thought andy would really love it because he likes his food HOT. tonight, he made a delicious dish with the chili pasta, a light blue cheese cream sauce, and steak on top. yum!



ingredients:
turnip greens- one bunch
baby bella mushrooms-half of a container cut into quarters
1 diced onion
2 diced garlic cloves
half-pint cherry tomatoes, halved
fist full of blue cheese crumbles
fist full of parmesean
pint heavy cream
1/2 pound pasta
1/2 pound steak (we used sirloin, but use whatever cut you prefer)
olive oil and butter for pans
salt and pepper to taste

to prepare:
de-stem turnip greens and cook in boiling water for 5 min. and then run them under cold water. chop the greens and put them aside in a big bowl.
chop mushrooms and sautee in a pan until tender add to the bowl with the greens.
boil pasta (you can use any kind)and add to bowl once cooked (reserve water)
add halved cherry tomatoes to the bowl

blue cheese sauce:
preheat oven to 350
put a pan over med. heat and add oil and butter
add onion and garlic and sweat for 5 min.
add 2 tbs of flour and whisk to make a roux
add heavy cream and about a pint of pasta water, continue whisking
whisk in a hand full of blue cheese crumbles and a hand full of parm, and then reduce to a simmer and let the mixture thicken
once thick, add it to the bowl and fold into the pasta and veggies until everything is coated.
add to a casserole dish and warm in the oven with the top on for 45 min.

steak:(start it about 15 min before the pasta is finished cooking)
put a pan on med high heat with olive oil
once the pan is hot, put the steak on and sear it on each side for about 4 min.
put it into the oven for 7 min or until cooked to your liking

once pasta is heated through, cut the steak and add it to the top of the pasta.

it's been a while...

it has been so long since i've posted. i have pictures stock-piled on my phone of delicious dinners that andy's made over the past month, but it's been so very busy lately and i have been remiss. i'm hoping to get some of them up over the next week.

tonight for dinner we had scallop tacos. now usually when i eat a scallop, i don't want it mixed in with anything. i want to eat it whole and savor it because it's one of my most favorite foods. however, we had just recently eaten scallops, so i was ok with putting them in tacos this evening.



andy can sear the hell out of a scallop. they are always so beautiful and they have that great crispy brown top. i found out the secret for the perfect scallop sear just a few minutes ago. according to andy, after you rinse the scallops, you have to make sure to pat them perfectly dry with a paper towel (the more moisture, the less the scallop will sear). the other secret is to salt them right before you put them in the pan (again, because the salt will dehydrate them). we served the scallops in a flour tortilla with a horseradish slaw. here's the recipe:

slaw:
(i have to admit i did zero measuring this evening, so these measurements are all estimates)

1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbs. whole grain mustard
2 tbs. horseradish
2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
5 scallions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bag broccoli slaw
s&p to taste

whisk together the first 5 ingredients until smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste
put the slaw in a bowl and add the dressing, mixing together until coated
mix in the scallions and pepper

scallops:
rinse scallops, pat dry, and salt
put a pan over med-high heat and add olive oil (it's important for the pan to get very hot if you want to get a good sear on the scallops-when you see the oil start to ripple, it's ready)

add the scallops, being sure to not crowd the pan. cook 3-4 minutes per side.

assembly:
put the flour tortillas into the microwave for about 30 seconds
chop the scallops into bite size pieces
layer the slaw on the bottom of the tortilla and add the scallops on top. yum!

real simple

i have to give credit where credit is due on this post. andy's been really busy with school lately so i've been taking over in the kitchen. i actually enjoy it because though he is a far superior cook, i love being in the kitchen and cooking meals for my family. however, i cannot just whip up a recipe off the top of my head the way that andy can. he can look in the fridge, combine ingredients that i would never think to put together, and make an entire meal fit for a fancy restaurant. my skills are much more limited and most often require a (simple) recipe. recipes with long lists of ingredients and multiple steps don't interest me. i like easy and quick, especially on a week-night. so, for the second night in a row, i've turned to www.realsimple.com for dinner. this evening it was rosemary chicken and arugula salad. i tweaked it a little bit (my recipe is below), however the majority of the credit goes to the fun chefs at RS. everything was yummy and quick, and i know it had to be good because the chef in the house ate seconds.

chicken ingredients:

4 bone in chicken thighs (if you don't like dark meat you can use chicken breast, which is what the RS recipe calls for. i've been using thighs in lieu of breasts lately because i find them to be much jucier)
2 tbs red wine vinegar
5 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chopped rosemary
2 cloves chopped garlic
s&p

to prepare:
1. whisk together vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper (to taste) in a casserole dish.
2. add chicken to the dish and coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
*preheat oven to 400
3. wipe the marinade off the chicken. heat oil in a pan on med-high heat. Sear both
sides of the chicken (about 4 min. per side or until a golden brown)
4. cook the chicken in the preheated oven for 30 min or until chicken is heated to 165 F

salad ingredients:
*note, prepare the salad while the chicken is marinading so that it has plenty of time to soak up the dressing

2 tbs dijon mustard
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans, drained (but not rinsed!)
1/4 red onion, chopped
3 oz baby arugula

to prepare:
1. whisk together mustard, oil, vinegar and salt and pepper (to taste)
2. add cannellini beans, onion and arugula
3. toss to coat and let sit (in the fridge or at room temp) while the chicken cooks, tossing occasionally.

serve chicken and salad together and enjoy!