Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Grilled eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich

March 23, 2014 by Mary 37 Comments

While in the midst of a cooking frenzy yesterday, I had an eggplant who’s calling had come and the other ingredients needed to be used, so I quickly put together this grilled eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich. It was divine!!

Yesterday was our oldest son’s birthday. Our family celebration is today. It is a rule in our house that the birthday boy gets to request whatever he wants for dinner. I’m thinking of changing that rule. He requested Thomas Keller’s Beef Stroganoff. I responded with, “All that cream!! Are you crazy?” He insisted. My husband and I cooked all day yesterday and will start again today at 3:00 for dinner tonight. I sure hope this is good and worth it.

Keller must have been an engineer in another life. His precision and aim for perfection is daunting. What I’m really making is a homemade, made from scratch version of the beef stroganoff we all had as kids made with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Do you think we’ll be able to taste the difference? I’ll let you know later this week, after I recover from all of this.

As I chop and cook away, I’m reminding myself to make this with a smile on my face and love in my heart.

Meanwhile, make this sandwich sometime. This you won’t regret and it can be ready in a jiffy.

GRILLED EGGPLANT, PROSCIUTTO, MOZZARELLA, BASIL AND TOMATO SANDWICH – serves 2

1 baguette
1 medium-small eggplant, washed, trimmed, and sliced lengthwise into 5 or 6 slices
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs. olive oil plus more for drizzling
3 thin slices of prosciutto
1/2 of a ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 small tomatoes, sliced
8 – 10 large fresh basil leaves, washed and dried

Light a grill or heat a grill pan. Salt and pepper the eggplant slices. Mix the minced garlic with the 2 tbs. of olive oil. Brush that on one side of all the eggplant slices. Grill both sides on a fairly high heat until nicely charred and tender.

Cut two 6-inch pieces off of the baguette and slice those in half lengthwise. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on the cut sides. Assemble the sandwiches with grilled eggplant, the cheese, tomato, salt the tomato lightly, the basil, then finish with 11/2 slices of prosciutto and the other half of the bread. Slice the whole sandwich into 2 halves. Enjoy!!

The birthday linner

January 17, 2013 by Mary Frances 14 Comments

The birthday cook-a-thon celebration for my husband was a huge success and just so much fun. We started cooking at noon and ate from 2:45 to 6:45 just in time to put Zach on a 7:10 train back to New Haven. So what do you call a leisurely meal like this that encompasses lunch and dinner? Linner!

While every dish was great, what was even more terrific was the time spent together, planning, chopping, sharing pots, debating, arguing, laughing and agreeing. My oldest son was upset at first with the look of the short ribs. He said they weren’t going to look pretty enough. Being a designer, that made me feel good – at least he learned something from me! We played games in between while watching football. And since one person did not have responsibility for the whole meal, there was time off for everyone. It was really a wonderful day of just being together.

Now for the food! Here’s the photo essay.

— Making a zucchini, red pepper and fennel torta

Onions sauteing for the short ribs

The short ribs, browned

Mozzeralla, tomato, baby arugula and olive oil salads on a burgandy rimmed plate from Pottery Barn.

The salads – mozzarella, tomato, baby arugula and olive oil

Linguine with olive oil, garlic and spinach topped with broiled breadcrumbs

The beautiful zucchini, red pepper, fennel and mint torta

The torta with red bell pepper, zucchini, fennel and mint.

The torta serving – so pretty!

Delicious short ribs with creamy polenta squares on an antique Wedgewood plate.

The main course – delicious short ribs with creamy polenta squares

The birthday dessert – beautiful warm, chocolate-filled pastries made by Agata, so yummy!

Eggplant Parmigiano

September 12, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

My good friend, Margaret, has graciously shared her recipe of that wonderful dish we had on Labor Day weekend at her house.

The weather is getting perfect for a homey dish like this. Makes you want to crawl right into it … and eat it forever … pure yumminess! Hope you all enjoy.
THANK YOU MARGARET!!!

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANO
-serves 6 – 8

Eggplants, 8 small
Mozzarella, 2 balls
Parmigiano reggiano
Large bunch of basil
Tomatoes [maybe 3 to 3.5 lbs? cored and chopped]
Garlic
Olive oil

Select eight smallish eggplants. I suggest eggplants that are slightly smaller than your hand. Slice into ½-inch rounds and sauté in olive oil until golden. Salt and pepper lightly, turn and continue to sauté until golden and tender. Add additional olive oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.

Slice two balls of mozzarella. Grate parmigiano reggiano. Chop a large bunch of basil. Set aside.

To make the tomato sauce, core and chop whatever ripe to over-ripe tomatoes you have at hand. Add sliced garlic and olive oil (about 1/4 cup for an 8 cup potful). Cook at a low boil until most of the water has evaporated, stirring as needed.

To hasten the process, use a potato masher to loosen the “meat” of the tomato chunks. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Preheat oven to 375 – 425 degrees, depending on your oven.

Layer in a baking dish: half of eggplant slices, half of tomato sauce, half of parmigiano (should cover all of the surface “thickly” but not too much), mozzarella, basil, and then the remainder of eggplant, tomato sauce and parmigiano. Bake covered for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake until the dish is bubbly and the cheese has browned.

Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Then cut into squares and mangia, mangia!

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Grilled eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich

The birthday linner

Eggplant Parmigiano

Pages

Blogs We Love