Eggplant Parmesan

I made an Eggplant Parmasan last week using a recipe that I got from the Italian cooking school. I was so pleased with the results. It was better than I expected. I should have known that it would be good since I used all fresh local ingredients. The only problem I ran into was trying to convert the measurements. The recipe calls for 30 DL (deciliter) of olive oil. I figured wrong and added way too much olive oil to my tomato sauce, but it didn't alter the taste any.  Because it was so oily my pics didn't turn out good.

Eggplant Parmesan

Number of servings, 8

Eggplant 1kg (2.2 lb or 1 large eggplant)

Peanut oil 1 liter (approx. 4 cups)

Tomato Pulp 700 gr (3 cups)

chopped fresh basil 50 gr (3.5 T.)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 30 DL (1/3 cup)

Grated Mozzarella 500 gr (2 cups) I used about 1 ½ cups and had some leftover

Basil bloom

Grated Parmesan cheese 200 gr (¾ cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the eggplant into slices sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let drain for an hour. Pat dry, flour, and fry slices in peanut oil at 350 degrees. Drain well on paper towel.

Meanwhile, peel tomatoes. Simmer the olive oil, finely chopped onion, tomato pulp, basil, salt and pepper.

In a bowl combine Mozzarella (I used buffalo mozzarella that is packed in water. Discard water and grate) and Parmesan.

Arrange in a baking dish layering eggplant, tomato sauce, and cheese repeat and garnish with basil bloom. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes serve hot.

Easy Peasy Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler is yummy and oh so easy!

Easy Peasy Peach Cobbler

1 stick butter, melted

1 large can sliced peaches

1 cup milk

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

Pour melted butter in 9x13 inch pan. Combine milk, flour, sugar, and pour over butter. Pour can of peaches (or any can fruit) on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes. This cobbler is extra delicious served with ice cream.

Eggplant Caponata Take Two

Last week I tried making Eggplant Caponata again and this time it turn out great! It was a definite improvement from the first time. I left out the potatoes and peeled the eggplant in stripes instead of peeling the whole thing. I also broke up the olives instead of leaving them whole. This is served as an antipasto (appetizer). I like to eat it with Italian bread. It is a process to make but so worth it.

Eggplant Caponata

EGGPLANT 0,800 kg (approximately 1.5 lb or 1 large eggplant)

GREEN OLIVES 100 g (1/4 cup)

CELERY 100 g (1/4 cup)

ONIONS 200 g (1/2 cup)

PEANUT OIL 0,500 lt (for frying)

RED AND GREEN BELL PEPPERS 800 g (approximately 5 large peppers)

FRESH BASIL 30 g (1 ounce)

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL 50 DL (for sauteeing)

CAPERS 30 g (1 ounce)

SUGAR 30 g (1 ounce)

WHITE VINEGAR 25 g (a little less than 1 ounce)

SALT AND PEPPER 100 q.b (to taste)

COCOA 20 g

1. Wash eggplant and peel 1/2 the eggplant. Cut eggplant into cubes. Cover cubes in water and add a generous amount of salt. Let sit for one hour. This takes the bitterness out of the eggplant.

2. Wash the peppers, remove seeds, and dice.

3. Fry peppers in peanut oil, drain on paper towels.

4.  Drain eggplant and squeeze out water. Fry in oil. Be careful to use a big pot so the oil doesn't bubble over when placing the eggplant in the oil.

5.Wash the celery and onion then dice. Brown in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook for 20 minutes on low flame.

6. Then add the sugar, vinegar, capers, pitted olives, eggplant, peppers, basil, and celery. Add salt and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with cocoa and serve cold.

Peppery Chicken Fried Chicken and Spicy Cream Corn

I thought I would share with you a couple of good Southern recipes that our family really enjoys. A few nights ago my son requested fried chicken for supper. I didn't want to go to all the trouble of making regular fried chicken, so I turned to this delicious Peppery Chicken Fried Chicken recipe. It is really good and quick to prepare. Any leftovers go great in a salad.  I never make the gravy in this recipe. I have tried many times to make gravy and it never turns out well so I have given up for the time being. If you try this recipe and your gravy turns out well, please send me comment and share your tips.

Peppery Chicken Fried Chicken

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes
Fry: 15 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
8 (6-ounce) skinned and boned chicken breasts
4 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
76 saltine crackers (2 sleeves), crushed
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 cups milk, divided
4 large eggs
Peanut oil

Preparation
Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper evenly over chicken. Set aside.

Combine cracker crumbs, 2 cups flour, baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and ground red pepper.

Whisk together 1 1/2 cups milk and eggs. Dredge chicken in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture again.

Pour oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a 12-inch skillet (do not use a nonstick skillet). Heat to 360°. Fry chicken, in batches, 10 minutes, adding oil as needed. Turn and fry 4 to 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack in a jellyroll pan. Keep chicken warm in a 225° oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.
Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup flour, remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper, and remaining 6 1/2 cups milk. Pour mixture into reserved drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with chicken.

I got this Spicy Cream Corn recipe from my mother-in-law. We always have this corn at Thanksgiving. It goes great with fried chicken too.  My younger son is very picky but this is one of his favorite foods.
 

Spicy Cream Corn

4 cans White Shoepeg Corn

8 oz. block cream cheese

approx. 2 Tbsp chopped jalapenos from a jar- you can adjust the amount of peppers depending on how spicy you want the corn.

 

Enjoy!!

Market food

Every Wednesday the nearby town of Motta San Anastasia has a market. The market is very small compared to other area markets, but it is the closest to us and usually has everything I need. I try to buy my fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs for the week at the market. The eggs are so fresh there is often chicken poop still on them! Isn't that appetizing?

This is what I bought at the market yesterday. Doesn't it look good?

There is a corner store in Motta that sells fresh produce, wine, vinegar, fresh bread and a few other grocery items. I always stop by the store after leaving the market. The owner is super nice and speaks very good English.

Here is what I bought yesterday. I always buy two liters of red table wine as well as fresh bread; often the bread is still warm. Brandon really likes the wine. It is made locally and is only about $6 a bottle. I also bought some fresh basil and mushrooms yesterday.

Buon Appetito!

Boiling hotdogs. How difficult can it be?

My son's birthday party was last weekend. I decided to serve hotdogs since they are so easy to prepare and a change from the usual pizza. I prefer my hotdogs grilled. However, my husband was out of town and I didn't want to have to mess with the grill so I decided it would be easiest to just boil them. I put the water on the stove, but I didn't wait for the water to come to a rolling boil before I put the hotdogs in the water. Once it came to a boil, I put the lid on and set the timer for 4 minutes. When  I took the lid off, my hotdogs looked like this:

 Ugh! I was so frustrated with myself. Obviously they were in the water too long. Thankfully I was not serving adults, but only kids. I just put the busted side down on the bun, and the kids had no idea.

I hope this gives you some encouragement  and maybe a good laugh! I know you are capable of boiling hotdogs. I mean really, how difficult can it be?

Lightened Chocolate-Coffee Cheesecake with Mocha Sauce

Here is another $100,000 Southern Living recipe. This recipe is a slighter lighter version of the original. I have never tried the original version, but the lighter version is delicious! The next morning after making this cheesecake all I could think about was lunchtime and eating more cheesecake. I am not even a huge fan of cheesecake, but oh my this is yummy!

 I did alter the recipe some.

We don't have chocolate graham crackers here in Italy, so I used regular graham crackers.
I didn't use reduced-fat butter
Instead of the coffee liquer and instant coffee, I used 1/4 cup espresso
Instead of bittersweet chocolate, I used semisweet chocolate chips melted
For the mocha sauce, I used brewed espresso instead of regular coffee

Here is a pic of my cheesecake. This is only the second time I have ever used a springform pan so you can see that my crust still needs some work. This time when I made the cheesecake it cracked in the middle, meaning that it was overcooked.

Lightened Chocolate-Coffee Cheesecake With Mocha Sauce

Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 10 min.; Stand: 30 min.; Cool: 1 hr.; Chill: 4 hrs.
Yield: Makes 10 servings (serving size: 1 slice cheesecake and about 1 tbsp. mocha sauce)
Ingredients
2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers (about 18 crackers)
1/3 cup reduced-fat butter, melted
Vegetable cooking spray
4 (8-oz.) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
4 large eggs
4 (1-oz.) bittersweet baking chocolate squares
Mocha Sauce

Preparation
1. Stir together crushed graham crackers and melted butter; press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.

2. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

3. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add liqueur, vanilla, and coffee granules, beating at low speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition.

4. Remove and reserve 1 cup cream cheese mixture. Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.

5. Microwave chocolate in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir reserved 1 cup cream cheese mixture into melted chocolate, blending well. (Mixture will be thick.) Spoon mixture in lines on top of batter in pan; gently swirl with a knife.

6. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

7. Remove sides of springform pan. Serve with Mocha Sauce.

Nutritional Information
Calories:464 (46% from fat)
Fat:24.8g (sat 13.7g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:14.9g
Carbohydrate:48.5g
Fiber:2g
Cholesterol:131mg
Iron:1.2mg
Sodium:411mg
Calcium:88mg
 
Mocha Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons reduced-fat butter
3 tablespoons strong-brewed coffee

Preparation
1. Cook first 3 ingredients in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in coffee. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information
Calories:92 (54% from fat)
Fat:6g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:1g
Carbohydrate:10.8g
Fiber:1g
Cholesterol:4mg
Iron:0.5mg
Sodium:10mg
Calcium:13mg