Eggplant Rollatini

Eggplant Rollatini

When we were little, we were not dirt poor, but we weren’t rich either. As an inexpensive way to make us feel special, my mom allowed us to make the dinner menu on our birthdays. (Shout out to my sister Dana for always asking for cereal.) I asked for fried chicken livers and fried eggplant. My birthdays were not so popular with my siblings, but it was my day. And I do what I want.

Eggplant Rollatini is an homage to my birthday presents. No chicken livers, but lots of eggplant. 

Some people sprinkle salt on their eggplants and allow them to sweat and then dry them off as a first step. Unnecessary extra work. Those same people bread and fry their eggplant slices. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’re bored. But I like mine this way. You will, too.

 Servings: 6-8
Time:  Prep: 20 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes; Rollatini in an hour
Hardware: Cutting board and large knife, measuring cups and spoons, a bowl, 11.5’x13 inch baking dish

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants-1 ½ pounds
• Cooking spray
  
• Salt &  pepper
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ½  cup mozzarella cheese
• ½ + ½  cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons of basil pesto (I always make my own)
• 3 cups of your favorite tomato sauce ( I used Mid’s Tomato Basil)
• Fresh basil for garnish
  

1. Preheat oven to 400˚. Wash the eggplant and remove any wax that might be on it. Slice it, long ways, into ⅓ inch thick slices.
2. Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray. I needed two, but you can cook it in batches.
3. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
4. While the eggplant is baking, mix the ricotta cheese, ½ cup of the Parmesan, the egg and the pesto.
5. Spray the bottom of the glass baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Salt and pepper both sides of each slice of eggplant. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the cheese onto the eggplant and spread it out to the other end. Roll the eggplant slice up starting with the big end. Lay the roll seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices.
7. Pour the sauce over the eggplant. Use the spatula  to make sure that all the eggplant is covered in sauce. Bake for 30 minutes then cover the top with the rest of the parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes or until the top is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown. Serve warm.

Zucchini Slaw

I realize that most of the recipes that I give you are for main dishes. My husband made grilled chicken last night and I created this simple salad as a side dish to go with it. I  have been working on a how-to video, but it won’t be ready for another week. So, I thought why wait to write up a new recipe.

Zucchini Slaw is really delicious and couldn’t be easier to make. Serve it instead of coleslaw or a salad. You need 8 ounces of prepared squash, so buy 2 large zucchini and 2 large summer squash. If you don’t mind spending the extra money, most grocery stores sell the squash already spiraled and you can save yourself time by buying that.

Servings: 6
Time:  Prep: 10 minutes Chill: 2 hours-Slaw in about 2 hours
Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knife, a veggie peeler, a mixing bowl, a whisk, an airtight storage container 

Ingredients
Dressing

• ⅔ cup mayo
• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt

………………..
 Salad

• 8 ounces zucchini
• 8 ounces yellow summer squash
• 4 ounces of matchstick carrots
• Dressing

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside
2. Thoroughly wash the squash, especially if the skin is waxy, because you are going to eat the skin. Use the veggie peeler to cut the squash into then strips. Just keep peeling like you do the outside until you reach the seeds. Discard the middle containing the seeds. Cut the long strips into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
3. Toss the squash and carrots. Then toss the slaw with the dressing until everything is thoroughly coated. Chill for at least two hours. Stir and taste and to adjust the salt and pepper just before serving.

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

This year my Thanksgiving theme is ‘all things simple.’ Roasted Parmesan Asparagus couldn’t be any easier if it cooked itself. Also, I know that no everyone loves asparagus, so you could do this exact recipe using green beans. BUT, hear me out, offer these to people who think that they don’t like asparagus. They will change their minds!

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Servings:  6-8

Time: Prep: 5 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes-asparagus in about ½ an hour

Hardware: A cutting board and knife or kitchen shears, measuring spoons and cups, a large mixing bowl, a smaller bowl, a baking sheet, foil, tongs, silicone spatula

Ingredients:

• 1-pound fresh asparagus
• ½ stick of butter (¼ cup)
• ¼ + ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper (or more according to taste)
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Cover the baking sheet in foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place the butter in the mixing bowl and melt in the microwave.
3. Wash the asparagus and cut off the woody ends. Mix ¼ cup of Parmesan, the garlic, pepper and salt in the smaller bowl.
4. Put the asparagus in the mixing bowl and coat with butter. Toss with the Parmesan mixture.
5. Spread everything out evenly onto the foil, making sure to scrape all the cheese and butter out onto the spears. Roast for 10 minutes. Toss and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with more pepper if desired. Roast for 5-10 more minutes. Serve warm. Make sure to scrape up all the crunchy bits of cheese and serve that too. Or eat it yourself when no one is looking.

Chicken Parm Quesadillas

Fusion cuisine combines contrasting culinary traditions from various regions into a single dish. So, I am completely taking liberties with the term when I combine an Italian American dish, Chicken Parmesan, with a Tex-Mex bastardization of a Mexican dish, cheese quesadilla, to get Chicken Parm Quesadilla. I don’t care if it is middle America, this mess was delicious!

You can make your own chicken tenders, your own marinara sauce and/or your own Italian Seasoning. Or you can do what I did-grab tenders from your grocery store’s deli, pick up a jar of Rao’s and make this delectable dinner with minimal effort.

You can offer your guests extra warm sauce for dipping. If you want to make the dish vegetarian, use frozen eggplant cutlets instead of chicken. I like Dominex for the same reason that I like Rao’s sauce, they both use all natural ingredients. If you use eggplant, follow the package directions for heating in a skillet. Then use my recipe to make Eggplant Parm Quesadillas. Add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.

 

Chicken Parm Quesadillas

Serves: 6 quesadillas (6-8 people probably)

Time:  Active time 10 minutes; Cook: 7 Minutes, quesadillas in 20 minutes

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a heavy skillet, paper towels, a silicone spatula, tongs, a sheet pan, and a pizza cutter (optional)

Ingredients:

• Butter (probably around ½ stick which is ¼ cup)
•  6-8-inch flour tortillas
• 1 ½ pounds prepared chicken tenders
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup of your favorite marinara sauce
• 6-½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

 1.      Slice the chicken tenders into bite sized pieces. Slice the fresh mozzarella into small chunks. Set aside.

2.      For each quesadilla, melt 2 teaspoons of butter over medium-high. When the butter is melted add a tortilla.

3.      Spread about 2 tablespoons or so of the marinara over the entire tortilla. Place a layer of cheese over the marinara. When the cheese is melty, put pieces of chicken on half the cheese. Sprinkle the entire quesadilla with Italian seasoning. Fold the side with just cheese over the chicken and mash down a little using the spatula If you need to you can use the tongs to push the filling back into the shell while mashing.

4.      You can keep the quesadillas warm on the sheet pan in the oven on the lowest setting while preparing the rest of the meal. Wipe out the pan between quesadillas.

5.      Use the pizza slicer to cut the quesadilla in to thirds. Serve warm.

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde means ‘green sauce' in Spanish. It gets the green from tomatillos (toe-MAH-tee-yoz), peppers and cilantro. First, what is a tomatillo? Even though they may look like tomatoes and ‘tomatillo’ means ‘little tomato’ in Spanish, they are not the same thing. Both tomatoes and tomatillos are nightshades, but they are very distantly related. Like third or fourth cousins. A green tomato is really bitter and very watery. Tomatillos are always green, much sweeter and crunchy. They taste like they look, bright and mildly floral. They are sometimes called husk tomatoes because they are covered in a dry brown husk. The fruit is sticky beneath the husk. They are most often used to make Salsa Verde.

Salsa Verde can be raw, boiled or roasted. I roasted the tomatillos and peppers to give my salsa a richer, smokier flavor. You can control the amount of smokiness by controlling the length of time you roast the tomatillos. Less smoke? Less char. More smoke? More char. I boiled the onions and herbs to remove the sharp bite they can have. You can skip this step if you like raw onions. You can also make your salsa spicier by using more peppers. Jalapeños can be substituted for Serranos. 

Now that you have this mouthwatering, bright green sauce, how can you use it? Use it instead of red salsa in any dish. My husband prefers Salsa Verde. He eats it on tacos, as a chip dip, stirs it into the sauce when making Chicken Enchilada Suizas,  and as a condiment on a Tex-Mex Burger.

Servings: About 3 cups of salsa

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a pot, a wooden spoon, a roasting pan or a large cast iron skillet, a blender or a food processor

Time:  Active time 15 minutes; Salsa in about 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds fresh tomatillos
• 2-3 Serrano peppers
• 3 cloves of garlic-unpeeled
• 1 small yellow onion (4-6 ounces)
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro
• ½ tablespoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• Salt
• Juice of ½ a lime 

Tomatillos

1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and rinse them under warm running water. They are sticky. Rub them until all the stickiness is gone. Dice the onion. Chop the herbs. Juice half the lime. Set everything aside.
2. Cut the tomatillos in half. Cut the peppers in half long ways. Place the tomatillos and peppers cut side down on the roasting pan/cast iron skillet. Throw in the garlic. Broil the tomatillos on the top rack of the oven until they are slightly charred (5-7 minutes.) Remove from the oven.
3. Bring the onions and herbs to a boil. Boil until them for about 10 minutes.
4. Peel the garlic and snap the tops from the peppers. Place everything in the blender and pulse to desired chunkiness. Taste and adjust the salt.