PPN#57 - Eggplant Parm-Lasagna

This past Friday I was torn between veggie lasagna and meat lasagna as we had ingredients for both. I haven't really made true lasagna before, no real reason, just haven't. Since I have an Italian heritage yummy pasta entrees were very common in my household. Stuffed Shells, Eggplant Parm, Chicken Parm, Carbonara...no lasagna though. I think for those reasons it is something I don't really make but love to eat. No time like the present though.

After much hemming and hawing (which usually happens as I have a billion recipes I want to make, but not nearly enough time or energy to make them) I felt like a genius. I would make regular lasagna (with buffalo meat) over an eggplant parmesan layer. GENIUS! I love lasagna, I love buffalo and I love eggplant parm. How could this go wrong? Well, it didn't! It was just as good as I could have hoped for if not better. It was a true comfort food. I will definitely be making it again in the future. The one small change I would make is that the buffalo meat was from Whole Foods, not our local buffalo farm and not nearly as good.

In addition, I made a loaf of whole wheat bread (Quick Whole Wheat Bread from The Joy of Cooking) to go with dinner. It turned out to be a Godzilla loaf (see above) as it rose and rose and rose. Good yeast I guess.

As this is a PASTA meal, I am submitting it to Presto Pasta Night.

Georgia's Genius Lasagna
9" x 13" pan

Ingredients:
9 cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
A quart of your favorite tomato sauce
15 oz container of low-fat ricotta
8 oz part skim mozzarella, shredded
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch rounds
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 pound ground buffalo
1 Tbsp parsley
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
flour
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Whisk one egg and milk together in a wide bowl. Pour flour into another wide bowl. Season flour with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium heat. When oil is hot dip eggplant slices into egg mixture then flour and fry until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to collect extra oil.

2) Boil lasagna noodles until cooked. Whisk ricotta, parsley and an egg in small bowl. Salt and pepper. Set aside.

3) Brown ground meat in olive oil. Season with S&P. After meat is cooked, pour about 2 cups of tomato sauce in with the meat and cook for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The LAYERING!

4) Spread tomato sauce on the bottom of glass baking dish. Layer as follows: Noodle, eggplant slices, shredded moz, tomato sauce, noodle, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce, noodle, meat mixture, fresh moz slices.

Bottom Layer (above)

5) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes with aluminum foil covering pan and another 10 with pan exposed. Bake until mozzarella is golden brown and melted.

Enjoy!!!

Article of the week: Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird? (NY Times Op-Ed)

Doing Double Duty - Daring Bakers Perfect Party Cake

I unfortunately had to miss out on last month's DB challenge, but I was super excited when this month's challenge was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. A) I LOVE cake. B) I had been reading awesome recipes and seeing beautiful pictures from fellow bloggers who are part of the Tuesday's With Dorie club, and C) my awesome friend, Christine, had a birthday in March, so this cake was served excellent double duty as a challenge requirement and a birthday cake.


When I checked out the recipe, I couldn't have been happier. Lemon, check. Delicious preserves, check. Yummy buttercream frosting, check. There were some exceptions allowed with the flavorings in this recipe, but all I really wanted to change was to add a layer of the delicious lemon curd I made for the Lemon Meringue challenge in the middle and change the flavor of the preserves to sour cherry instead of raspberry.


It turned out really beautifully. The couple problems I had were: I only got two layers out of the batter... The layers were simply too thin to really be safely cutting them in half, and I didn't have the time to make another two layers, so I simply made a two layer cake instead; also, I read the recipe for the buttercream wrong (don't ask how, it will convince you I'm a moron) and I had to improvise at the end, adding in some powdered sugar to thicken it up. Either way it was super tasty and before I knew it we were out of cake.

Thanks to the genius Morven for hosting this month - you can find the full recipe for this amazing cake on her blog. Definitely check out the other DBers cakes from the Daring Baker Blogroll, as many of them did beautiful frosting jobs and really fun flavor changes - I'm still drooling over the idea of ginger frosting.. sigh, next time. *Forgive me for the lack in quality of these pictures...*

Presto Pasta Night - Simple Spring Pasta

I'm sure you have all been there - its time to start thinking about what you want to make for dinner and you don't feel like going to the store. You think to yourself, "What can I make with the meager ingredients in my kitchen?"

One of the easiest base ingredients to go with is the ever-present, filling, adaptable and oh so tasty - PASTA! In my earlier days (aka college) this would mean spaghetti and some Prego. However, nowadays with some meals under my belt and many hours spent watching the Food Network and reading cooking blogs, I try to be a little more creative with my quick pasta meals. Plus it had to good enough to submit to Presto Pasta Night!

That being said as I scoured the refrigerator for ideas I found asparagus, mushrooms and feta. Simple and yum yum yum. Healthy. Score.

PS - Asparagus is in season NOW so eat up while you can get it fresh and cheapish.

Simple Spring Pasta
yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 oz feta, diced
1/2 pound pasta
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Saute mushrooms and asparagus in olive oil. Cook pasta. Mix together in pan with cheese. S&P to taste.

EASY PEASY and mmmm....
What have you done on the fly to make a tasty meal?

Festival of... Lost?

So this past Hanukkah, I decided I was going to make homemade latkas instead of using the store bought mix, like I usually do. In fact, there's a great story (and since I can't resist, it goes like this) from when I was in college. Sometimes, as you may know, I get startling food cravings that I must fulfill or I end up feeling like the world may end. And one late night in Junior year of college, at the beginning of Hanukka, I got a terrible craving for latkas. Georgia and I drove to the nearby grocery store and there was only sweet potato latka mix. While that sounds yummy, I wanted the real thing. We left that grocery store and headed to another. Still, they ONLY had the sweet potato latka mix. I was dumbfounded.. who knew there were some many Jews buying latka mix in rural PA. Anyway, I was about to suggest we call it quits, with great sorrow in my heart, when Georgia announced in shock that there was a box of latka mix right behind me, IN THE FREEZER ISLE. What the latkas were doing there is beyond me. I speculated that maybe someone tried to hide the very last box for themselves and we somehow managed to find it. It was a true Hanukka miracle.

For those who don't know, Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights because the myth of Hanukkah is about when the Israelites reclaimed back the Temple from Syrian monarchy. After the temple was reclaimed, Judah ordered the temple and alter to be cleansed and for the menorah to be lit and burn throughout the night for 8 nights. Unfortunately, there was only enough oil for the menorah to burn for one night. Miraculously, though there was only enough oil for one night, it burned for 8 whole nights. A Rabbi told me once while I was going through confirmation that this story is a load of crap and it was like being told Santa Claus is not real. Anyway though, the whole point of telling you this is because the miracle Hanukkah box of latkas made a total of 8 latkas (when it should have actually made 12.. no I did not rig this).

Despite my love of the box latka, making your own is far superior and totally easy. So the other night, a Thursday to be precise, I got the urge to make latkas. And while its not Hanukkah, it was a night for watching my favorite show, Lost. So I'm calling today's post "The Festival of Lost."


Latkas (AKA Potato Pancakes)

2 cups shredded potato (I used yukon gold)
1/2 large onion, shredded (I just used the food processor to shred these things, but you can use a hand box grater)
2 eggs
3 Tbs flour
1/3 tsp baking powder
salt
pepper
oil for pan (i used olive, but vegetable or another substitute works)

Shred potato and onion into a bowl and squeeze the water out using paper towels or any other method you like. Dispense of excess water.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, combine onion, potato, eggs, flour/baking powder mixture, and salt and pepper to taste.. be generous (or don't).

Heat 1/2 inch of oil in pan on med head. When oil is hot enough, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture to oil, pressing down lightly with spatula to spread out a tad. When you can see a bit of browning around the edges, flip them. If this mixture isn't holding together when you flip, either you didn't wait long enough before flipping, or you should add another tbs of flour to the mixture. Let drain on a paper towel while cooking the other batches.

Serve with applesauce and sour cream (or greek yogurt - this is what I used and it was a great substitute) on the side. I love these. Slightly indulgent, but serious comfort food for me.

American Flatbread Company

Now, I know that this blog has typically been about things that come out of my kitchen (and Randi's of course, but it is the same kitchen...), but this past weekend I came across the best pizza I have ever had in my entire life. And that is no understatement! So, I figured it would be doing all of you an injustice if I didn't mention it.

Andrew and I went to Burlington, VT this past weekend for a little vacation (and birthday treat for him). Despite the fact that the weather was not exactly behaving (read rain, ice, snow and anything else that constitutes "wintery mix"), we had a great time and got to explore the area a little bit - on a side note, my Rav-4 kicks major ass and didn't slip one bit.

We stayed at the Hidden Garden's B&B (which was very cute and comfy and had three labs to play with) and ventured out into Burlington for some Magic Hat beer and Lake Champlain chocolate tasting as well as a little shopping and dinner.

The inn-keeper's landscaper recommended the American Flatbread Company - which is a wood-fired pizza restaurant and brewery. All of their ingredients are as fresh and local as you could want and the results are delicious. The crowd was pretty boisterous (but not overly obnoxious) and beer was delish. For dinner, we got the Sun Dried Tomato - Mushroom pie and YUMMMMMMMM....the crust was crispy but chewy, with a nice thin bottom and the most amazing cheesy herby taste ever! If you are ever in Burlington, VT (which you should be, b/c it is a cool town) check this place out!

PS - they also have locations in Middlebury, VT, Waitsfield, VT and Ashburn, VA.

American Flatbread Company
115 St. Paul Street
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 861-2999

μουσακάς OR Greece and Grease and Geeks, Oh MY!

Now that I've written the post title, I've realized that I'm used the "oh my" line before. Let no one tell you that I'm original :) And speaking of not being original, I did a mish-mash recipe steal from the Tyler Florance show I saw today for dinner this evening. For those who read Greek, or can tell what this post is about from the picture above (really? can anyone tell?), I made a me-version of Moussaka. In case its not clear - the Greece is pretty straight forward, the Grease is cause I should have used leaner beef, and the Geeks - well I guess its just one geek, me.

The me-version of something is usually about substitution. I'm willing to buy a set of ingredients, but everything else will just have to be substituted for what we have in the house. For this Moussaka, I used 2% milk instead of whole and cream mixture, parmesan cheese for layering, tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes, and cut the eggs out of the bechamel. Also, Tyler's recipe doesn't call for a bechamel, but instead adding feta in the layers. BOO Moussaka HAS to have bechamel. This turned out tasting totally delicious, but I can't say it looks very pretty. The layers didn't set the way I would have liked, but I would still make this again and again.

Moussaka
1 lb ground meat (I used beef, but I've also used lamb)
2 large eggplants, ends cut off, peeled and sliced into 1/2 thick slices
1 medium size onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup white wine
olive oil
salt and pepper
oregano and basil
1/4 cup butter
1/4 flour
2 cups milk
parmesan cheese
nutmeg
cinnamon

Salt and pepper the eggplant slices. Brown both sides of slices of eggplant in an even layer with a tbs of olive oil in a saute pan. It will probably be necessary to do this in batches. Add olive oil as necessary. After browning, let the pieces drain on a paper towel.

Add the onion and garlic with some olive oil into a pan. When the onions become translucent, add the meat and brown on med heat. Salt and pepper. After the meat has brown, add 1/2 cup white wine and let reduce. Add in tomato sauce, basil and oregano (a shake of each) to the pan. Add a final shake of cinnamon. Season more if necessary.

To make bechamel: melt butter in a sauce pan and add flour. Wisk, cooking for 5-10 minutes. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove before adding to the roux. Add to the roux and wisk until sauce thickens significantly. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Grate 1/4 cup cheese into sauce and stir.

To assemble: In an 8x8 (I used a 9 inch pie plate) place a layer of eggplant into the bottom. Spread half the meat sauce over the eggplant. Grate a thin layer of cheese on top of the meat sauce. Add the rest of the eggplant in a layer, the rest of the meat sauce, more cheese and then pour the bechamel over top. Grate some more cheese over the bechamel and bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Let the Moussaka rest for 30 minutes, then EAT!

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

I love muffins. They're sweet, but not too sweet. They're like the perfect balance of sweet and savory snack, in my opinion. How you can dislike something that is sweet and you can still put butter on it!? So tonight I got a bit of a sweets craving after dinner, waiting patiently for the final episode of Project Runway... We're low on butter, flour, fruit and completely out of brown sugar. But we had a pint of blueberries and a meyer lemon. So I lifted the delicious-looking blueberry cake recipe from Jen at use real butter. Jen posts really inspiring recipes along with beautiful pictures. Nothing makes me salivate like good pictures :) Definitely check her out.

These came out really well, though the cooking time, even for the muffins, was more than the recipe called for, about 40 minutes. I also think the did a good job with the pictures :)

Blueberry Muffins
(from Donna Hay Modern Classics 2 & posted originally at use real butter)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup sour cream (I used 2% greek yogurt - we didn't have any sour cream. Also yogurt is better for you, and me)
2 eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar and combine. Whisk sour cream, eggs, lemon rind, and oil together in a bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the blueberries. To make muffins: fill a dozen 1/2 cup muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes or until clean toothpick stage (Like I said, this really took me about 40 minutes, but I would check at 15 and then keep checking every 5... who knows).

I also figured out the nutritional info for everyone:

Serving size: 1 muffin (or 3, if you're me)
Calories: 209.8 Total Fat: 7.7 g Cholesterol: 36.4 mg Sodium 99.4 mg Potassium 43.5 mg Total Carbs: 31.2 g Sugars: 13.3 g Protein 5 g

No Meat?? Thats cool...

This past Friday I told my boyfriend that I would make him a pre-birthday dinner. The one caveat was that it must be meat-free (as it was a Lent Friday)...not too much of a setback, as who doesn't love non-meat alternatives?? I haven't been feeling like cooking too much lately, I know, I know, blasphemous! But, I can attribute this to A) getting back from a wedding in Florida and B) not watching my daily doses of Food Network. So, to get back in the swing of things, I tried to gain inspiration from Cooking Light, Gourmet and various food blogs.

As far as non-meat items go, although there are plenty of options, salmon is top on my list. Yum, yum, salmon. Give me those Omega-3s! There were two recipes I happened upon that looked birthday-riffic - Roasted Salmon Steaks on a Bed of Potatoes, Fennel and Leeks from Live to Eat and Salmon with a Creamy Orange Rosemary Sauce from Nami-Nami. Both recipes looked super tasty and decidedly meat-free, so I decided to do the creative thing and combine them.

I used the Salmon with a Creamy Orange Rosemary Sauce recipe for the salmon part and it was mighty tasty. A little heavy, I suggest using light cream. The rosemary/orange combination was great (although I overcooked the salmon a little - oops).

However, not to gloat, but the side dish that I made was superb!

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Leeks

Ingredients

1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes (use organic if possible)
1 leek, chopped and caramelized
1 head garlic, roasted until soft
3 tbsp butter or butter substitute (I used Promise)
1 tbsp cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1) Caramelize leeks over medium-low heat until translucent and golden. Roast garlic in oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees (garlic will start to bubble out of top when done). Dice and boil potatoes until moderately soft.

2) Using mixer, incorporate all ingredients.....yum yum good!

Easy and DELICIOUS!!!