December 2015 – Buen provecho…2022

Eggplant Parmesan

Tired of turkey yet?

One day I am going to do a cookbook for Costco…LOL. This time we bought a bag of 10 little eggplants there but it was my intent to either grill them or make eggplant Parmesan. I chose the latter. This is a perfect dish for your vegan friends as long as they still do cheeses.

Pinterest to the rescue again. Thanks to Like Mother Like Daughter for this recipe with some changes.

Eggplant Parmesan (LMLDFood@gmail.com)
Ingredients
• 1-2 large eggplant or 5 small ones
• 2-3 eggs, whipped
• ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
• ⅛ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ TBS oregano
• ½ TBS basil
• 3-4 cups tomato sauce (or 1 can of chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup salsa)
• 4-8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used all Parmesan)
• 8-16 oz. cooked pasta noodles optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel eggplant skin off. Cut into slices, about ½ inch thick.
3. Dip eggplant slices into egg and then breadcrumbs. Cover evenly.
4. Place on a sprayed baking sheet in one layer.
5. Cook for 8-10 minutes and then flip. Cook 8-10 minutes on second side.
6. Pour about half of your sauce into a baking pan.
7. Lay eggplant in sauce. Top with cheese. Cover with additional sauce. (Do 2 layers of egg plant if necessary)
8. Cover with foil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Serve eggplant on top of prepared pasta.
11. Top with additional Parmesan or mozzarella cheese if desired.

We were thinking if you skipped the pasta, you could easily serve this with some nice pork chops for your carnivore friends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! PROSPERO ANO NUEVO!

Christmas Cranberry Chutney

From the folks at Food Network…a little something different for Christmas dinner or use it as a topping for cream cheese appetizer.

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 cups frozen cranberries
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, apples, and thyme; sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the raisins, cranberries, lemon zest and juice, orange juice, and sugar. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Recipe courtesy of The Neelys
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Good Eats Roasted Turkey

Up until last year I always brined my turkey according to a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. (its here on the blog). Last year I wanted a different brine recipe and on Food Network, I found Alton Browns Good Eats Turkey Recipe. Lo and behold I liked it better! Sorry Emeril!

So here it is…you can choose Emerill or Alton…

Good Eats Roast Turkey Alton Brown The Food Network

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Actually you can find special brining bags in most supermarkets these days, made by Reynolds. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting or less…use a timer. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, also featured in Food Network Magazine

Sauteed Peppers with Wine Vinegar

Too many peppers…no time to roast them. Pinterest to the rescue!

Sautéed Peppers with Wine Vinegar
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 sweet bell peppers (any color), cut into thin slices (actually I used whole baby peppers with the tops cut off- didn’t worry about the seeds)
• 1 hot red chili (optional), sliced
• 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onion softens, 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and chili, if using, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper; add vinegar. Stir to combine, cover, and cook until peppers soften slightly, 3 minutes. Toss with oregano.

Best Bolognese Sauce

My apologies for the late posting but I was waiting to make this for company last night!

This would be great if you are planning a buffet for Christmas Eve or New Years Eve, It says it makes 4 to 6 servings, but it would stretch further if there were other foods available. I would serve the warm spaghetti in a chafing dish, with a small crock pot of hot sauce and grated Parmesan beside it. Maybe a small amount of red pepper flakes! To make it go further you could cut back on some of the meat…

The Best Bolognese Sauce
Yield: 9 cups of sauce or 4-6 servings
*If you don’t have a food mill to crush the tomatoes, use a blender or immersion blender. Make sure to leave as much texture and chunks of tomato as possible, do not liquefy.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 1/4 pounds ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces pancetta or bacon, sliced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup (3 oz) tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup milk
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, passed through a food mill*
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen string
1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
1 pound fresh pasta, such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle, cooked until al dente and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Directions
In a large, heavy, deep lidded Dutch oven or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, ground pork, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the pancetta/bacon and cook until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind and stir until combined. Add in the meats and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer then partially cover and reduce to medium-low. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

You can also transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook for 3 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.