Eggplant Parmesan

My kids love this dish... they call it lasagna, but who cares when they eat it all and ask for more!

1 eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled

1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tube polenta or 1 cup prepared polenta

Heat oven to 450°. Cut eggplant either lengthwise or into rounds. If you double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan, lengthwise works better - for the small pan, I like the rounds. Coat eggplant slices with cooking spray on both sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes until tender. Reduce oven to 375°. Spread a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish. Place one layer of eggplant slices and spread with 1 cup spaghetti sauce; sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Repeat once. Top with polenta slices, remaining sauce and both cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes until bubbly and cheese melts.

Kimbap (aka Korean Sushi)

I first saw this made by Andrew's stepmother who is from Korea. More recently, I learned to make it from a group of international students (or their spouses) who meet for a weekly culture group. You will be amazed at how easy and tasty it is! Most of the ingredients mentioned below can be found in an asian market - some of them may even be available in the ethnic section of your local grocery.

Start by making a batch of sushi rice. One of the best step by step tutorials on how to do this can be found here. One of the major differences between Korean and Japanese sushi (aside from not using raw fish) is the flavor of the rice. While Japanese sushi uses rice vinegar to flavor the rice, Korean sushi uses a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil. Start off small and add to suit your tastes.

Lay one sheet of roasted seaweed (sushinori) shiny side down on a bamboo sushi mat.

Using the back of a spoon (or fingers well oiled with sesame oil) press the sushi rice in an even layer on the seaweed, leaving about 1/2 inch at one end.

Place your ingredients at one end of the sushi roll. We used pickled daikon, pickled burdock (often packaged together at asian groceries), steamed spinach (not pictured), and imitation crab. You can use pretty much anything you like. Some popular combinations can be found here.

Using two hands (when not taking a picture), roll the sushi tightly. Use the mat to get started, then let it fall back and just roll, pressing lightly so the rice will stick to the seaweed as you roll. When you get to the end, use a little bit of water to moisten the seaweed and seal the roll.

Voila! Here is your finished product! Using a sharp knife cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices.

And serve with your favorite dipping sauce - we especially like Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
Enjoy!

Roasted Beets

Beets are another one of those vegetables that I wanted to teach myself to like this year - and with the help of my brother, who is a huge fan of beets, I'm happy to say we have succeeded. It turns out that more often than not, the simplest methods of preparation yield the tastiest results when it comes to vegetables.

For beets, simply scrub them really well with a vegetable brush, cut off the tops and ends, and pare away any "hairy" spots where little feeler roots have sprouted (you can peel the whole thing if you want, but it's not really necessary). Cut the beets in wedges and toss with olive oil (and salt and pepper if desired). Spread in a single layer in a glass dish and roast for about 45 minutes at 325. The beets are done when easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy.Here are our beets before roasting. Aren't they pretty? We used a combination of red, golden and Chioggia beets. They won't be quite as vibrant after roasting, but they'll taste wonderful!

Roasting really brings out the sweetness in the beets. For a nice contrast, you can toss them with the following dressing (or just serve it on the side).

Pour 1/2 cup sherry vinegar.
Add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Sorry that's not very exact, but I honestly don't know how much I use. Just start off with a little and add until it suits your tastebuds!

Mini Smoker

I got a mini stovetop smoker for my birthday and we decided to try it out the other night.

Our menu consisted of pork tenderloin with sweet turnips and baby carrots smoked over hickory chips. For seasoning, I stuck with a little salt and pepper because I wanted to experience the unadulterated smoked taste. The items being smoked sit on a rack over a drip tray. Under the tray you place about 1 Tbsp of the wood chips, then you place it on a burner set to medium heat. Surprisingly, it only takes about 30-45 minutes of cooking time and a few minutes under the broiler to brown things a little if you want. There was also very little smoke... just a few wisps escaping from time to time - the smell is quite strong though, so it's probably wise to use the oven exhaust fan while you're cooking.
Personally, I found the meat to be a little dry. I can see why they recommend using barbecue sauce for most meats - next time I think I'll just use the drippings to make a nice smoky gravy. The vegetables, however, were divine! They were nice and tender and had a wonderful smoky flavor that just made them stand out - esp. the turnips.

Next time we're going try fish with radishes and fennel smoked over alder chips!

Birthday Brownies

For my birthday, I decided I wanted to have brownies rather than a cake - and I found this recipe that was really intriguing so I decided I'd give it a try. It was the challenge recipe from Wondertime (sort of a my brownies are better than your brownies thing).
I have to say, they were really good. But I don't think I'd really call them brownies - they were more like fudge. I guess I like my brownies to have a bit more cake texture to them while still being fudgy. These are better when chilled but while not overly sweet, they are super rich... so have a glass of cold milk at the ready! They haven't posted the recipe online yet, so I'll print it here and update with the link when they have it ready.

Layered Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

Brownies: Heat oven to 300. Butter a 9x13 pan. Melt the stick of butter and chocolate in a small pan over very low heat or in a double boiler. Remove from heat. While the mixture cools, beat together the sugar, eggs, and salt for 8 minutes. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the flour and vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until it pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly, about an hour and a half.
Frosting: After the brownies have cooled for an hour, melt the butter over low heat until it's medium brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately beat in the confectioners sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Frost the brownies with this mixture while it's still warm. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
Glaze: While the frosting cools, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small pan over very low heat or in a double boiler. Pour over the white icing. (The best way to do this is to pour the chocolate on and tilt the pan back and forth until covered.) When the glaze has hardened - it will take an hour or two - cut the brownies into squares. Chill thoroughly before eating.

The next time I'm craving brownies, I think I'll try the ones my friend Tara has been raving about here...

Comfort Food

There's not much incentive in cooking when everyone in the house is sick... and my stomach is still working it's way toward normal. So lately, I've been craving comfort foods. You know, the food that just makes you feel cozy and warm and taken care of... here's my list of heartwarming, stomach tempting comfort foods:

Tomato Paella
Chicken and Wild Rice
Chicken Corn Chowder
Chicken Tangier
Arroz con Leche (aka Rice Pudding)

What are your favorite comfort foods?

Borscht with Lamb

We've had a bunch of beets languishing in our refrigerator for about a month now and, while they keep very well, I decided it was time to do something with them so I combined a couple of recipes and came up with this slightly Indian version of borscht if there can be such a thing.

olive oil
2 pounds roasted beets, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pound lamb stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 quarts beef broth
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 head cabbage, cored and shredded
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 pint sour cream
chopped dill

Heat oven to 350. Trim beet tops to 1/2 inch, wash, and clip root. Rub with olive oil. Mix coriander, cumin, cloves, turmeric, salt, and pepper and rub mixture onto beets. Place in roasting dish in single layer and cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove when skins are wrinkled and beets are easy to pierce with a fork. Allow to cool, then cut off top and root, peel away papery skin (it's okay if you don't peel it all off), and dice.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stockpot until very hot. Add the cubed lamb, and sear until well browned. Stir in the onion, and cook until tender and translucent, about 2 minutes. Pour in the beef broth, vinegar, and lemon juice; add the cabbage, tomatoes, diced beets, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lamb is tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish the soup bowls with a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of dill after ladling in the soup.

I was actually surprised at how well this turned out - I guess I had in my mind that borscht would be tricky to make. I served it with dilled cornbread and two of my kids really liked it... let me tell you, two out of three ain't bad!