SQUASH CASSEROLE

Squash Casserole

Squash casserole is one of those dishes that vary so widely in recipes. I swear there are at least a hundred different variations out there. This one is my favorite. Gooey cheese, buttery cracker crumbs adding a hint of crunch, and the taste of garden fresh squash.

 I generally use green zucchini for this casserole, but if you like you can mix green and yellow squashes together for a variation in flavor, or try adding one of the many winter squashes such as butternut, or acorn squash.  I’ve found the quality and size of fresh squash in the grocery produce section to vary widely; I try to choose squashes that are somewhat long and fat for their size, this way when I slice them I get nice round even slices.

Do not over bake this casserole or the squash will turn into mush.  On a cold winter night this makes a warm and satisfying dish for the entire family.  A recipe that will satisfy your taste buds! This squash casserole recipe is cheesy and full of wonderful flavor!

Ingredients

·         4 cups sliced green squash or any squash of your choosing

·         1/2 cup chopped onion

·         1 sleeve buttery round crackers (such as Ritz)

·         1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         3/4 cup milk

·         1/4 cup butter, melted

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ground black pepper to taste

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Put squash, onion, and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until squash and onions are tender, about five to ten minutes. Drain well. Add half stick of margarine and let melt.

In medium bowl, crush crackers and stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper, stir. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the squash.

In small bowl, mix together milk and two eggs. Pour into squash mixture. Stir well. Pour into casserole dish. Top with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until top is browned.

THE BEST STUFFING YOU WILL EVER EAT

MADELINE’S SAUSAGE STUFFING

Throughout the years at my family's Thanksgivings, we have changed up our menus to include many different dishes. We would try out new recipes for vegetables, sides dishes, and desserts, but the one constant dish that has never changed, no matter who was hosting and cooking Thanksgiving dinner, has been my mother’s sausage stuffing.  There has never been any thought or discussion about changing that recipe or using another stuffing recipe; like the saying goes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it."

Each and every person in my family has an opinion about everything, and each opinion is different, but the one thing that we all agree upon is that nothing beats my mother’s stuffing.  No matter what changed on the menu each year, her sausage stuffing was always on the menu and on the table. If it wasn’t then you had better have a good reason such as "my oven broke down," or "I couldn’t find any sausage." Those two excuses were just about the only ones that my family would ever accept, as that's how strongly we all feel about this stuffing.

Simply put, her stuffing is the best and everyone loves it.  She dosen’t do anything special with it or have any elaborate ingredients she puts into it, just the basics - carrots, onions, celery and of course the sausage.  Not any fancy kind of sausage either; she just uses regular Italian pork sausage (I think that is where all the flavor and taste come from).  It’s always a hit - that is, when she makes it, no matter who makes that stuffing, it’s never as good as my mother’s.

You could follow her recipe step by step, and ingredient for ingredient, but it never turns out as good as hers.  She always says it’s because of her secret ingredient, but we all know her secret ingredient is love, and that is the reason it turns out so well.  I think we have all resigned to the fact that she makes the best stuffing, and no matter whose house she is having Thanksgiving at, one thing is for sure: Madeline is bringing her sausage stuffing.

CORNBREAD STUFFING WITH SAUSAGE

INGREDIENTS:

2 POUNDS GROUND SAUSAGE

2 CUPS CHOPPED CELERY

1 CUP CHOPPED CARROT

2 LARGE ONIONS CHOPPED

ONE PACKAGE CORNBREAD STUFFING MIX OR

5 CUPS FRESH CRUMBLED UP

2 ¾ CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

1 ½ TEASPOONS POULTRY SEASONING

1 TEASPOON CRUMBLED UP SAGE

2 EGGS

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

PLACE SAUSAGE, CELERY, CARROTS AND ONIONS IN A LARGE, DEEP SKILLET, AND COOK OVER MEDIUM HIGH HEAT UNTIL EVENLY BROWNED.  DRAIN AND CRUMBLE SAUSAGE AND SET ASIDE.

IN A LARGE BOWL, COMBINE SAUSAGE MIXTURE WITH CORNBREAD, EGGS, CHICKEN BROTH, POULTRY SEASONING, AND SAGE.  MIX WELL AND TRANSFER TO A BAKING DISH.  MAKE SURE TO ADD ENOUGH CHICKEN STOCK SO THAT THE STUFFING WILL BE MOIST.

BAKE COVERED, FOR 45 MINUTES OR UNTIL WELL SET AND COOKED THROUGH.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Brussels Sprouts


One of my favorite vegetables of all times is brussels sprouts; I can eat them every day when they are in season, which is winter time.  When I first started to makes these little green cabbages, I use to saute them with bacon and onion.  I have a nephew who would not touch them.

Then one day I added some bacon to the pot along with some onion and magically they turned into his favorite vegetable - it is amazing what bacon will do. Every time I made them this way they disappeared in an instant, and I made them this way all the time when he came for dinner.  To this day I think they are the only vegetable he will eat - only if they are made with bacon.

Nowadays I make them all different ways; I still make them with bacon but I have found through the years that they taste much better roasted.  They are the one vegetable that make an appearance on my dinner table every time I see them at the grocery store. So here is one of the many ways I make brussels sprouts.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

 Ingredients
 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
 3 tablespoons good olive oil
 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil , salt and pepper.

Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt.

HALOWEEN TREATS

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I would give you a couple of different cookie recipes, which will tame all those ghosts and goblins out there.  Enjoy, and be safe!!

PUMPKIN SWIRL BROWNIES

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter lining.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.

Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top a with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don't set.

With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

Candy-Corn Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• About 36 candy corns

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.

Scoop out level teaspoons of dough, and roll into balls (chill dough briefly if it becomes too soft to handle). Place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch (do not let cookies color), 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Variation: Reduce the amount of flour given in the recipe to 1/2 cup. Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder along with the flour in step 1, and proceed.

PUMPKIN SWIRL CHEESECAKE

CRUST

2 CUPS FINELY CRUSHED GINGER SNAPS COOKIES

½ CUP FINELY CHOPPED PECANS

6 TBSP MELTED BUTTER

FILLING

3 PACKAGES CREAM CHEESE, SOFTENED

1 CUP SUGAR, DIVIDED USE

1 TSP. VANILLA

3 LARGE EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 CUP CANNED PUMPKIN

1 TSP GROUND CINNAMON

¼ TSP. GROUND NUTMEG

1/8 TSP GROUND CLOVES

PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 DEGREES AND POSITION THE OVEN RACK IN THE CENTER OF THE OVEN.

MIX GINGER SNAP CRUMBS, PECANS AND BUTTER; PRESS ONTO BOTTOM AND 2 INCHES UP SIDE OF 9-INCH PAN.

USING AN ELECTRIC MIXER ON MEDIUM SPEED, COMBINE CREAM CHEESE, ¾ CUP OF THE SUGAR, AND THE VANILLA UNTIL WELL BLENDED.  ON LOW SPEED, ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME, MIXING EACH TIME JUST UNTIL BLENDED.  REMOVE 1 -1/2 CUPS OF THE PLAIN BATTER AND SET ASIDE

TO THE REMAINING PLAIN BATTER, ADD REMAINING ¼ CUP SUGAR, PUMPKIN, CINNAMON, NUTMEG, AND CLOVES.  USING A LARGE SPOON STIR TO COMBINE.

POUR ½ OF PUMPKIN BATTER OVER CRUST.  SPOON ½ OF PLAIN PATTER OVER PUMPKIN LAYER.  REPEAT UNTIL ALL THE BATTER IS USED.  USING A LONG BUTTER KNIFE, GENTLY SWIRL THROUGH ALL LAYERS OF CHEESECAKE BATTER WITHOUT DISTURBING CRUST TO ACHIEVE A MARBLED EFFECT.

BAKE FOR 55 MINUTES OR UNTIL CENTER IS ALMOST SET.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.  USE A THIN KNIFE AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PAN TO LOOSEN THE CRUST.  COOL COMPLETELY ON WIRE RACK.

SAVING SOME MONEY

I want to talk a little bit about budget friendly recipes.  Dishes that will help you stretch the family budget at the grocery store.  We all want to save money when we go shopping, but in these days that is getting harder and harder to do.  How do you put quality food on the table without it breaking the family’s budget?  You learn to be creative, and by that I mean you make pasta dishes, pots of soups, and start cooking with more vegetables and grains and less meat.

There’s nothing that says home like a warm comforting pot of soup.  Soups made with fresh vegetables are not only nutritious but they are also fortifying and filling, add a tossed green salad and you have a complete meal for half the cost of what a meat meal would cost.  Soup for dinner could easily replace a meat meal at least once a week, and besides saving you some green at the grocery store you will be feeding your family a warm satisfying meal packed with lots of healthy vegetables.  What could be bad about getting them to eat more vegetables?

MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons margarine
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery with leaves, diced
1/4 cup parsley
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound fresh porcini or other mushrooms sliced
1 tablespoon flour
2 quarts beef broth or water
1 cup whole barley
2 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS

Soak the mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for a half hour. Strain through a filter. Reserve the water.

2. Coarsely chop the dried mushrooms.

3. Melt the margarine in a stockpot and saute the onion, celery, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, carrot, garlic, and fresh mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes.

4. Lower the heat and add the flour, stirring every 30 seconds for about 5 minutes or until thick

5. In a soup pot heat the broth or water. Add a cup of mushroom mixture at a time to the pot, stirring.

6. Turn the heat to high, and add the reserved mushroom water and barley. Stir well and add salt to taste.

7. Simmer, covered, for about an hour or until the barley is tender and the soup is thickened, stirring often.

8. Add additional chopped parsley, mix thoroughly, and adjust seasonings.

UNCLE JOE

Since I started this blog a couple of months ago, I have talked about my husband Irwin: the love of my life, a fantastic human being, and an all-around good guy.  Well, today I would like to talk about my favorite uncle.  Everyone has one; an uncle who stands heads and tails above the rest of them; the one who stand out more than then others, and in all ways made his presence known.

Well I had one of those and his name was Joseph, affectionately known as Uncle Joe.  Uncle Joe was also a great guy; he was a no-nonsense, "stand up for what you believe in," straightforward kind of a guy.  He also had a fantastic sense of humor.  He loved to joke, kid around, and have a great time.  You could always count on him to pull the first practical joke at a family gathering and was generally the life of the party. Once he got started there was no stopping him.  He was also a good listener; no matter what the problem was he always made time to listen and then tell you what you should do about the problem (his advice was always free).  If you went to him for advice and he gave it to you, you had better take it or not come back again.

His capacity to love was immeasurable, just as the size of his heart.  Irwin and Uncle Joe had a lot in common; both were stand-up guys, and each one in his own way was a shining star. Both had an enormous amount of love to share with everyone who crossed their paths.  I guess that is why I loved both of them so much.

Unlike Irwin, Uncle Joe loved to cook and be in a kitchen. He was always trying to come up with some new recipe that would be a huge hit.  He was actually quite good at it.  He loved to try new things and put whatever he had in the pantry together to make a meal.  He was always trying new things.  He had a few misses, but generally they were a hit.  He had a talent for putting different flavors together that seemed to work.  I am sure that is where I get my talent for putting combinations together that work well.  He was one of the first people who recognized my talent when it came to food.  I think Irwin was the first and he was the second.  No matter who was first or second both encouraged me.

This past year I have been cleaning out my home, trying to get rid of the clutter, when I came across two notebooks in Uncle Joe’s handwriting which contained all his favorite recipes.  These books are priceless; they contain many of my family’s favorite recipes, which he used throughout the years.  I know a few people who would kill for these two books, but I think I am going to hold on to them for a while longer.  I happen to have gotten them from a very good friend of his years ago and I just forgot I had them. Today I am going to post one of the recipes he made all the time.  He was very proud of this recipe because he figured out himself how to make the different ingredients works together to come up with a winning combination.  So here’s one of Uncle Joe’s favorites!

UNCLE JOE’S EGGPLANT CAPONATA

INGREDIENTS 

1 LARGE EGGPLANT 1 ½ LBS

½ CUP PLUS 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL

2 ½ CUPS SLICED ONION

1 CUP DICED CELERY

¼ CUP RED WINE VINEGAR

2 CANS (8OZ SIZE) TOMATO SAUCE

2 TABLESPOONS DRAINED CAPERS

½ TEASPOON SALT

DASH PEPPER

12 PITTED RIPE BLACK OLIVES (CUT IN SLIVERS)

DIRECTIONS

 Wash eggplant, cut into ½-inch cubes. Add ½-cup hot oil in large skillet, saute eggplant until tender and golden brown.

Remove eggplant and set aside.  In the same skillet, add 2 tablespoons, and saute onion and celery until tender about 5 minutes.

Return eggplant to skillet.  Stir in tomato sauce.  Bring to boiling point.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered 15 minutes.

Add vinegar, sugar, capers, salt, pepper and olives.  Simmer covered and stir occasionally, 20 minutes or longer.  Refrigerate eggplant mixture covered overnight.

MAKING A GOOD PIE

This is generally the time of year when my thoughts turn into holiday menus - what I will be cooking and baking.  Baking is generally number one on my list.  I usually decide what I am actually going to bake before I decide on what the main entree is going to be.

 

Last Thanksgiving I cooked a huge dinner at my parents' home, although I was not in the mood to do anything my mother insisted for two reasons: first, she did not want me to be alone and be miserable (I really did not want to be bothered with any one last year) and second, she just did not feel like cooking and thought it was time someone else assumed those responsibilities.  Once my mother has made up her mind about something, she can be one tough cookie.

 

So I planned the menu, shopped for the food, cooked a fantastic meal, and baked.  When I say "baked," I mean I really baked.  Not just one dessert; there were many desserts including apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, coconut custard pie, and a chocolate layer cake for my nephew because, of course, there wasn’t enough dessert on the table or anything he liked, so it had to be something chocolate.   All that work kept me busy for a couple of weeks and I was grateful to be kept busy at that time.

 

This year I am going to continue the tradition Irwin and I started so many years ago: having Thanksgiving dinner in our home.  Irwin and I always had Thanksgiving dinner at home; many were invited and a good time was had by all throughout the years.  We were happy to share our home with so many of our family and friends who we both loved dearly and I am very grateful to have all those wonderful memories to fall back on.  Irwin loved to have a house filled with people he loved and who loved him back.

 

I am keeping things simple this year.  Yes, my home will be filled with people I care about and who care about me, and yes there will be fantastic food, and of course I am going to bake.  Instead of making many desserts I am sticking to the basics and that basis is going to be good, old-fashioned apple pie.  

It always seems that no matter what you make for dessert, the apple pie always goes first.  So that is going to be my only dessert this year.  Along with the recipe I am using this holiday season I have listed some tips that will help you in turning out the best pies that you have ever eaten.

Pie Troubleshooting Guide

 

The dough cracks when I try to roll it

 

The dough is either too dry or too cold. If it seems to be crumbling apart, work a few sprinkles of water into it--a squeeze bottle works well--but try to handle it as little as possible. If it merely cracks at the edges when you run the rolling pin over it, it probably just needs to warm up a little. Allow it to sit on the counter for a few minutes, but don't let it get too warm, or the layers of fat will melt together and your crust will not be flaky.

The dough sticks to the rolling pin

 

Chill the dough before trying to roll it out. Lightly flour the counter top and the flattened ball of dough. Keep dusting the pastry lightly on both sides as you roll. You don't want to work in more flour, but you can always brush off excess from the dough.  Pastry cloths and rolling pin covers are also available. These are made from thin machine-washable cotton, and they will help prevent sticking dough; be sure to lightly flour the cloth and the cover before using them. You can also roll the dough out between sheets of waxed paper.

The crust doesn't brown on the bottom

 

Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil, and place the pie on the bottom oven rack. Begin baking at a relatively high temperature (425 to 450 degrees F), then reduce it after 20 minutes or so. The initial high temperature will help the crust to brown, and reducing the temperature will allow the filling to cook thoroughly before the crust burns. Even better: invest in a baking stone. Bake the pie--on a baking sheet to prevent spills--directly on the hot stone.

My crust is soggy

 

Brush the bottom crust with beaten egg white or heated jelly before pouring in your filling. Or try partially or fully baking crust before adding the filling. Partially baking the bottom crust can be a challenge if you're making a double-crust pie, but it can be done--you just won't get a good seal between the top and bottom crusts.

The crust is too pale

 

Increase the oven temperature. You can also brush the top crust with beaten egg or milk for a golden, glossy appearance. If your crust recipe contains vinegar or lemon juice, this could be the culprit as well: these ingredients are used to make the crust tender, but they can also inhibit browning. Counteract it by adding about a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt to your flour before mixing in the fat.

I pre-baked my pie crust, and it came out shrunken, puffy, and misshapen

 

Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator both before and after rolling it out. Also be sure that you never pull or stretch the dough when fitting it into the pan. Use a fork to poke the crust in several places to allow steam to escape without forcing the crust to puff up. If you're baking a custard pie where the filling is baked in the crust (as opposed to a cream pie, where the filling is cooked on the stove top then poured into a pre-baked crust) holes in the crust allow the custard to seep through the holes. (You can save extra dough when rolling out the crust and use it to patch cracks and holes.)

My pumpkin pie cracked in the center

 

Custard pies--including pecan pies--need delicate handling. A too-hot oven or over-baking are the most common causes for cracking. Don't let the filling puff up or "souffle," and don't bake the pie so long that the filling is completely set in the center.

My fruit pie is runny

 

One way to ensure your filling is thick enough is to pre-cook it. Take half to two-thirds of the fruit-sugar-starch mixture, and bring it to a boil. Simmer the filling for at least one minute for cornstarch or tapioca, and three minutes for flour-thickened pies. Remove from heat, and stir in the remaining raw fruit. This gives you a thicker filling that still contains chunks of uncooked fruit for texture.

Also, be sure the pie has cooled completely before you slice it--the filling needs time to set properly.

Traditional Apple Pie

Ingredients

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         3/4 cup shortening (recommended: Crisco)

·         Ice water

·         Filling:

·         1/2 cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour

·         6 to 7 cups apples cut into thin slices

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender until it's the texture of cornmeal. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over the mixture and mix just until the dough is moistened. Repeat by adding 6 to 8 tablespoons water (one at a time) until all the dough is just moist. Take care not to over mix.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the dough in half and roll into a ball. Roll 1 ball into a circle to fit a 9 to 10-inch pie plate. To transfer the pastry to the pie plate, wrap it around a rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate. Be careful not to stretch the pastry. Trim it even with the edges of the pie plate. Add the apple filling into the pastry lined pie plate. Make sure they are laying flat. Cut butter into small pieces and put on top of the filling.

Roll the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle. Place on top of the filling. Trim off 1 inch beyond the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edges as desired. Cut slits to allow steam to escape when baking. Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon over the pie.

Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

A GREAT MEATLESS GO TO DISH

Meatless nights in my house rarely occurred because I was married to one of the biggest carnivores of all times.  Irwin was a strictly "meat and potatoes" man; throw in a half a dozen slices of bread and it was the perfect meal for him. A real knife and fork man, if you know what I mean.

He always ate a lot of bread with his meals in order to make up for the quality of the food.  In fact one of his top five all time favorite dishes were mashed potatoes; add any kind of meat to that and you had a five star meal, according to him.  He also loved Italian food.  Before we got together he spent many nights at the local pizza parlor having dinner: eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna - all of his favorites.  These are just a few with eggplant being the leader of the pack.  Throw in a loaf of Italian bread and he was your best friend for life.

So when I wanted to make a meal without meat, I usually turned to an Italian dish.  I could have fed him with meatless pasta dishes forever, but you know what they say: variety is the spice of life (and I was his variety and dessert).  So every once in a while I would make a meatless dish from a vegetable.  It also helped that he loved - not liked, but loved - eggplant.  Take the eggplant, smother it in sauce, and cover it in cheese on a fresh loaf of Italian bread, and you had a friend for life.  I mean, what could be bad? The meal had all his favorite elements: eggplant, tomato sauce, cheese and bread.  He was in Italian food heaven every time I made him eggplant Parmesan.  Eggplant Parmesan became my number one go-to dish when I wanted to have a night without meat. Lets be honest here, who doesn't like something warm gooey and covered in cheese.... 

Here’s a tip which will make frying the eggplant a breeze.  When I bread and fry things like these slices of eggplants, I make a little assembly line that leads from the flour to the eggs, onto the breadcrumbs, and right into the pan of hot oil. Placing three rectangular cake pans side by side next to the stove works nicely; there is very little cleanup afterwards, but any container wide enough to hold several slices of eggplant at a time will work just as well.  Make sure that after you take the eggplant out of the oil you place it on a paper towel, and be sure to salt the slices.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS

3 medium eggplants, (about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
1 tablespoon sea salt, or kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
all-purpose flour, for dredging
2 cups plain breadcrumbs
freshly ground pepper
½ cup vegetable oil, or as needed
½ cup olive oil, or as needed
Tomato sauce
2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into slices 1/3-inch thick
12 fresh basil leaves

DIRECTIONS

 

Trim the stems and ends from the eggplants. Remove the strips of peel about 1 inch wide from the eggplants, leaving about half the peel intact. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into1/2 inch thick slices and place them in a colander. Sprinkle with coarse salt and let drain for 1 hour. Rinse the eggplant under cool running water, drain thoroughly, and pat dry.

Whisk the eggs and 1 teaspoon of salt together in a 13x9 inch baking pan, or a wide, shallow bowl. Spread the flour and breadcrumbs in an even layer in two separate wide, shallow bowls or over sheets of wax paper. Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the floured eggplant into the egg mixture, turning well to coat both sides evenly. Let excess egg drip back into the pan, then lay the eggplant in the pan of breadcrumbs. Turn to coat both sides well with breadcrumbs, pressing with your hands until the breadcrumbs adhere well to the eggplant.

Pour 1/2 cup of each of the olive and vegetable oils into a medium skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until a corner of one of the eggplant slices gives off a lively sizzle when dipped into the oil. Add as many of the eggplant slices that fit without touching and cook, turning once, until it's well browned on both sides - about 6 minutes. Move the eggplant to a baking pan lined with paper towel and repeat with the remaining eggplant slices. Adjust the heat as the eggplant cooks to prevent the bits of coating that fall off the eggplant slices from burning. Add oil to the pan as necessary during cooking to keep the level more or less the same.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the tomato sauce to simmering, if necessary, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Ladle enough sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with an even layer of grated cheese and top with a layer of fried eggplant, pressing it down gently. Tear a few leaves of basil over the eggplant and ladle about 3/4 cup of the sauce to coat the top evenly. Sprinkle an even layer of grated cheese over the sauce and top with a layer of mozzarella, using about 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat the layering as described above two more times, ending with a top layer of cheese that leaves a border of about one inch around the edges of the baking dish. Drizzle sauce around the border of the baking dish and sprinkle the top layer with the remaining grated cheese. Finish with a few decorative streaks or rounds of tomato sauce. Cover the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil and poke several holes in the foil with the tip of a knife. Bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and continue baking until the top layer of cheese is golden in spots - about 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 to 20 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

 

TURKEY 101

TURKEY 101

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and this time of year always makes me think of my grandparents and the excitement of cooking a holiday dinner.  Nothing was better than a Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents' house.  Some of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving are the ones of my childhood at my grandparents' home.  The family would gather there to celebrate, eat, and more eating.  It had to be the only dinner that lasted five hours.

Memories of the laughter in the air and the smells coming from the kitchen are things that can never be replaced in my mind.  As time has moved on we have lost a lot of my family and I have grown older.  The best part of all about Thanksgiving was being with family.  It was loud, loving, boisterous, and fun.

Those Thanksgivings are long gone and we have all since gone our separate ways, but the memories are still as vivid in my mind as if they were only yesterday.   If you talk to five different people all five of them are going to have ideas on how to cook a great turkey.

I am a firm believer in “Basic and simple is best."  So I am going to give you a few of the basic techniques which have always worked well for me and which will produce a fantastic turkey.

TURKEY 101:

If you hate the memory of dry turkey from the old days, buy a fresh (not frozen) kosher turkey. They truly are juicier and tastier because they are brined for you; it's best to go with a basic 12 to 16 pound turkey.  If you need a larger turkey always buy fresh, not frozen, and make sure it is kosher.  The brine will keep your turkey moist during the roasting.

I buy my turkey about a week before Thanksgiving and let it sit in the refrigerator on paper towels until I am ready to roast it.  I also take it out of the refrigerator about two hours before I am ready to prep and roast it.  You want the bird to be at room temperature before roasting.

First I salt and pepper the turkey; make sure to salt and pepper the entire bird inside and out. Then I rub the top of the bird with a mixture of olive oil and fresh herbs. 

I like to roast my turkey on a bed of carrots, leeks, onions, celery, rosemary, thyme, and parsley; chop the herbs in a food processor or by hand.  Stuff the cavity of the bird with the same ingredients, which I roast the turkey on.

I then add about two cups of chicken stock.   Not only will it will help in making your gravy, but it will also keep the bird moist.  I cook the turkey stuffing separately, not in the cavity, which makes it easier to cook the turkey more evenly.

Trussing is the act of tying string around a turkey in order to make the bird more round with no protrusions - no wings sticking out.  This prevents the burning of exposed areas. Twist the wing tips, which would burn first, under them with some force. Now run a strand of string under the turkey's girth and up each side, catching the wing tips under the string. Continue the string over to the drumsticks, catching them with the fatty tails flaps, and tie tightly.

I preheat my oven to 500 degrees.  Roasting the turkey on high heat for the first fifteen minutes not only seals in the juices but also starts building that wonderful golden color we all expect.

After the first fifteen minutes, I drop the oven temperature down to 325 and I continue roasting the turkey until the internal temperature is 160 degrees.  This should take about 1 ½ - 2 hours.

Once I put the turkey in the oven I leave it alone.  I know there are people who baste the bird every thirty minutes or so, but I find roasting it slow and letting it rest thirty minutes before carving will produce a tender, juicy turkey.