Trip to Italy

Every time I go to an Italian restaurant my first glance over the menu is to see if eggplant parmesan is available and my second glance over the menu is to see if there is anything else that could compete with eggplant parm.  I have loved this dish since the first time I tried it and almost always order it at Italian restaurants.  It never occured to me to attempt this dish until a few weeks ago.  The eggplant at the store always seemed to be in good shape but Shea wouldn't let me buy it until I had an official plan/recipe to use with it.  I researched eggplant parmesan and ended up combining a few different recipes into one.  The result was amazing!  The leftovers were pretty good, too.  Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna-Style

Ingredients

2 eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch lengthwise
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups Italian bread crumbs
flour
1 jar marinara sauce
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. Place peeled and sliced eggplant in icy cold water for 10 minutes, making sure the eggplant are completely submerged.  Remove and layer with paper towels to dry. 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. After eggplant are completely dry, dredge each slice through flour until covered.  Dip floured eggplant in egg and then breadcrumbs.  Repeat egg and breadcrumbs until completely covered (probably just twice).

4. Place in single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for a total 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each side.

5. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom.  Layer eggplant slices, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle chopped basil.  Repeat with marinara sauce, eggplant, and cheeses. 

6. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.

Bon appetit!

Sujeta a cambios

Hi Everybody!  I have been doing this blog for one month now and absolutely love it!  I know for a fact that people read this because #1) the number ticker on the blog continues to rise,  #2) I have received emails and facebook messages regarding the blog,  #3) because I randomly receive comments from all of you guys on my posts!  After hearing that some people were having troubles posting comments, I finally found the edit section on posting/comment rules and I have successfully changed the settings.  Everybody can post comments, with or without a Google account and the comments can also remain anonymous. 

I have also been adding pictures (everyone say "meow" to my kitty Levi), added a bio page and a recipe page.  I'm trying to use the recipe page has an organized collection of recipes, but I can already see some issues coming up.... so keep checking that page for changes. 

And to quote the favorite line from my work organization....  This blog will always be subject to changes.  I hope you continue to enjoy!!

A Creamy Culinary Creation

I love this recipe so much but can't figure out a good introduction for it.  So.....  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Creamy Mushroom and Chicken Linguine

Ingredients

linguine pasta
2 chicken breasts
EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced
handful of button mushrooms (maybe around 8-9), sliced
1/2 small white onion, diced
1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
green onions, chopped

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain. 

2. Season chicken breasts to your own desire (For this recipe, we usually season with pepper, montreal chicken spice, and lawrys seasoning salt).  Heat EVOO in large skillet and cook chicken, approximately 6 minutes each side.  Remove chicken from pan and place aside, covered.  Drain most of the liquid from pan.

3. In the same pan, sautee garlic, mushrooms, and onion for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the chicken bouillon cube and water.  Stir until the bouillon cube is completely dissolved.  Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. 

5. Add the cream and milk.  Heat until sauce warms through and reduces slightly.  After the heat is turned off, add in a handful of chopped green onions for a nice pop of color and added flavor.

6. Combine pasta noodles and sauce.  Serve one portion of noodles onto a plate and add chicken breast on the side. 

Bon appetit!

This sauce is incredible.  I could happily eat this as just a pasta dish, in fact, I often eat only half of my chicken breast.  We add in the chicken breast to beef this recipe up for Shea.  The last few times we went grocery shopping, they didn't have linguine noodles so I substituted penne pasta.  I knew I needed a pasta that could stand up to the heaviness of the sauce.  Shea and I both preferred the penne pasta instead of the linguine noodles, so I will probably be making this with only penne from here on out. 

Fresh Herbs

If you have paid close attention to my previous recipe entries, you might have noticed that I use fresh herbs as opposed to the dried versions.  When I started cooking in the United States I never once bought fresh herbs.  To be honest, I'm not even sure I knew they existed.  I bought all types of the jarred McCormick spices and herbs and never thought twice about how using dried or fresh herbs could affect the flavor.  My good friend and section mate in the orchestra introduced me to the fresh herb world.  It started with the discovery of a small section of the produce department at Walmart: it contained bags of fresh rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley......  I mentioned this discovery to my section mate and she and her husband both commented on how much they enjoy cooking with fresh herbs.  Later that evening I cooked this recipe using my newly bought rosemary... and I haven't gone back to using dried herbs ever since.  I look forward to growing my own basil and rosemary plants so that I can always have these fresh herbs on hand.

Honey Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
EVOO
salt, pepper
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
juice of 1 lemon

1. Heat EVOO in large saucepan.  Season chicken simply with salt and pepper.  Add to pan and cook approximately 6 minutes on each side.

2. After chicken is done cooking, pull out of pan, place on a plate and cover with aluminom foil to keep warm.  Drain most of liquid out of pan.

3. In same pan, sautee shallot, garlic cloves, and rosemary.  If necessary, add more EVOO.  Cook 2-3 minutes until rosemary is fragrant. 

4. Add in honey and mustard.  Stir to create a yummy glaze.

5. Add chicken to pan.  Place glaze all over each chicken breast.

Bon appetit!

We usually pair this chicken dish with a side of vegetable rice pilaf (recipe to be added soon).  The honey glaze is very nice with the chicken and also along with the rice.  A great pairing.

Spice it up

This is where I live.  About two hours north of a major cruise line stop (Mazatlan), just on the other side of the pond of a major vacation destination (Los Cabos), and 12 hours south of the United States border.  Living in Mexico has had both its' perks and dissappointments.  One huge benefit for living quite close to the coast in Mexico is the abundance of fresh seafood in all the markets.  While growing up in Indiana and Tennessee, and also attending graduate school in Ohio, I NEVER had much interest in seafood.  Who could grow an appreciation for seafood when you live in the middle of a huge country with no access to fresh markets?  I remember that whenever my parents said that fish was on the dinner menu I always inwardly groaned and complained.  The only seafood that I could enjoy eating was shrimp, usually in the form of shrimp cocktails.  After living in Mexico for 4 years now, I have eaten dozens of fish filets (salmon, tuna, white fish, etc), peeled and deveined hundreds (if not thousands) of shrimp, swallowed a few whole oysters, and even gotten to enjoy octopus.  All of the fresh seafood is so ridiculously inexpensive that it allows us to enjoy a seafood dish several nights of the week.  Here is a great shrimp dish that provides an extreme twist on the classic shrimp cocktail appetizer.

Spicy Shrimp Appetizer

Ingredients
1/3 cup sriracha hot sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon white sugar (some prefer to double)
salt, pepper
16-20 shrimps

1. Combine all ingredients together (except for shrimp).  Mix well.

2. Pour marinade into a Ziplock storage bag and add shrimp.  Shake to cover all shrimp in marinade.

3. Let shrimps marinate for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.

4.  Remove shrimps from marinade.  Cook in skillet or put shrimp on skewers and cook over grill until shrimp is pink.

5. Heat the marinade and place in a small bowl for extra dipping.  Sour cream also tastes really good with these shrimps.

Bon appetit!