Eggplant Marinara Pasta Casserole

This is the first thing in a while that I have made that, after making it, I know exactly how I did it. Lots of fresh tomatoes, courtesy of my neighbor, and a beautiful eggplant from the grocery store, and I can make magic. Unfortunately, no pictures this time, but believe me, this dish came out rather colorful, and delicious too.

Eggplant Marinara Pasta Casserole

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (makes 6-8 cups)
1 tsp. kosher salt
cooking spray
1 oz. pancetta or bacon, chopped (optional)
2 c. sweet onion, thinly sliced or chopped (if it is not a sweet onion, I would only go with 1 c.)
1 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. dry white wine or red wine (if wine is not available, a couple of Tb. lemon juice will work)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 Tb. fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
6 c. tomatoes, chopped (you can use fresh - not beefsteak though! - or canned)
16 oz. uncooked pasta (I used tricolor rotini, but any other type of bite-sized pasta will do)
2 c. shredded Italian cheese (shred your own mozzarella, fontina, etc. or buy the preshredded Italian blend stuff)
1 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese (if it is not in your Italian blend cheese)

1. Arrange eggplant cubes on several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Let stand 15 minutes. Pat dry with additional paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

3. Arrange eggplant in single layer on baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool.

4. Cook pancetta/bacon in a Dutch oven (or similar pan/pot) over medium heat until crisp. Add onion, oil, and garlic to pan; cook 6 minutes or until onion is lightly browned, stirring frequently.

5. Add wine/lemon juice to pan; cook until liquid evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in salt, basil, oregano, red pepper, and tomatoes. Bring to simmer over medium heat; partially cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in eggplant.

6. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta in colander, reserving 1/4 c. cooking water beforehand.

7. Add pasta to tomato mixture; stir well. If mix needs more moisture, add reserved cooking water.

8. Spoon mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with cheese, then breadcrumbs. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Devil's Food + Strawberries = Super-Yum!

I have had cravings lately for cake. Nothing complicated, just a simple, moist, yummy cake. Preferably chocolate. I decided on Devil's Food (a real Devil's Food cake, chocolate with a touch of coffee flavor, from scratch) with Whipped Cream frosting. Because I have decided Whipped Cream is my fave. While the cake was baking, I realized I had about half a pint of whole strawberries in my fridge that only had a day or so shelf life left. And so, the genius idea of Devil's Food Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Strawberries was born! Even Jon, who is not so into the desserts, and really not a fan of the chocolate, thoroughly enjoyed it... We finished a two-layer 9-inch round cake within a couple of days. And it was worth every calorie!

I used Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes recipe for the cake itself. I halved the recipe, since I just wanted a smallish cake for Jon and I, and I replaced the 3/4 c. warm water with 3/4 c. strong coffee. The Whipped Cream Frosting was the same as the last post, with the White Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Strawberries.

And the final result, is this piece of glorious yumminess!

mmm....... cake.........

I love cake. And I love strawberries. And I love whipped cream. So, for a big party thrown by one of Jon's program buddies, I made the simplest of yummy cakes: White Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Strawberries. This was insanely easy to make, and was a huge hit at the party.

I used two boxes of white cake mix which I added quite a bit of pure vanilla extract. I prefer vanilla bean paste, but I was out of it and was too lazy to go get some. Also, I didn't have any eggs in which to get egg whites from, so I used Wilton's Meringue Powder as a substitute.




The cakes were baked according to the package directions. While the cakes were baking, I washed and sliced two containers of strawberries.


















Once the cakes were done I let them cool completely. Once cool, I made the whipped cream frosting. It took one pint of heavy whipping cream, 3 Tb. of granulated sugar and about 1 tsp. vanilla. I added all of the cream to the mixer and whipped for a minute, added the sugar 1 Tb. at a time while whipping in between each addition. At the third addition, I added the vanilla, then whipped until I was happy with the consistency.


















Assembly was ridiculously easy as well. One cake layer stayed in its pan. I covered it with whipped cream frosting then topped with strawberry slices. The other cake layer went on top then was covered with whipped cream frosting and more strawberries. Ta-da! All done.


















The cake was delicious. It wasn't too heavy, wasn't too sweet, wasn't too anything. It was just wonderful. Even Jon, who doesn't particularly care for sweets, thoroughly enjoyed it.

The picture of beauty. This picture is of only the first layer; the second layer was even more grand.

The weekend of July 4th, I was sick. A little bit of vomiting and lot of nausea later, I made Matzoh Ball Soup. Think of it as the Jewish ancestor of Chicken and Dumplings. And it's much better, in my opinion. See... one of my pet peeves is bad dumplings in my soup. I hate dense dumplings, and these dumplings made with matzoh meal are light and fluffy and oooooh so good. I got the recipe from my good friend Rochelle, who is cook extraordinaire in my opinion. I love her to death, and I miss hanging out with her and her boyfriend and her way too cute dog, Wyoh.
















This is Wyoh. The cutest of the cute.

Anyways.

I made this soup because it was the only thing I felt like I could eat without wanting to throw it back up. Because it's just that damn soothing and that damn tasty.



Chicken & Matzoh Ball Soup

Broth:
1 whole roasted chicken (either roasted yourself or bought already roasted from the deli), skin removed, meat pulled from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces; reserve the bones and any juices for chicken stock
1 bunch celery, cut into large chunks
3 to 4 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 large shallot, peeled and left whole or sliced in half
2 to 3 bay leaves
7 to 8 cubes chicken bouillon, ground to powder
fresh ground pepper

Matzoh Balls:
1 c. matzoh meal (you can find it in the ethnic section of the grocery store)
4 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. water
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

Add the chicken bones and any juices from the chicken to a stock pot; also add the celery, carrots, shallot, bay leaves and chicken bouillon.
Add just enough water to cover everything in the pot and cover with a lid.


















Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium and let boil for 45 minutes to an hour.
Once all ingredients for the broth are in the stockpot, mix all matzoh ball ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate about 30 minutes.
Just before the thirty minutes is up, begin boiling a small pot (two to three quarts of water).
Pull the matzoh ball mix from the fridge and uncover.
Form matzoh balls using your hands dipped in water to avoid sticking to your hands (make them small, about the size of a large marble; they will get really big once cooked) and drop into the boiling water.

















Cook the matzoh balls for 20 to 30 minutes, until doubled or tripled in size (I check them by cutting the biggest one in half and making sure it is almost completely white throughout the entire ball).

Can you tell the difference? The left is not done enough (too yellow on the inside), the right only needs another couple of minutes, which can be done in the chicken soup.

Once the matzoh balls are done, you can get the broth ready: strain out the vegetables and bones and reserve the broth in the pot.


















Add the cut-up chicken meat to the chicken stock.
Strain the matzoh balls from the water so you can add them to the soup.
Season the soup with black pepper, to taste.
Make sure the chicken meat and matzoh balls are heated through, serve the soup with some yeast rolls (because yeast rolls make everything better), and enjoy.

*If you want to leave the vegetables in the soup, just make sure to add more water and chicken bouillon, cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and get the bay leaves out of the soup before serving.
**I think you can freeze any leftovers for later; I froze some of the leftovers when I made it, I'll let you know how well it comes out when it gets eaten.
***And one more thing: you don't want to cook the matzoh balls in the chicken stock. They soak up a lot of liquid, so you won't have much stock left if you cook them in the stock.

Raspberry Curd. mmmm........ I love raspberries, because they go with a lot of different things. Mostly dessert things, which just happens to be my favorite food group. I froze it when I was done, and I'm hoping to turn it into a Raspberry Meringue Pie when Jon's parents are here in Texas for a visit from the Great State of Florida. Even though they already like me (they jokingly tell Jon I'm the favorite child ever since the dog died), I want to show-off my mad cooking skills. Recently, it's been my one sense of accomplishment. But, enough that! Onward to cooking!!!


Raspberry Curd

3 half-pint baskets raspberries
about 1/2 C. sugar
4 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 t. fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

Puree the raspberries and put them through a fine strainer to remove the seeds.






Seeds = not smooth curd = not good eats








Measure 1 1/2 c. puree, heat it in a non-corroding saucepan, and stir in the sugar and butter.
Taste and add the lemon juice to taste.






Heating on the stove... Look at that beautiful color!







Whisk the eggs and egg yolks just enough to mix them, then stir in some of the hot puree to warm them.
Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick - it should reach a temperature of 170°F.



Looks kinda... Grey-ish. This happened after I added the eggs to it. I added a bit of red and purple food coloring to make it look more like the pre-egg color.




Chill.

Makes 2 cups.


So, flavor-wise, it's delicious. It will be really great in a pie crust with some meringue on top. However, I don't think I got it quite hot enough, because after refrigerating it over night, it didn't thicken the way it should have. But I was too lazy to fix it at the time, so I decided that the next time I do something with it I'll try to thicken it then. If I need to, I'll add a bit of cornstarch when I re-heat it. Otherwise... I want to eat it!!!