Bruschetta and Pesto Pasta August 22, 2010

Part One. One of my new favorite movies is Julie and Julia. And why not? It combines my love for cooking AND writing. So when watching it (again) the other night, I was inspired by a scene near the beginning of the film when Julie makes Bruschetta after a hard day at work. So yesterday, after a hard day at “work” (Charlie got her 6 month shots) I, too decided to try my hand at Bruschetta. I combined a few recipes plus what I saw Julie do in the movie to come up with my own version.

Ingredients

One French loaf (I always score these at the Oops! We made too much part of Kroger)                                                             

Two ripe tomatoes                                                                                                                                                                                                     

One handful of fresh-cut basil                                                                                                                                                                                 

1/2 t of oregano                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Shredded parmesan                                                                                                                                                                                                

Olive Oil                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

One clove of garlic (or 1 t of minced garlic)

1. Cut up your tomatoes and basil. Toss them together in a small mixing bowl with oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

2.  Heat a Tablespoon of Olive Oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add your garlic. If you are using a fresh clove, then peel it and chop it up. Place 4 or 5 1 inch thick pieces of French loaf in the skillet making sure the bottoms are coated with Oil. You could also brush each piece with Oil. When the bottoms are toasted, flip them. At this point you may have to add more oil. I mean-can you ever have too much EVOO? I think not!

3. When the bread is finished toasting, add the tomatoes and some parmesan and broil until the cheese is melted. Voila.

This Bruschetta was good-but next time I will add more spices and maybe some lemon juice. Stay tuned for improvements. I definitely loved the Olive Oil soaked toast though!

Part Two. What’s one to do with leftover Pesto? It seems to me a problem…that’s not really a problem. My sis of www.lazybirdbakery.wordpress.com handed this easy little recipe down a year ago when she taught me about homemade pesto.

Simply toss your already made pesto (see previous post on Pesto Pizza) with Angel Hair Pasta and Chicken. We used leftover Chicken from two nights earlier that Matt had grilled. By the way, Matt is really the genius chef in the family so watch for a guest blog featuring his DELICIOUS chicken marinade made with Arkansas white wine (which is not so good to drink but great to marinade with).  I tossed some medium sliced mushrooms in a saute pan with olive oil and some fresh garlic and threw them in the pasta mixture as well. Add a fresh spinach salad to the side (who needs lettuce anymore?). This was a great little meal in a pinch.  Bon Appetit!

Pesto Pizza August 14, 2010

Well folks,what are you gonna do with Basil coming out of your ears?  Clean them out?

NO-not really coming out of my ears-weird! Ok, but we are growing a FOREST of basil in our back yard.  To top it off, that one little basil plant has spread to two other pots! So what are you gonna do with that much basil? MAKE PESTO! And that’s what I did-and will do, again and again…until a frost kills my beloved plant.

 Here’s how….(thanks to my little sis, Laura Jane, who you can find at www.lazybirdbakery.wordpress.com).

1. Pick off about 40-50 Basil leaves from your plant (or buy some-whatever.)

2. Grab a handful of pine nuts.

3. Combine in a food processor, alternating a little basil and few pine nuts.

4. When you are about half way through combining, throw about three cloves of garlic in-one at a time, in the midst of throwing in your basil/pine nuts.

5. When you chopped all of these things up-add 2/3 Cup of shredded parmesan, a little at a time.

6. To finish-mix in some olive oil to achieve your desired pesto consistency.  Start with a Tablespoon and add what you need from there.

There you have it-Easy as Pie Pesto…and speaking of pie…I made Pizza with mine.

Now my husband and I are constantly trying to one up ourselves with our next Pizza creation…and we’ve made some crazy pizzas, but I have to say, last night’s Pesto Pizza was one of our Top Three. This is how I did it.

I bought a crust. Yeah, that’s right. I was making them and tossing them, but then I had a baby and well….who has time for that? So I started with a refrigerated pizza crust. I packed it down firmly for a thin crust. Then I added a medium layer of pesto. I topped that with thinly sliced Tomatoes, Peppers, organic Spinach, Pepperoni (Matt won’t eat pizza without some sort of sodium-laden meat-what are you gonna do?), and mozzarella. Then I baked it for 15 minutes. It was so good, that all day I’ve been daydreaming about the different pesto combinations I could put on a pizza or in a sandwich!

So, make one of your very own pesto creations and share it with me! Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan May 25, 2010

Last week, at our local Farmer’s Market I took a $20. I really didn’t have a plan, except to get some produce, and sip some coffee as I shopped. I would love to go all out and buy 4.99 organic strawberries and green peppers, BUT my pocket book limits me, for the time being. Coming from Iowa, however, I do know how important it is to support our local farmers. So, I came away with some scones from a local bakery (I won’t be buying those again-Starbucks are better), some squash (YUM! Vine borrors demolished my crop last year, so I’ve given up-for now), and an eggplant (which was only one dollar).

I used to make this tasty eggplant casserole with ricotta, marinara, and mozzarella in college (recipe compliments of my fabulous aunt Mary) which was always a hit with the roommates. And ,once I made an eggplant manicotti, which was delicious but apparently too complicated for me to try again. I, had, however, never tackled Eggplant Parmesan.

So, I drug out my favorite cook book, Better Homes and Gardens (Pink Edition) and searched the index for Eggplant. Seeing as 1. I’m not Italian, 2. This cookbook is not written by Italians, and 3. I used Prego, I’m not tauting the authenticity of this Eggplant Parmesan, but my Texan husband and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Here it is:

Ingredients

1 Eggplant
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon of water
1 Cup of Flour (or however much you need)
2 or 3 Cups of mozzarella cheese
1 Cup of Parmesan cheese
1 Bottle of your favorite marinara or 2 cups of your favorite marinara recipe
some olive oil
Spaghetti noodles

Directions

1. Whisk together the egg with 1 Tbsp of water.
2. Wash and peel the eggplant and cut it into 1 inch slices.
3. Heat up some oil in a large skillet.
4. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture coating them thoroughly, and then dip them in the flour, doing the same.
5. Place them in the oil and cook them for 4-6 minutes or until they are golden brown (turning once).
6. Drain the cooked eggplant on a paper towel.
7. In a casserole dish layer eggplant, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, add marinara, and top with mozzarella.

Bake at 400 for 10-14 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with Spaghetti and a fresh spinach salad and bread if you want carb overload!

Some final words and possible amendments…
I grew up in a non-frying household and I’m terrified of the idea of grease fires, so I don’t fry stuff. I used Olive oil and sort of sauteed the eggplant. The next time I make this, I’ll probably have my husband fry the eggplant in canola oil.

The measurements I give for stuff are for people that like measurements. I’ve gotten to a place in my cooking (thanks to my adventurous husband) where I like to cook to taste. If you are like me and you feel the freedom to do so, dump as much cheese and sauce on top of the eggplant as you want. In my opinion, the more the better.

The next time I make this dish, I’ll use freshly shredded Parmesan and fresh mozzarella. I think it will make a huge difference. I had also intended to throw in a handful of fresh spinach, basil, and oregano somewhere in the mix, but got distracted (shocker!).

This is yet another meal that’s easy to split if your family is small or double if your family is large. I made one in a glass 8×8 casserole dish and one in an aluminum dish to go straight into the freezer.

Enjoy!