"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." -Harriet Van Horne
For over the past year, VintageTeal and friends, as per tradition, has been getting together for food, wine, giggles and sometimes tears. As we cooked with one another, we found that each of us knew a little something special that the others may not in the kitchen. We decided we wanted to share some of these secrets with our favorite readers, so each Wednesday we will share something from the evening's menu with you.
Eggplant Parm Ingredients
1 large eggplant
2 tbsp garlic
1/2 white onion
1/3 c olive oil
1 c Panko Bread Crumbs
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/8 c flour
4 oz fresh mozzarella
12-14 oz Marinara Sauce
1/2 c grated fresh Parmesan
Salt, Pepper, & Italian seasoning
Lemon Butter Noodles Ingredients
1 fresh lemon
8-10 oz linguine
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher Salt & Cracked Pepper
Eggplant Parmesan
|1.| Slice eggplant lengthwise in to 1/4 in. slices. Arrange slices over 2 folded paper towels. Liberally salt both sides of sliced eggplant (this is vital as it draws the bitter water out of the eggplant). Let sit for 30 min to an hour.
|2.| Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
|3.| While the eggplant is draining, prepare the pan for frying the eggplant. Pour oil, chopped onion and minced garlic in saute pan and turn heat to medium high. You want the pan to get hot enough to brown the bread crumbs.
|4.| When eggplant has drained, rinse with water and press with dry paper towels to remove all excess water. In a shallow bowl, crack the eggs and whisk in the milk. In a separate shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and Italian seasoning/salt/pepper to taste. When oil is shimmering, individually dredge eggplant slices, first in the egg mixture, second in the crumb mixture, and place into the hot pan.
|5.| Fry until golden brown on both sides, turning slices once. Then drain eggplant on 2 folded paper towels.
|6.| Pour a thin layer of marinara sauce into nonstick baking dish or pan (save 1/3 of the sauce for topping). Place 1/3 of the eggplant slices into the baking pan (these should be the largest pieces). Place one piece of sliced mozzarella on top of each piece of eggplant in the baking pan. Continue layering process until you have individual towers of eggplant. Pour remaining sauce evenly over each eggplant tower. Then sprinkle generously with fresh grated Parmesan.
|7.| Bake until cheese is melted and slightly brown. 20-30 minutes.
Lemon Butter Noodles
|1.| Boil 3 quarts of salted water, then add noodles. Cook until noodles are al dente, and then pour noodles into collander.
|2.| Add 4 tbsp butter and squeeze the juice of an entire lemon over the hot noodles. Zest one lemon over the noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.
|3.| Serve each eggplant tower over a bed of noodles. Bon appetite!
**Serves 3 if you don't mind unbuttoning your pants at the table, and 4 if you are planning to eat light**
Please let VintageTeal know if you try out any of our recipes and feel free to email your favorites that you would like us to try...vT*
