we have a winner folks

this recipe is a collaborative creation between me and nate.  i'm not sure what to call it.  maybe he will have a name when he wakes up.  we started out wanting to make chili rellenos.  but i had been working all day and we were hungry and so we cheated and bought canned whole green chilies instead of making our own ( i know i know- bad foodie).  canned chilies (as you may or may not know) are neither big enough nor sturdy enough to be stuffed.  so nate, in a moment of genius, suggested we just dredge them in a pancake like batter and fry them flat.  so here it is.  of course feel free use fresh roasted chilies.  i most likely will next time i make this.

1 7 oz can of whole green chilies (or a few fresh roasted, peeled and seeded)

1 egg

3 heaping tablespoons of cornmeal

pinch of baking powder

about a 1/3 cup of buttermilk (enough to make a loose batter)

big pinch of salt

heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan (a cool trick for making sure you heat up the pan to the right temperature is to put one popcorn kernel in the pan and wait for it to pop).  while the oil is heating, drain the chilis and stack ready to dredge.  next mix together the batter ingredients.  when the oil is hot enough, start frying. take one chili, dredge in the batter and lay directly in the pan.  fry until golden brown, flip, repeat.  as soon as you pull them out of the pan, top with a sprinkling of montery jack cheese.  to serve top with nate's sauce (the recipe for which i will add in when he wakes up.  i don't honestly know what he put in it).

we had ours with some delicious mexican baked rice, refried beans and a simple salad of lettuce tomato and avocado.  very yummy.

crispy eggplant parmesan

i finally made successful eggplant parmesan.  the recipe is based on the one from the america's test kitchen family cookbook.  i had tried it before.  the results were good, but not perfect.  the key was oven frying.  this makes the crust really crunchy, which is my favorite part.  but then when i layered it with the sauce, the crunch got kind of lost.  also i cut the eggplant too thick, so it didn't cook well.

so a few nights ago, i rolled up my sleeves and tried again.  here is my adaptation of the test kitchen recipe

crispy eggplant parmesan

adapted from americas test kitchen family cookbook

1 globe eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices

salt

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

2 cups bread crumbs (either fresh made or panko.  matzo meal and other fine ground commercial            bread crumbs wont make a crunchy crust.  big crumbs are key)

3/4 c grated parmesan

olive oil

1- 2 cups marinara sauce

one large ball of fresh mozzarella (also called ovoline) sliced thin

a few leaves of basil (if possible, one per slice of eggplant)

salt each slice of eggplant liberally and let sit for about 30 to 40 minutes.

while it sits, preheat the oven to 425 with the baking sheets already in place.  the key to oven frying is to start with a hot pan.  pour the flour into a large zip lock bag with a few grinds of pepper. mix eggs  in a shallow bowl and in another toss together the bread crumbs and parmesan.  

rinse the salt off the eggplant and press out the water, remove as much liquid as possible.  next place all the slices in the zip lock bag, seal, and shake to evenly coat.  remove the eggplant, shaking off excess flour and dunk into the egg. again shake off excess and move to the bread crumbs.  press the crumbs in to make sure they stick well.  set to the side. 

once you are ready to put the eggplant in the oven, remove the baking sheets and oil liberally before placing on the eggplant.  they will sizzle a little.  bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake 10 minutes more.

remove the trays from the oven.  now this is where i changed the most.  place one spoonful of sauce in the middle of each slice and top with a slice of mozzarella. move the oven rack up and turn on the broiler.  place the eggplant under the broiler until the cheese bubbles and browns a little.

there are two ways to serve this.  one is to just sprinkle some basil on and dig into the little medallions.  the other is to stack them in threes, one leaf of basil sandwiched between.

i hope you try this and enjoy.  

Short Order Garlic Shrimp

I am just now watching a movie called Short Order
It is my new favorite film. It is everything I have wanted from a food film but never have found. Wonderfully quirky as my friend would say. As I watched the main character cook prawns drenched in garlic and lemon I became overcome with the need to cook. And so, short order garlic shrimp was born (I had no prawns on hand).

Put a little pot of water on to boil

Chop four cloves of garlic finely (you could press it through a garlic press but then you wouldn't have nice little chunks to chew on).

Once the water boils, drop a small handful of angel hair pasta in. Sprinkle in some salt.

Heat a pan over medium high heat. Once hot, melt some butter and some olive oil. Once bubbly, dump in the garlic. Saute until fragrant and add the shrimp and some salt (I used 5 you could use more or less). Be careful not to burn or brown the garlic.

Finally shake in red pepper flakes to taste and toss the drained pasta with the sauce.

Enjoy with some wine.

hello.

hi there. welcome to my blog. i hope to create here a place for me to share all my recipes and goings on. i love to cook. i spend most of the day thinking about what to make for dinner and on my days off i usually try and make something adventurous and time consuming in the kitchen. feeding people is by far one of the most pleasurable activities for me. so i hope i can feed your imaginations and fuel your hunger to stand over a stove even on the hottest days. enjoy