Eggplant "Pasta" and My Kitchen Crush

I must confess a crush. It's perfectly harmless, and Alex is well aware of this, but still...I feel the need to explain:

::cue 15-year-old-Edward Cullen-induced-sigh::

What can I say? I have a thing for the nerdy kitchen aficionado. Alton Brown, brainy host of the Food Network's Good Eats, is one of my favorite people to watch on television. I really like how he explains the science behind each ingredient and each recipe, and I find myself mimicking his techniques in the kitchen. He even did one whole show on knife skills - how adorably nerdy is that? ::sigh::

Anyways, this eggplant recipe is from an episode I saw many times, but never really thought about making it since he only shows the recipe for about 30 seconds. However, I have heard that it's in his new cookbook and when I saw it posted on a few other blogs, I decided to give it a shot.

The eggplant is sliced and purged before you work with it, which removes a good portion of the liquid and leaves the eggplant more malleable and less raw-tasting. It's then sliced into pasta-sized ribbons and quickly satueed with tomatoes, basil, garlic, milk (cream) and cheese. All in all, it was pretty dang tasty!

However, it was not as filling as we had hoped, so even after we polished off the entire panful, Alex and I were scavenging for more dinner. I'll definitely make this again, but either as a side dish in a larger meal, or just as dinner for one. My appetite has definitely increased since I started the twice-weekly personal training and then spinning sessions!

Clearly, you have to like eggplant or you won't like this. You know it's not pasta, and it's not trying to taste like pasta, but it's a great new way to cook one of my favorite vegetables.

Ingredients:
adapted from Good Eats
2 medium-large eggplants
Kosher salt, for purging
4 TBS olive oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chile flakes (use less, unless you really like the heat!)
4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cream (I used 1% milk and it was just fine)
4 TBS basil chiffonade
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:
Peel each eggplant leaving 1-inch of skin at the top and bottom unpeeled. Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick. Evenly coat each slice with the salt and purge on a sheet pan fitted with a rack for 30 minutes.
Rinse with cold water and roll in paper towels to dry. Slice the pieces into thin strips to resemble pasta.

In a large saute pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and chili flakes and toast. Add the eggplant "pasta" and toss to coat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cream and increase heat to thicken sauce.

Finally add the basil and Parmesan and toss to combine. Season with pepper, no salt needed as the eggplant will have residual salt from the purge. Serve immediately.

Sorry for the shaky picture. I was so hungry at this point that I didn't have the patience to take a good photo!

TWD a day late - All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

Sometimes it's hard for me to decide which fall flavor I want to use. Pumpkin? Maple? Cinnamon? Apple? Ginger? Cranberry? Ah, the choices!!! Lucky for me, this cake had them all! Dorie's All in One Holiday Bundt Cake is a great mix of all the fall flavors I love. It was also a great excuse to finally buy a bundt cake pan.

Everytime I hear the words "bundt cake", I laugh because of this scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (skip ahead to 1:55 for cake scene...I promise, it's worth it!).

Bonkah? Bunnnkah? BunnnT?

Anyways, I realized I was late for my Dorie fix, so I whipped up this cake after I got home last night. Other reviewers had said that it tasted best the day after, giving the spices time to mix, so I made Alex take it to work with him today. I tried one small piece after it cooled and I really liked it! Not too sweet, just a good blend of pumpkin, apple, ginger, cinnamon and pecans. I will make this again, possibly for Thanksgiving, since it's a classic fall treat.

The recipe can be found here, on Britin's blog - The Nitty Britty.

White Bean and Mushroom Ragout with Polenta

I was in a baking and cooking lull for a while, but I'm back in the game, baby! Last night I hit the gym for a training session (my 30th birthday gift to myself) and one hour of kick-my-ass-leave-me-limping spin class. I love it. After a tough workout, I needed something hearty, but not heavy.

My sister-in-law lent me her Moosewood Cookbook and I have marked almost every recipe as "must try NOW!" Last night's ragout was a delicious combination of vegetables and spices, and it tasted great on top of the polenta. Overall, it's a quick recipe to throw together and good for a cold night. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

adapted from Moosewood, my changes in italics

Ragout:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (cooking spray)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme or rosemary (1/2 tsp each)

1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds (whole)

10-16 ounces moonlight or cremini mushrooms (baby bellas)

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans, drained

1 28 ounce can can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

polenta (see below)

grated Parmesan cheese (optional, and I used mozzarella)

Polenta:

4 cups water

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 TBS olive oil or butter (Smart Balance)

Instructions:

In a saucepan on medium heat, warm the oil and add the onions, garlic, herbs, and fennel. Sprinkle lightly with salt, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are softened and starting to brown.

While the onions cook, rinse and quarter the mushrooms (about 3 cups).When the onions are soft, stir in the mushrooms and wine, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and parsley. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until hot and juicy, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While it's simmering, make the polenta: Boil water and salt together. Once they reach a rolling boil, slowly pour in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Turn heat to low and stir for another 3-5 minutes until it's thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter/oil.

Serve the ragout on polenta and sprinkle with cheese if you like.

TWD Repeat: Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

For the month of November, us TWD Bakers are given the option to bake the recipes in whichever order appeals to our schedules. Since I had already made the Molasses Spice Cookies once before, I knew it would be easy to whip them up again. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of letting the butter melt instead of just coming to room temperature. The cookies tasted absolutely delicious, but they were really flat and thin. I used the picture from the last time I made these, since this batch didn't look all that pretty. But they still managed to disappear within a few days!

If you follow the recipe well and don't mess up the butter, you'll get a slightly thin and chewy cookie, with a hint of heat from black pepper and ginger. The molasses flavor really comes through and makes these cookies a perfect fall/winter afternoon treat. Thanks for picking one of my Dorie favorites, Pamela!

Maple Walnut Biscotti

When I'm sad, I bake. Stressed? Bake. Bored? Bake. Overwhelmed? Anxious? Happy? Bake, bake, bake and then bake some more. The comforting task of measuring ingredients and knowing that it's going to turn into something delicious helps to center me. Life might be spinning out of my control, but in my little red kitchen I can create something that makes my house smell great and makes my husband smile.

On Sunday night, our family lost a great woman. Alex's grandmother died and we all feel her loss very deeply. Omi was one of a kind; totally unique and an absolute original - and she loved showing her individuality. She lived a really rich life, full of art, travel, family and good food (she loved dessert) and I am so fortunate to have been given nearly 10 years with her. I'm not sure if she would have liked this biscotti flavor, but I like to think that she would have tried it anyways - just to tell me what she thought of the recipe.

Ingredients:
adapted from Dorie Greenspan
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp maple flavoring
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. In stand mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal and add to the stand mixer. Mix until it's just incorporated, not too much! Fold in the walnuts by hand.

Scrape half the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using a spatula and your fingers, form the dough into a log, 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Repeat with the second portion of the dough. It helps to wet your hands before and during, since the dough is sticky.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the logs are light golden but still soft to the touch. Let cool for 30 minutes but keep the oven on.

With a long serrated knife cut 3/4 inch slices diagonally from each log and stand them up, spaced slightly apart, on the baking sheet. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes until firm and golden. Store airtight for up to 2 weeks.

Italian Chicken

There's chicken hiding under there. I promise.

Dinner inspiration can strike at the most random times. I was in my spin class, suffering through another hill-climb-sprint-c'mon-push it-let's go-you-can-do-it, when I remembered that I didn't have a plan for dinner. I had defrosted chicken earlier in the day, but was at a loss for how to prepare it. Then, as I mentally cursed my sadistic instructor, I remembered watching Giada make chicken parmesan, and I thought "Okay, I can do that, just minus the cheese." Funny how I think about food during my spin class.

Alex and I both thought this was pretty tasty. Next time, I'll fuss a little more with the sauce, like saute more onions and garlic before-hand, maybe with some mushrooms or other veggies. It's great with a green salad and crusty bread to help soak up all the sauce. I'm sure you could top it with cheese, but in my opinion, why ruin a good thing? It's fairly healthy as-is, so you can make this without the cheese and you won't even miss it.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 TBS flour

Italian seasoning (dried oregano, basil, garlic, pepper)

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1 jar pasta sauce or 1 can crushed tomatoes

Optional - other veggies

Cooking spray

Instructions:

Take the chicken and trim it into smaller "tender" sized pieces. Place each piece between plastic wrap and pound until thin. Mix together flour and spices and then lightly dredge each piece of chicken. Be sure to shake off the excess.

Lightly coat a non-stick pan with cooking spray, and allow the pan to get hot (med-high). Once it's hot, sear chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, until it's browned. Doesn't have to be done all the way through, but it will be mostly cooked because it's so thin. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Spray pan again and saute up the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened. Add other veggies if using. Pour in sauce and allow it to come to a light bubble. Add the chicken back into the sauce, turn down heat and simmer until chicken is hot and cooked through.

Pumpkin Bourbon Bread Pudding

I'll be honest with you, internets. There isn't really a way to photograph this bread pudding so that it looks "pretty." It's an orange and brown speckled mess of bread chunks and pudding, and it just doesn't look all that attractive in pictures. However, the flavor more than makes up for this! So you can just ignore the messy photo above and instead, imagine a warm mouthful of bourbon-spiked pumpkin, highlighted by cinnamon, ginger and cloves...all mixed up with toasty hunks of challah bread. Yeah, isn't that better?

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen (a fantastic food blog) and knew immediately that I had to make it. It's so simple - toss bread cubes with butter, whisk together pudding ingredients, toss everything together, bake. The only thing I'll do next time is use a little less bread. I used a whole loaf of challah, which was a little too much. The bourbon is optional, of course, but why wouldn't you want it? If you have a can of pumpkin laying around, please make this. You'll thank me!

Ingredients:

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2007 & Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups whole milk (Or 1 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup whole milk)

3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch of ground cloves

2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)

5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, spices and bourbon, if using, in a bowl.
Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.