Eggplant Parmesan

Easier Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan can be made really loosey goosey depending on the time that you have on hand. I've combined these different methods in different ways and always had delicious results. Occasionally  I like using the America's Test Kitchen method for preparing the eggplant if I am going to go for a lighter option. Oven-frying is less oily and more tasty in my opinion. Sometimes if I'm in a rush I will forgo the breading step altogether. Bread crumbs could be added to the top of the casserole if desired. I make this easier by using jarred sauce. 

If you want to go the extra mile just make this recipe from Bon Appetit. It is really easy to make your own sauce and make it with these loose directions http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/article/eggplant-parm-groat

olive oil
garlic, 4-5 cloves, chopped
 1/4 to 1/2 onion, chopped
12 - 16 plum tomatoes, stemmed and skinned if you wish, or do what I do and put them in with the skins on and pick them out later (or not) or 2 cans of whole tomatoes
basil and oregano

Then simmer for a long time until everything falls apart. Th olive oil really is the key to good sauce. Add more than you think you need and then add a little more!

1-2 globe eggplants, sliced
3-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 chuck of fresh mozzarella, sliced
sauce

I don't peel eggplant. I like purple.
Slice eggplant into 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Line a tray with paper towels and put slices down then sprinkle with kosher salt. Let them rest for 10-20 minutes, then blot dry.

Season some flour with salt and pepper, Dredge eggplant slices in flour and set on a drying rack. Beat some eggs and dip the slices in the egg wash; then dip in Italian-seasoned bread crumbs putting them back on the drying rack as you finish. Then, you can choose to oven fry or pan fry the eggplant.

Pan-frying:
Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan. Then pan fry each side until golden brown. Place fried slices on paper towels to blot oil.
Oven-frying:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread some oil in a sheet pan and put in the oven for 10 minutes. Add eggplant slices and cook for 15 minutes. Flip slices and add more oil if necessary. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until slices are crispy on the outside.

Make casserole:
Put about 1/2 c sauce in the bottom of a 9x 13 pan. Place eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Add more sauce, eggplant, shredded cheese until you run out of eggplant. Finish with slices of fresh mozzarella on top. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes. You may want to broil the top at the end of cooking to brown the cheese.

Take out of the oven and let it set for around 15 minutes. Enjoy the heavenly goodness with a salad and some garlic bread.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

I'm usually not a fan of "open and dump recipes", but they do have a certain level of comfort on a blustery cold day that you don't want to go out and get fresh ingredients. I needed to make something with what I had to avoid going out in sub-zero temperatures. This turned out very well.

6 potatoes, scrubbed and thickly sliced (leave the skins on)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c dijon mustard
1 c sour cream
1 T dried dill
1/3 c dried shallots or french fried onions (you can buy large containers of dried shallots in an Asian grocery store very inexpensively)
Tajn Classico seasoning, about 1 tsp
salt, about 1 tsp
black pepper, about 1 tsp

Put sliced potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Tajin seasoning. Put chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Tajin seasoning. Mix the soups and mustard together in a separate bowl and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. In the last hour add dried shallots, dill, and sour cream. Cook for one more hour.

Prepare one 16 oz package of egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain and add a few pats of butter so they don't stick together.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and slice. Put sliced chicken back in the slow cooker and mix into the sauce.  Serve chicken over egg noodles with a green salad.

Note: IF there are not sub-zero temperatures, go out and get some fresh mushrooms, 2 shallots to throw in there, too.

Banh Bao - Vietnamese Steamed Pork Buns

IMy friend, Cuc, makes these buns for me regularly and I finally convinced her to show me how to make them. Here are the photos of our endeavor. I found Vicky Pham's recipe online and it is really similar to Cuc's. I like how Vicky wraps the quail eggs in the pork. We didn't do that and it is more difficult to wrap that way.

http://www.vickypham.com/blog/vietnamese-steamed-pork-buns

Here is Vicky's recipe and I've added Cuc's additions in red.

Makes about 10-15 steamed buns (Cuc prefers bigger buns)

• 1 bag of steamed bun self-rising flour (follow package instructions)
• Parchment paper cut into 15-20 squares or circles to fit underneath buns

Filling

• 15-20 quail eggs (hard boiled and peeled)
• 1 lb ground pork
• 5 lg raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried black fungus (Woodear mushrooms), snipped finely
• 1 green onion (slice thinly)
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/4 cup green peas (optional)
• 4 Chinese sausages (dice)
• 2 T chicken granules
• 1 T sugar
• 1T ground black pepper
• 1 T salt
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Prepare the dough, according to package instructions. It usually has baking powder in the package and you add milk, sugar, and oil. Knead it well.  It has to rest for 1 hour. Then divide dough into the number of banh bao that you would like around 15 or for really large boa 10. Let dough balls rest for at least 20 minutes.

Note: We added the flour and baking soda/powder? packet to a bowl and mixed it well then separately mixed about 1 c of milk with 1/3 c of sugar. We slowly added the milk mixture to the flour mixture kneading the whole time, along with around 3 T of oil. The dough became really dry and crumbly in between each addition of a bit of the liquid. It takes a lot of kneading and then you have to let it rest for the baking powder to work for about 30 minutes or longer. After that we kneaded it some more and divided it into the number of buns that you want to make.

1. In a medium bowl, hydrate the black fungus with 2 cups water.
2. Once hydrated, rinse thoroughly, squeeze out the excess water and mince finely.
3. In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, black fungus, green onions, white onion, green peas, Chinese sausages, sugar, pepper, salt and oyster sauce. You may test the flavor of the marinated meat by quickly cooking a small piece in the microwave.
4. Once satisfied with the seasoning, divide the marinated ground pork into 15-20 pieces.
5. Flatten out each piece and place a quail egg in the middle.
6. Encase the quail egg in the ground pork by slowly rolling it back and forth in the palms of your hands.
7. In a steamer, cook the ground pork balls for about 5 minutes.
8. After 5 minutes, remove the pork balls from the steamer and let it drain and cool on a plate lined with paper towels. If you notice that the pork isn’t cooked all the way through, do not worry. It will go back into the steamer anyways.
9. Roll out the dough into a flat circle.
10. Place the pork filling ball in the middle.
11. Gently wrap the dough around the filling. Fold the dough over itself at the top to create pleats then pinch the top together to seal.
12. Place the now fully assembled buns onto cut parchment paper.
13. Place the pork buns into the steamer, leaving room in between for expansion.
14. Steam for 30 minutes.