Eggplant & Zucchini Gratin

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe, and I apologize. My job has gotten more intense (which is a good thing), and I've had less free time. But, that's really no excuse since we've still been eating meals every day... and I've been cooking them.

For instance, two nights ago I made this not-so-healthy-but-OMG-delicious gratin inspired by Ina Garten's Eggplant Gratin. (Though, her recipe makes It's a teensy bit time-consuming, but worth it in the end (and can be enjoyed for 3 nights...)! It tastes like eggplant Parmesan bought sexy lingerie to impress its significant other.

Eggplant & Zucchini Gratin

Olive oil, for frying

All purpose flour

Garlic Salt

3 small eggplant, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 large zucchini, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch thick

15 oz. container low fat ricotta cheese

2 extra-large eggs

1 cup half-and-half

Grated Parmesan

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 jar tomato sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put some all purpose flour into a bag with a few pinches of garlic salt. Add a few pieces of eggplant & zucchini and toss to coat.

Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant/zucchini and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant & zucchini slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant & zucchini until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, half-and-half, teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper. Note: When using the lowfat ricotta, it will be harder to mix because it doesn't have as much moisture or fat in it. Just be patient and keep whisking! It will get there!

In a 9x13" baking pan, place a layer of eggplant & zucchini slices in the bottom, sprinkle with Parmesan, and spoon 1/2 of the tomato sauce over it evenly. Next, add a half of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Repeat the process by adding a second layer of eggplant & zucchini, more Parmesan, the other half the ricotta mixture, and finally grated Parmesan on top. As a finishing touch, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the entire top of the gratin.

Place the gratin in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Let cool 8-10 minutes. Serve!
And here are some photos to help you get through the process...

An eggplant still life

It's in the bag, yo.

Fryin' em' up!

Mmmm... crispy

Layered in the pan

Covered in sauce and cheese = how I want to die.

More cheese :)

Ta dah! Bellissimo!

Good grief this tastes good...

I hope you make this and enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Happy summer!

~ Mari

I Love You *This* Much

Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!  Mr. Smith and I don't tend to celebrate V-day very much  - no gifts, chocolates, or flowers for us!  But, I still wanted to do something sweet for him.  Yesterday I got pretty ambitious and wanted to make a special meal for Valentine's eve.  I found a recipe for Italian meatloaf that I've been wanting to try forever in this month's Fine Cooking Magazine.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but DANG that was good meatloaf. Definitely the best I've ever made (...or had, for that matter).  I closed the meal with homemade chocolate lava cakes.  Needless to say, it was a happy Valentine's Day!

Note: Fine Cooking has this awesome tool online where you can make your own meatloaf!  That's all I did, but I didn't use their online tool, I just made it up as I went along.  Check it out when you get a chance!

Italian Meatloaf

STEP 1 - The Aromatics:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots

3/4 cup white wine

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add all ingredients except the wine and saute until softened and beginning to brown (6-8 minutes).  Add the wine and simmer until almost dry (4-5 minutes).  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

STEP 2 - Soak the Bread:

4 oz. sliced french bread

1 cup whole milk (if you don't have whole milk, any milk will work, but whole is better)

In a shallow dish (I used a 9x13" clear baking dish) soak the bread in the milk, flipping once, until soggy (10 minutes).  Lightly squeeze a handful at a time and place on a cutting board.  Finely chop and add to the bowl of aromatics.

- the aromatics & the soaked bread -



STEP 3 - Mix the Meatloaf:

2 lbs. ground bison

1/2 lb. lean ground pork

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. dried thyme

1 handful fresh basil

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese

2 Tbs. honey

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper.  Add the meat and eggs into the bowl of aromatics & bread.  Scatter all other ingredients (except honey) on top.  Use your hands (I use disposable gloves) to gently mix ingredients until just combined. 

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the baking pan and form into a rectangular-ish block.  Drizzle honey over the entire thing as evenly as possible.

- ready for the oven -

STEP 4 - Bake the Meatloaf:

Bake meatloaf until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160 degrees F (about 1 and 1/2 hours).  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

- how delicious does that look? -

STEP 5 - Serve!

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used jarred)

1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese

Slice into 3/4 - 1 inch pieces.

- look at all that good stuff in there -

Put the slices on a plate (I did two per person) and spoon that tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle it with cheese!  Voila!



- I served it with some blistered green beans... we were happy campers -

 The meatloaf didn't even really taste like classic (kinda boring) meatloaf.  It was like the best Italian meatball you've ever eaten, in loaf form.  The honey carmelized on the outside and gave it a sweet, sticky crust and all of those spices and herbs in the meatloaf really gives it that fresh-from-Italy taste.  YUM!  I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe as much as we did eating it!  Don't get bogged down with all the steps - just make it.  I promise you'll be glad you did.

~ Mari

P.S. I made a mess. ;)

Back from the Honeymoon : Part I : Pizza

We're back! I bet you didn't even notice I was gone! Ryan and I finally went our honeymoon... and boy, was it worth the wait! We went on a two-week Mediterranean cruise and then spent four more days in Venice at the end of the cruise. Dang. It was awesome. We took a few (hundred) photos and I really want to post them all...but, don't worry. I shan't. I figured I would just stick to the food photos for right now. So, the first installment of pictures is...

PIZZA

Portofino, Italy

(left) mozzarella, pomodori, e rucola ~ mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and fresh arugula

(right) mozarella, pomodori, e prosciutto

Nice, France

Pizza Provencal ~ mozzarella, tomatoes, zucchini, olives, and anchovies

Florence, Italy
Pizza Quattro Stagione (Four Seasons): mozzarella, pomodori, funghi, carciofi, proscuitto, e olive - mozzarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, proscuitto, and olives

Venice, Italy

Mozzarella, tomatoes, Bresaola (cured and salted horse meat), and parmasean cheese

Venice, Italy

Pizza Bianchi (White Pizza) - Artichoke cream sauce, proscuitto, and parmasean cheese

Venice, Italy

Pizza Gran Viale - tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, proscuitto, salami, sausage, eggplant, asparagus, artichokes, and tuna

Venice, Italy

Pizza Quattro Stagione - mozarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichockes, proscuitto, and grilled eggplant



Don't worry - I definitely plan on making some of these magnificent pizze and posting the recipe on here. But, for now, you can drool. ;) Hope you enjoyed looking at these amazing treats as much as I enjoyed eating them!

~ Mari

Panzanella

I just got Ellie Krieger's cookbook, "So Easy," and I found a great-looking recipe for a dish we made in culinary school: Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad). Ellie's recipe is a bit different from the one we made in school, but it has the same basic ingredients - bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. So, I decided to combine the two recipes into my own version of the classic Italian salad!

Panzanella

3-4 cups of bread, cubed

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 of a small red onion, thinly slivered

1 avocado, peeled and diced

a few sprigs of fresh fennel (or any other fresh herb you have on hand)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

dried italian herbs to taste

3 links of chicken sausage

First, preheat the oven to 320 degrees F. Then put the cubed bread on a sheet pan.

Next, combine a few tablespoons of olive oil with salt, pepper, and dried italian herbs in a shallow bowl.

Dunk each bread cube into the olive oil mixture on two or three sides. Put them back on the sheet pan and toss them around a bit.

Stick the sheet pan in the oven on the bottom rack and allow them to cook for 15 - 20 minutes (until they're crispy). While they cook, combine all of the vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper on them and toss.

Once the bread cubes are done, add them to the vegetable mixture.

Pour the rest of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar over the vegetables and bread. Now toss it more. I added some black cooked lentils (from Trader Joe's) as a garnish - you can too if you have them. If not, it should be just fine! Then I cooked the sausage, sliced it, and served it alongside of the panzanella. That was Ellie Krieger's pairing idea - and it was perfect! I also plated the salad overtop of some mixed baby greens.

I hope you enjoy it! It was so simple to make - I couldn't even believe it! Plus, it was delicious and full of texture!

~ Mari

Tarragon and Cheddar Frittata

The incredible edible egg was calling my name today for lunch. Do you ever get in an egg mood? So, I decided to make a frittata (an Italian omlet thingy) with some fresh tarragon that I had in the fridge. If you are also feeling a bit eggish, here's the recipe:

Tarragon & Cheddar Frittata

1 large egg

1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or 2 egg whites)

1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon (1 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. dill

1.5 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

fat free greek yogurt (for garnish)

salsa (for garnish)


Whisk all the ingredients together (except for the garnishes, obviously) in a bowl until combined. Heat a small non-stick skillet to medium. Once the pan is heated, put about a tsp. of olive oil in and pour the egg mixture in as well. Then put a lid on it and allow it to cook for about 5-6 minutes (until you can slip a spatula underneath the frittata without it still being liquid-y). Flip the frittata over with the spatula and allow it to cook, uncovered, for about 3-4 minutes more. The frittata should be fluffy and set. Next, flip the frittata out onto a plate and garnish with a dollop of yougurt and salsa.

Now... eat it! I think you'll like it.

Thanks for looking!

~ Mari