Mango-Avocado Bruschetta

      Flipping winter, it is a real biotch these days. Mid- January, Holidays behind us, everyone watching their carbs, and nothing put dropping temperatures to keep us company. Uugghhhh, I know. So right around this time, I’ll take anything to bring some warm and summer thoughts to mind. And that’s where this recipe caught me…it read like and looked like a Miami Times headline, combining tropical, tasty and tempting. 

       Really, it was such a refreshing appetizer. The flavors were each so pronounced yet in sync with each other. Even the combination of textures- crunch from the bread, creaminess from the avocado, crispy from the diced vegetables, were just delectable. And then there was the cilantro. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, I hear you're either a hater or lover of this herb. Results- I think I’m leaning towards the latter here. It was so lively, just the perfect pop to each bite. 

     And although we loved this topping over the bruschetta, I definitely think the mixture would be a home-run over grilled chicken or a crispy cheese quesadilla. Both paired with an ice cold Corona or a Salty Margarita. Damn winter, you’ve even got me forfeiting my beloved red wine! 

     So I say, the heck with old man winter. Make this dish, crack open a cold one, put on your flip flops even if you have socks on and jump ahead 5 months. Cheers and enjoy……

Mango-Avocado Bruschetta 

Serves: 8

Source: Celebrity Chefs Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 TBS olive oil, divided 

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1 mango, diced

3 TBS red onion, diced

2 TBS fresh lime juice

2 TBS red bell pepper, diced

1 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

1 small baguette, cut into 12-16 slices

1. Heat griddle or grill pan over medium heat
2. Grill or sear avocado for about 2 minutes per side, until charred a bit. Cut into 1/4 in. pieces 
   
   
   
3. Brush both sides of bread with2 TBS  olive oil (or more depending on your bread size, you want it glistening) and grill or sear each side for about 2-3 minutes each side, until golden and toasted. Put aside
4. In a medium size deep bowl, mix avocado, mango, red onion, lime juice, red bell pepper, garlic, cilantro with about 2 TBS oil. Season with salt and pepper
5. Spoon over toast pieces or refrigerate until ready to serve

Crunchy Fried Shrimp

      

      These little nuggets of goodness……we all need a treat like em’ every now and again, for sure. Naturally, I know they aren't what the doctor ordered, but they definitely cure some sort of something in our daily lives. Tired? Yup, these will perk you up. Cranky? Yesiree, got you covered. Grumpy? Check! Hangry? Double duty medicine 100%. Or even if you are having a grand ol’ day, they’ll widen that smile, I promise. 

     Funny, when I bought the shrimp I had planned to make some kind of a tortellini with shrimp and asparagus saute. Hubby and I opted for the pastrami I also bought and canned the shrimp idea. Because after a long week, a hot pastrami sandwich sounded way better than shrimp and veggies. 1 day later, we had the shrimp waiting to be cooked and it was a lazy Sunday football afternoon. Again, those poor tortellini got sidelined along with the asparagus. Enter easily battered fried shrimp, quickly salted for a deliciously satisfying bite. The only PITA part was cleaning the darn shrimp…..someone please invent a shrimp-cleaning transformer. My sad-a$$ paring knife and dwindling patience will thank you eternally. 

      So that’s that. A great, unexpected appetizer for us. I still have those tortellini and asparagus lingering in the fridge so I guess that’s on the menu this week. For you, I sure hope its some crunchy fried shrimp! Enjoy…

Crunchy Fried Shrimp

Serves: 4

slightly adapted from: Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible

Ingredients:

2 C self-rising flour

Salt

1/2 tsp black pepper 

2 C buttermilk

2 TBS hot sauce

1 TBS fresh lime juice

About 1-2 Quarts Canola oil, or peanut oil

1 LB jumbo shrimp, peeled, cleaned, deveined, cut in half or medium shrimp kept whole

1. In a shallow bowl or dredging plate, whisk flour, 1 TBS salt and pepper
2. In another same shallow bowl or dredging plate, whisk together buttermilk, hot sauce and lime juice
3. In a medium saucepan or deep sauté pan, heat 2 inches oil over medium heat until it reaches 375 on a deep fry thermometer. Or you can test oil but placing a pinch of flour in oil- if it sizzles- it is ready. 
4. Paper towel dry the shrimp and dredge in flour mixture, then buttermilk mixture, then back in flour mixture. Be sure to shake well after each dredge
5. Work in batches and fry the shrimp for about 2 minutes, until golden brown. With a slotted spoon, place on paper towel or brown paper bag to cool. Sprinkle immediately with salt
6. Serve warm 

Buffalo Blasts ®

         In this house, game day is synonymous with guilty fried foods easy enough to eat with your hands while lounging on the couch.  We here are Rutgers fans and so when they became part of the Big 10 this year, that meant more TV coverage…….aka: more game days to get our grub on! Unfortunately though, their games haven’t been as successful as my frying has been….. Oh well, at least something is working out. J

            Here is a recent recipe I used for some pregame appetizers. I halved the original recipe since it was just for the two of us. I think we could have downed the entire full quantity though. It is funny how when things are fried and 2-biters, you go through 7-10 of them in one commercial break. Maybe we could have slowed down or better yet, maybe I should have made the original amount. Either way, they were delicious. Matt enjoyed them with an extra side of hot sauce while I kept a limit on the heat by eating them as is. Again, with the mere crumbs left before kickoff, you could tell they were a hit.

            I left directions on the bottom of the recipe for baking this recipe. I actually did bake the first few of these treats before frying the rest. Results: baking was pretty tasty, but frying was impossible to beat. With the baking, you need additional hot sauce to dip in or even to glaze on top as they get a bit dry.  I’d recommend you fry. With the itsy size of these things, your hips won’t know the difference, I promise! ;)

Enjoy….

Buffalo Blast ®- Copycat Recipe

Adapted from: Our Italian Kitchen

Originally adapted from: Restaurant Copycat Recipes

Servings: 12 Blasts (serving for 1! – lol) 

OBJ: TCW be able to replicate a restaurant favorite while also providing a fried treat for game day fun

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, cooked (I used leftover over white meat from large Oven Roaster)

¼ C hot sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

S & P: salt and pepper, to your liking

½ package won-ton wrappers

Water

Vegetable or Canola Oil, for frying

Procedures:

1. Shred chicken well

2.  In a medium to large bowl, mix hot sauce, cream cheese, garlic and S & P

3. Add the shredded chicken and combine

4. Place a heaping TBS of chicken mixture on corner of wrapper. Water the edges and fold over, press along edges to seal. Repeat with remaining chicken mixture and wrappers

5. Pour oil in a large pot, fill ½ way. Heat oil over medium-high flame, heat enough so that when you stick the back of wooden spoon to bottom of pan, bubbles rise up. Or with a thermometer, you can check oil to make sure it is 350 degrees

6. Fry about 5-6 Blasts at one time, for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden browned

7. Remove from oil and place on wire rack, sprinkle with salt immediately. Serve alongside additional hot sauce or blue cheese

 

*** Alternately, you can preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake blasts on a foil-lined baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, salt and serve with same dipping sauces. They are pretty good this way, not going to trick you into believing they are fried though! ***

 

 

 

Fleischmann's Homemade Pretzels

Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Baking Mix:

Pretzel Creations

            Wow, it has been quite some time since I’ve added to my “What I’m buying Up” section. Not exactly sure what that means.....We all know this gal likes to shop so it can’t be the lack of that….I’m always scouring the food store well after my list has been  all checked off and completed……I’ve got a pretty big mouth so I can’t imagine it being me wanting to keep something on the DL…..

            Well than, I guess it boils down to not enough time to blog about my everyday cooking, trying different places to eat, and buying new products to share. Waahhhh, wahhhh, waahhh, where does the time go???

            Enter- my decent summer tan, a few books read and conquered, and plenty of sand to clean out of my trunkJ    Needless to say, it has been a great summer but one in which you might have missed me.

            So even though I can’t promise a more week-to-week posting schedule, I can bring you a new product that Hubby and I are just smitten with.

            I actually can’t take credit for this find. Matt came along shopping with me and spotted this product perched high above the baking goods. I think the marketing team did a swell job on this as the picture on the box definitely caught his eyes in oh, about 2 seconds. He’s a sucker for soft pretzels so once he saw the glistening twists displayed, he presented them to me with that cute smile.

            He gets me every time.

            So long behold, we bought them, made them and are definitely going to be buying more. They have a great buttery taste and are quite crisp right from the oven.  The process isn’t exactly 1-2-3, but if you can manage to give yourself 20 minutes, you will be well on your way to snack Heaven. Enjoy…

To read more about the product as well as other items, click here

First Time Foodie Adventure.....

First Time Foodie Adventure:

Whole Foods

            Whole Foods, a recent phenomenon in my book. Or more precisely, a place where people go to get wholesome and fresh food items, from seafood to saltines. I think everything there is organic and lists most ingredients on the label that you can actually read. This all sounds well and dandy, I know. But for me, I have actually always been on the fence with this place. First of all, I have heard and all-too-quickly agreed that it wasn’t Whole Foods, but rather Whole Paycheck. And for two, I have always been in the mindset of the best way to be healthy is to cook at home and control your own quantity and ingredients, none of this ‘where was it grown’,’ what was it sprayed with’, and ‘can I pronounce its components’ stuff.

            Now don’t get me wrong, I think all those fundamentals and practices are great and kudos to you if you can abide by them 24/7. For me, I know I can’t and have therefore, become very accustomed to La Shoprite. Ha

            Well, I must take back some opinions, my friends. A Whole Foods Market has just opened in our neighborhood and I recently took my first trip…..

            Simply beautiful. The colors, the displays, even the organization was eye-catching. I loved every nook and cranny, from the cheese counter to the brick oven pizza station. The place wasn’t as expansive as I thought it was going to be, yet it had the perfect amount and offerings of everything one might need.  I would actually venture to say that having such limited supply of items made for easy shopping (read: quicker shopping). I tried to stop and examine each aisle but as I usually am, I was hungry and we had to get something for dinner.

            We decided to get 2 pre-portioned fresh fillets of Sea Bass, a pound of bread & asparagus salad, and ready to heat empanadas. The latter for appetizers, because life is too short to not have them.

            The bill didn’t faze me at all, in fact I think it was pretty close to what we would spend elsewhere. I mean, if you do all your shopping there, from yogurt to romaine lettuce, you will spend more. But if you are looking for a few quality items and know what you want, the price tag won’t cause any flinches.

            The end result was quite yummy. My favorite was the bread salad, it had such balance of textures, flavors and spice. The empanadas were quite delightful too, as we heated them to a crisp and dunked them in the accompanied tangy glaze.

            So it is a true fact that I will be back. In fact, I hope it is true that I do so very soon. I saw one too many yummies that I need to try. Not to mention, I just want more time to peruse their collections and selections. And fortunately, as I have learned, I won’t be breaking the bank by doing so either. My pennies and dollars will be put to good use indeed, which is more than I can say after most shopping trips. Win!

 

Whole Foods Market is located at 113 Route 9 South, Marlboro, NJ 07726. Check out their Website, Facebook page, and Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herbilicious Crab Cakes

Herbilicious Crab Cakes

            Crab cakes- my entry into the seafood world. I think I’m like most people who resist all under-the-sea selections until one day, someone makes them try something on the surf-side.  For me, it was a mix of both calamari and crab cakes that brought me over to this side. They both were fried and served with tasty sauce, there wasn’t much for me to dislike. I would venture to say that this is how most people get into seafood- first something mild and fried, then they take baby steps from there.  I can’t imagine going from fried calamari to roasted salmon, can you? Eesh, that sounds like going from a beach walk to a mountain climb!

            Well anyway, the point is we all came to enjoy seafood at some point whether it be from a fryer or perhaps a dare.  As I was born into the seafood world via crab cakes and calamari, I now hold them dearly to my stomach heart.  I will save the calamari talk for another post and continue on good ol’ Mr. CC.

            I love crab cakes, really I do. I’ve been lucky enough to even judge a few crab cake contests during the past few years. I’ve probably had crab cakes from about 30 different chefs and I always go back to enjoying the lumpiest the best. Lumpiness, as in full of chunks and crabbiness.  So therefore, when I go to make them at home I tend to go for recipes that have minimal ingredients and require little mixing.  

            That being said, I recently came across this recipe and gave it a whirl. It looked tasty and fresh and pretty easy. I had the Fios guy coming, risotto to make, and a few zillion loads of laundry to do so for this day, I was cruisin’ for no time losin’. It came together great, the key was letting it set in the fridge. Hubby loved the fresh herbs, he couldn’t get over how “fragrant” they were. The cakes did have fresh cilantro, dill and tarragon so yeah, I guess they did have that going for them. I enjoyed them too and was happy to even save a few to serve on Easter. The family loved them and were all victim to the “name that herb” game. I wasn’t the one prodding here but let’s just say my other half has his questioning down pat. Enjoy…

 

Crab Cakes

Makes: about 8-10 cakes

Source: adapted from Epicurious  

OBJ: TCW be able to continue on her crab cake making quest

Ingredients:

1/4 C mayonnaise

1/4 C minced green onions

2 large egg yolks

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

4 tsp minced fresh dill

4 tsp minced fresh tarragon

4 tsp minced fresh cilantro

1 TBS spicy brown mustard

1 TBS finely grated lemon peel

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat

2 C panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

2 TBS (or more) butter

2 TBS (or more) canola oil

Lemon slices

Kosher salt

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Line baking sheet with waxed paper

2.  Whisk first 10 ingredients in large bowl

3. Mix in crabmeat and 1 cup panko, breaking up crabmeat slightly. Let stand 10 minutes

4.  Place remaining panko on rimmed baking sheet, spreading slightly

5. Form crab mixture into about 8-10 even sized patties (heaping ¼ C)

6. Press both sides of patties into panko. Transfer patties to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet.

7. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day

8. Melt 2 tablespoon butter with 2 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat

9. Add crab cakes to skillets and cook until golden on both sides, adding more butter and oil as needed, about 5 minutes total

10. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate or brown paper bag to drain and salt

11. Place pan-fried cakes on baking sheet and cook in oven for about 8-10 minutes or until bubbly and heated through

12. Serve with lemon slices

 

 

Perfect French Fries with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

             There is truly a reason why so many people prefer to get French fries via drive through window, restaurant kitchen or food truck vendor- they require too much damn time to make at home!

            Seriously people, the time it takes to peel, soak, dry, first-fry, drain, second-fry, then eat is incredible. For the same amount of time, I could have practically fetched the potatoes from the field and delivered them to their designated selling points. Or even better yet, I could have tried all the fast-food varieties and done a post about that! But there is a catch…..

            The ones you will make at home will be wwaayyyy better than whatever you receive from someone else. Honestly, the crunch, the salt, the steam from within will have you speechless. Which you should be because once you put these in front of you, you will not want to open your mouth up except to eat!

            Then to make this concoction even better, why don’t you go ahead and whip up some cheese sauce. If you think homemade fries are drool-worthy, you haven’t made your own dipping sauce yet.

            So are they a pain in the a$$? Why yes sir (or mam), they are. But are they worth your time, energy, and patience? You betcha they are! I wouldn’t ask you to waste your time if the end result wasn’t something scrumptious, I promise! So go ahead, get fryin’ my friends! Enjoy…

Perfect French Fries with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Serves 2-3

Fries recipe source (adapted for amount): The Pioneer Woman

Cheese Sauce recipe adapted from: Serious Eats

OBJ: TCW be able to create better-than-fast-food fries in her own kitchen and serve it alongside an irresistible bowl of cheesy dipping sauce  

Ingredients:

5- 6 Russet Potatoes

Vegetable Oil for frying

Sea Salt

For Cheese Sauce:

4 ounces grated cheddar cheese

½ TBS corn starch

½ can (12 ounce can) of evaporated milk

Procedures:

For Fries:

1. Peel and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in four or five vertical pieces, then cutting each piece into sticks. Place in a large bowl and cover with cold water, then allow them to soak for two or three hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak for several hours or overnight.)

2. When you’re ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay them on paper towels. Blot them with paper towels to dry them

3. Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees or use a deep fryer where you can set the temperature

4. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes for about 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until the potatoes are soft. They should not be brown at all!  see below....

5. Remove each batch and drain them on new/dry paper towels

6. Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 degrees

7. When the oil’s hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp

8. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels

9. Sprinkle fries right away with sea salt and enjoy alongside the cheese sauce

For Cheese Sauce:

1. Add cheese and cornstarch to large bowl and toss well to combine

2. Transfer to medium saucepan and add ½ Cup evaporated milk

3.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with whisk until melted, bubbly, and thickened (about 5 minutes)

4. Note: Mixture will look thin and grainy at first but will thicken and come together after heating. Thin it to desired consistency with additional evaporated milk

 

Grilled Sausage over Basil & Honey Ricotta with Pignolis atop Crostini

          Hey there everyone! Been a while, I know. I don’t have many excuses except that it is Holiday time and I had the Flu, Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection last week. Enough said, right!?? I don’t think I have cooked anything in over two weeks…..wimper wimper….

            Thank goodness for Hubby though. He kept me well-rested and well-fed. He did have some help from Livoti’s, our local Italian market, but he still gets all the credit for making many snacks, side dishes and his 4 course Christmas Feast for us. He is a gem, isn’t he?!? Except for when he kicked my booty in Words with Friends each day and refusing to sleep in the same bed as me all week!

Hubby to the Rescue!!!!

Our Little Christmas Feast for Two...with my medicines in background!

 

            But enough about that….here’s to coming back and giving you something new to chew on. I might not be back this week again but I hope I’ll have some time in the next few weeks to share more with you soon. I made this recipe on Thanksgiving and boy, it was a wham bam homerun. The ricotta was good enough just to schmear on some crusty bread, but I figured adding sweet sausage would round it out nicely.  

            And even better for now, it is almost New Year’s Eve and who doesn’t like tasty little bites at the party? So go ahead, I say make this appetizer, sneak a bite yourself, ring in the New Year and oh yeah, make sure you wash your hands! Enjoy!

Grilled Sausage over Basil & Honey Ricotta with Toasted Pignolis atop Crostini

Serves: 10-15 people

OBJ: TCW be able to incorporate her kitchen mixing skills with her Hubby’s grilling skills into 1 crowd-pleasing appetizer

Ingredients:

1, 15 ounce, whole milk ricotta cheese

3 – 4 TBS honey

10-12 fresh basil leaves, thinly shopped

¼ C pignoli nuts, toasted and cooled

S & P: salt and pepper, to taste

1 sweet sausage ring- grilled and sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 bag Crostini -toasted baguette pieces  ( I used Stacy’s brand Garlic & Herb- I found them at Cost Co. )

Procedures:

1. In a large bowl, mix ricotta, honey (start with 3 TBS), basil, nuts and a heavy pinch of S & P. Taste to see if it is sweet enough, if so- great. If not, add additional 1 TBS honey and stir. Cover and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving. Take out and let chill come off.

2. Preheat grill and cook sausage on both sides so that is cooked through. Slice while warm.

3. Place ricotta mixture in a medium size serving bowl. On a platter, place baguette pieces and tooth-picked sausage pieces. Place ricotta next to platter and plate up a few to show. Enjoy!

A New Cheese on the Block

Introducing…..Mielito

            So how many cheeses can you name? Mozz, Cheddar, Feta, Gruyere, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Ricotta, and I’d say I could do about 5-10 more, but I think that would be it for me. I’m not speaking for all, but I think you’re in the same boat as me. You know your ordinaries, you know your loves, you know your boundaries and I’m sure you know your “no-way Jose” cheeses.

            And well, besides the basic cheeses, I rarely consume anything else. I find this kind of sad since the amount of choices out there in Curdland are endless. Take one walk around the “cheese island” at Wegmans  or stop by your local Italian Market- the varieties will amaze you. That being said, I think we should all resolve this year to try some new cheeses. I know it is only November, but why not kick start 2014 a bit early? I’m not asking you to begin training for a triathlon or give up white flour, I’m telling you to increase your cheese repertoire. I’m in, are you?

            And since I’m the driver of this cheese bandwagon, I have one cheese in mind that you should go out and get. Mielito, that is. Hubby bought this a few weeks back to add to our dinner salads. We are always trying to step up our salad game, but that is another blog post. Anyway, we figured it would be hearty enough to bulk up the greens while salty enough to season them. Well, we got hearty and salty-yes, but we also got creamy and nutty. Needless to say, the cheese was great. I did some googling research and I found out that the cheese is from the Veneto region of Italy and is made from cow’s milk that has a bit of honey added in. Doesn't that make you feel smarter?!?

            So there you have it, a new cheese that we tried and now you have to. Don’t stress about getting it on a salad though, I’d save that for another day- just get the goods, grab some crackers, and keep that treadmill all folded up! Enjoy...

Mixed Greens over Sliced Pears, Roasted Walnuts and Mielito

Serves: 2

OBJ: TCW be able to try a new cheese

Ingredients:

10 thin slices of Mielito Cheese

2 C romaine lettuce, cleaned

2 C baby spinach, cleaned

¼ C roasted walnuts

1 Bartlett pear, sliced

¼ C Craisins

½ croutons

½ C cherry tomatoes, cleaned and halved

¼ C shredded or chopped carrots

S & P- salt and pepper

Honey Balsamic dressing- I recommend Ken’s Reserve

Procedures:

1. Divide the ingredients up into 2 bowls

2. Salt and pepper to taste

3. Add dressing to the amount you prefer

 

 

 

Eggplant Parm Naan Bread & Bonus Leftover Recipe

              Ricotta Cheese. Oh how sweet the sound! I seriously adore this stuff……layered, dolloped, stuffed, or just plan spooned- I could eat it all day. The best ricotta cheese I’ve ever had is actually from one of my best friend’s family restaurants: Capone's in Toms River, NJ. The ricotta they use is exceptional, like nada I’ve ever had! I could eat the cheese raviolis right from the conveyor belt thingy that helps them make their homemade ravs. Oh, who am I kidding??.. I've done it quite a few times!  Their distributor, Anacapri, provides them with the ricotta and it is beyond creamy. I would actually like to bathe in it, I think my skin would glow, don’t you?!?

            Point being that I love ricotta cheese and have pretty much grown up eating it- from the fresh raviolis at Capone's to my favorite frozen brand ones (Seviroli ) and from good ol’ eggplant rollatini to just on top of some spaghetti, I , <3 me some Ricotta any day!

            Loving it so, I usually have some in the fridge. The other day I was craving eggplant parmesan yet had nil time to make that beauty. Luckily, I had eggplant, some great flat bread, and of course Ricotta.What went from a craving to a dinner took a mere 30-45 minutes and I had lunch supplies for the next day! Winner , winner, more than just a cheesy dinner! Okay, maybe I’ve consumed too much calcium or something…..Anywho, this recipe was fantabulous and I am definitely glad I made a little time to quench my craving. I hope you do the same….Enjoy…

Eggplant Parm Naan Breads & Leftover Bonus Recipe

Serves: 2

OBJ: TCW be able to use her favorite flatbread along with her favorite cheese by making one of her favorite things: pizza

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced ¼ inch thick

2 Naan breads

¼ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional for drizzling

½ C – ¾ C whole milk ricotta cheese

½ C – ¾ C shredded mozzarella

2 tomatoes, sliced thin and layed out on paper towel to drain

S & P: salt and pepper

Red pepper flakes (RPF), optional

¼ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6-8 fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced

Procedures:

1. Preheat grill over medium flame

2. Simultaneously, place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees

3. Brush each side of eggplant slices with ¼ C oil and season each side liberally with S & P

4. Grill for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once until golden brown. Remove from grill and turn off. Once cooled, cut each eggplant into quarters

5. Assemble breads/pizzas: Drizzle each bread with about 2 tsp oil and brush to spread. Place tomato slices over bottom.  Top tomato slices with eggplant pieces. Dollop the ricotta all over each bread and then sprinkle each with mozzarella. Season with S, P and RPF. Top with Parmesan and an additional drizzle of olive oil (1 tsp over each bread)

6. Place each bread/pizza on preheated stone and bake for about 10 minutes or until edges are dark golden brown and cheese has melted

7. Remove from oven and top with basil. Slice, serve and enjoy
 

Leftover Bonus:

 

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Serves: 2

OBJ: TCW be able to use up her leftover grilled eggplant for a satisfying and veggie-friendly lunch

Ingredients:

4 slices grilled eggplant

Caramelized onions (or grilled)

½ C baby spinach, rinsed

2 TBS honey balsamic dressing: I highly recommend Ken's Chef Reserve

2 slices tomato

4 fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly slices

S & P- salt and pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 rolls- any soft kind would work except something too tough like Portuguese

Procedures:

1. Place the two bottoms of rolls side-by-side

2. Top each with 2 slices eggplant, onions and ¼ C spinach. Add basil, S & P and Parmesan on top of spinach

3. Spoon and spread 1 TBS dressing on each top half of roll

4. Place top half on the sandwich, enjoy!