Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad w/ Smoked Feta & Candied Pecans

The Wife, who not always loves her veggies, has fallen for the vegetable that is often the butt of the joke: the brussels sprout. She has had me make this salad three times since I made up the recipe just a few weeks ago. I can't say I'm surprised because this dish has it all: sweet, savory, smoky, and rich. A great dish along side or instead of green or green beans, it will be a very unexpected treat on your Thanksgiving table.

Serves 4

15-20 large Brussels sprouts (larger ones work best here)

2 cups whole pecans (roasted & salted)

1/4 cup sugar

4 oz smoked goat feta (smoked goat mozz works too)

olive oil

golden balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper

Start by tearing apart the Brussels sprouts. Cut off the stem-end and pull the leaves apart. This takes some time, but it's worth it. When you get to the core, just split it in half and throw it in with the leaves. Blanch the leaves in boiling water until they turn bright green. This will take about 10-30 seconds. Run the leaves under cold water to stop the cooking. Melt sugar in a large frying pan over high heat. (This is so cool to watch.) Once the edges of the sugar start to melt, stir the sugar until all lumps have disappeared. Remove from heat. Toss the pecans in melted sugar until coated. Transfer to a plate to cool. Cut feta into a small dice.

Now you are ready to assemble the salad. Place 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the dressing is heated through, place leaves into the pan, and toss the dressing with the sprouts. Transfer to a large plate. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts then salt and pepper. This wonderful dish is something you will add to your Thanksgiving meal for years to come. Brussels sprouts are no joke.

A Red + White + Pink Thanksgiving

We're all about finding wines at a decent price that are also surprisingly good. I like to buy a few new bottles every month so maybe, just maybe, I can find something in the $8-$15 range that will be a go-to selection for pairing with dinner or taking along to a party.

We want to share a few new discoveries with you just in time for your Thanksgiving festivities -- our two recent favorites, a zinfandel and a riesling with tons of flavor, plus a rosé just for kicks.

Plungerhead, a 2007 old vine zin from Lodi, looks gimmicky but tastes big. The plastic cork is the color of a plunger, and there is a funny little guy with cask-legs akimbo on the label. But open it up, and it is shocking in its complexity: the zin has a great jammy smell with a full-on peppery wallop. Very rich and complex -- one of those red wines that is vibrant enough to stand on its own even before a meal.

Clean Slate, a 2007 riesling from Germany, has a balance of sweet and tart and an almost floral aroma. It's got that good minerally undertone in it that whites sometimes overdo; in this, it's pretty subtle. It comes across as very summery and layered with citrus, the opposite of a sharp, ugly chardonnay.

And even though it may be kind of out of season, we think you can't go wrong with Las Rocas rosé. Mild and layered, not cloying, and very crisp, it's great in hot weather, and it's a good, light first wine before the meal or an inventive last one with dessert.

Sweet Potato Pie with Rosemary Cookie Crust

Everybody expects to have pumpkin or sweet potato pie on Thanksgiving, but it's always amusing that no one is able to tell them apart. We always have this same conversation every year at our table; however, we think sweet potato pie made with the real thing is the clear winner. We bought a half-bushel of sweet potatoes from Bennett-Burks Farm last month in order to have the pioneer-life experience of buying a lot for the winter and only eating that same item in different ways for months.

Also, our rosemary plants in the front flowerbeds are still going strong since we haven't had a frost, so we imitated Lindye's rosemary honey cookies for the pie crust. (Let us know if you need some rosemary or lavender this week; we'll leave you a bunch on the porch!)

Crust:

4 rosemary sprigs, stripped

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup raw sugar

a pinch or two of salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water

melted butter for pie pan

Place the bits of rosemary with the flour in your food processor bowl. Whir until the rosemary is just in flecks. Add sugar. While the food processor is running, pour in the oil and water, a bit of each at a time, until it comes together into one piece and clings to the sides. (Try not to over-mix it; it'll make the dough too tough.) Next, wrap your dough in waxed paper and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll it out on a floured board, and then wrap it around your rolling pin loosely; this makes it easier to roll it out into your buttered pie pan. Use a fork to decorate the edges.

Filling:

6 sweet potatoes, cooked 1 hour in a 350-degree oven

1/3 cup cream

1 container Greek yogurt

2 eggs

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/4 light brown sugar

1/4 cup of bourbon

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

a pinch of clove

pinch of salt

This is a good opportunity to mash the baked sweet potatoes aggressively so that you can alleviate some of your pent-up annoyance at the fact that you have a lot of hoops to jump through before Thanksgiving is really, finally HERE. Or you could just whirl all the ingredients in the food processor until your mixture is smooth and butterscotch-colored -- it's your call.

The last steps:

Par-bake the crust for 10 minutes. Pour in filling and let it cook for an hour. Test the middle with a skewer; if it comes out clean, your pie is ready to cool. You can make this a day or two ahead, and it tastes even better.

Wine Pairing Notes & Thoughts by Michael Hughes

The Wife and I invited our close friend Michael Hughes over to enjoy our "Thanksgiving Preparedness Drill" meal with us the other night. Michael's blog, Midtown Stomp, is a great tool for anyone who wants to know more about wine in general and the Memphis wine scene in particular. Before he arrived for dinner I described what we would be eating and asked that he, in his vast wine wisdom, pick the perfect bottle to go with this meal. In his own words:

McCrea Cellars Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Syrah 2002 Red Mountain AVA, Washington

This was a stunning bottle when I last tasted it. Over the course of a few hours it expressed a firm graceful elegant grip that was a roller coaster of complex flavors. When you said that the main ingredients were chanterelles, apricots I initially thought of going French. Maybe a Bandol with earthy, wild, gaminess. However, I remembered I had this bottle & with it being 7 years old I figured it had softened up somewhat. When we first opened the bottle I gave it a sniff & immediately smelled a smoky, meaty aroma that was almost primal. What I love about syrah is the sensual, earthy expression that it has. It can be tannic & gripping but still be velvety & caressing. This McCrea had this all over it & then some. It matched harmoniously with your stuffed squash & mushroom/barley gravy because it too had earthy aromas & flavors. The savory umami that the dish had amplified this wild richness in the wine but it wasn't overpowering. I really think that there is magic in pairing wine & food. Sometimes they clash & sometimes they sing together but when a pairing really works it taps into emotions rather than strictly hitting the palate. This was one of those instances that was an incredible strong reminder of why I love what I do.

Chanterelle + Apricot Stuffed Acorn Squash w/ Porcini Gravy & Fried Sage

Every year I try to come up with a vegetarian dish that steals the poor turkey's thunder at Thanksgiving. Last year I made a wonderful, rich cassoulet; the year before it was a root vegetable stew in fennel stock served inside of a giant braised pumpkin. This year I decided on acorn squash paired with two of my favorite mushrooms: chanterelle and porcini. The addition of the dried apricots (thank you, Ben) to the stuffing amplifies the earthy, sweet flavor of the chanterelles. I sliced the squash to show off its beautiful scalloped edges. It makes for a particularly beautiful presentation. The unusual addition of barley to the gravy adds body and texture and the fried sage sends this dish over the top. You really should make this for your family's Thanksgiving meal. This recipe will be for one stuffed squash which will feed two to three, so adjust the number of squash according to how many guests you are expecting. Make extra -- even the omnivores will want to try this one.

For the stuffing:

1 stalk celery (finely diced)

1 small onion (finely diced)

1 "Not-Chick'n" bouillon cube

1 cup chanterelles (quartered)

4 dried apricots (finely diced)

1/4 cup white wine

2 cups brioche or white bread (torn into pieces)

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper

Beat eggs and add bread. Set mixture in the fridge for an hour or overnight so the bread soaks up all of the egg. Sauté celery, onion, and bouillon cube in the butter until lightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the chanterelles and apricots to the pan and warm through. Add salt and pepper. Chill mushroom mixture throughly before adding to the egg mixture.

Stuff the squash:

Using a sharp kitchen knife and plenty of caution, cut a hole in the stem-end of the squash just as you would a pumpkin at Halloween. Keep the stem. Scrape the seeds and membrane out of the squash. Stuff your stuffing into the cavity -- be careful not to leave any air pockets. Replace the stem and secure with toothpicks or bamboo skewers. Take a moment to poke a few small holes through the flesh and down into the cavity. This will help keep your squash from splitting as the eggs expand during cooking. Place inside a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake the squash in a 375 degree oven for about 2 hours. I rigged up a soufflé dish with some aluminum foil so the squash could bake upright so as to not squish one side as it bakes. Once it is done, remove it from the oven and place it in the fridge to cool. You will want the squash to be cold when you slice it so that it stays together. All of steps up to this point can be done the day before. Slice cold squash into 1 in pieces and place onto an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and place into a 375 degree oven until the color of the squash deepens and it is warmed through.

For the gravy:

1/2 cup dried barley

1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms (finely chopped)

1 "Not-Beef" bouillon cube

2 cloves garlic (minced)

3 sage leaves (minced)

1 teaspoon flour

cracked black pepper

olive oil

water

Cook barley according to package directions but add the mushrooms, bouillon, and sage to the cooking water. Make a roux by heating the olive oil in a pot, adding the flour, and cooking until lightly browned. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of water to the roux and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Season with black pepper and add the barley mixture. Adjust the viscosity to your liking using water. Spoon gravy over the squash and top with sage leaves that have been fried in olive oil for just a few seconds.

Turnip + Sweet Potato Gratin

So, as promised, we are getting into some serious Thanksgiving food this week. We will kick it off with this delicious side dish of winter root vegetables. I came up with this preparation because I was looking for a way to serve turnips that was appealing. Turnips have a serious sour note that I like, but some people are put off by. So here I paired them with equal amounts of sweet potatoes. The sweetness from the sweet potato offsets the sourness of the turnip. They match each other well. Plus the orange and white striped gratin makes for a neat presentation.

1 large sweet potato (the one I used was the size of my nephew)

3 large turnips

4 ounces of goat cheese (or any semi-soft cheese)

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk (or cream if you aren't scared)

1 palmful of fresh thyme

3 cloves garlic

salt & pepper

9x12 baking dish

mandolin slicer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel sweet potato. Using the mandolin, slice turnip and sweet potato 1/8 of an inch thick. Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the bottom of the baking dish to keep things from sticking. Start layering in your root vegetables in a "fish scale" pattern. Do a layer of turnip and then a layer of potato until you have used all of your vegetables. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper in every other layer. The other ingredients go into a food processor and are blended until smooth. Pour mixture evenly over your root vegetables. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover, drizzle with olive oil, and bake a few more minutes to get some color on top. The result is a creamy and delicious side dish that looks as good as it tastes.

We had it for dinner last night with porcini-dredged tofu and mushroom gravy.

Groundnut Stew w/ Kale + Sweet Potatoes

It has been a veritable kale storm around here lately. We love it, and it has been coming to us in abundance from our Whitton Farms CSA. This soup features kale two ways, braised and fried, along with sweet potatoes in a mash-up of more than a few African culinary traditions.

I got the idea from Burt Wolf's show about how much American foodways borrow traditions from Africa. He noted that it was widely believed in the United States that peanuts, native to Africa, were poisonous before being heralded as health food and, believe it or not, a good alternative to meat.

1 onion (diced)

2 inch piece of fresh ginger (microplaned)

4 cups vegetable broth

4 tablespoons peanut butter (chunky kind)

6 cups kale (chopped)

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1 large sweet potato (medium dice)

1 can red beans (rinsed)

salt & pepper (to taste)

cayenne pepper (to taste)

olive oil

1 tablespoon harissa (North African spice paste)

Sweat onion and ginger in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once the onion starts to brown, add the broth. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender.

(You can find harrissa at natural foods markets or international food markets in your area. It is a wonderful, spicy paste with hints of clove and cinnamon.)

I served this with Israeli cous-cous and fried kale. Toss any big pieces of curly kale in a tablespoon of olive oil, and then stick it into a 350 degree oven until they are crispy -- it'll take less than 10 minutes. The result is super-cool: kale chips!

Mushroom Meat

I used to rely on heavy-handed meat substitutes to give my meals that old, familiar texture and flavor that we all grew up on as the center of our 1980's meat-and-three dinners. As I shy away from more and more processed foods, I began looking for a way to get that same familiar result from my own kitchen. The solution for me was to take two things I already love, mushrooms and eggplant, and turn them into a multi-purpose "meat". It is so simple and requires little hands-on time. Make this in large batches, freeze what you don't use, and defrost it to add to tacos or burritos, fill ravioli, or cobble together a homemade veggie burger.

20-24 oz mushrooms (any kind)

1 large eggplant

1 large onion

1 "Not Beef" bouillon cube

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add mushrooms, stems and all, to your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Dump processed mushrooms onto a large, rimmed sheet pan. Peel the eggplant and cut into large chunks. Pulse the eggplant in the food processor and dump it onto the sheet pan with the mushrooms. Repeat this process with the onion. Drizzle the mound of mushrooms, eggplant and onion with a few tablespoons of olive oil and toss it all together using your hands. Spread the mixture evenly over the sheet pan, break the bouillon cube into bits and distribute it evenly over the mixture, and finally, sprinkle the mixture with a little salt and a lot of pepper. Pop it into the oven for about an hour; turn the mixture over a few times with a spatula. The mixture will release a lot of juice and then it will start to dry out. Once most of the liquid had evaporated or been absorbed, the mixture is ready. Allow it to cool on the pan.

For an Italian variation, add fresh herbs from the garden. To make a Mexican version, I add a few poblano peppers to the mix along with a palmful of ancho chili powder. The possibilities are endless. Sub this for any recipe that calls for ground beef.

Mexican Corn Chowder w/ Sweet Potato + Black Bean Quesadillas

One of my favorite things in the world is a dish known as elote con mayonesa. It's Mexican street food at its best: boiled corn brushed with mayo, then sprinkled with cotija cheese, chili salt, and a squeeze of lime. I developed this chowder recipe with the same flavor combination. We really, really enjoyed it. This is something I will make again and again.

Corn Chowder:

8 ears of corn (boiled, cooled, and kernels removed)

1 onion (diced)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 chipotle pepper (minced

3 cloves garlic (smashed)

olive oil

chili salt (equal parts ancho chili powder and salt)

cilantro leaves

cotija cheese

lime wedges

Over medium high heat, sweat the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once the onion starts to brown, add the broth, pepper, and 3/4 of the corn kernels. Heat through and then blend smooth with an immersion blender. Strain the solid parts out of the soup using a mesh sieve. Return soup to the pot and add the remaining corn. Ladle some into a bowl and top with a sprinkle if chili salt, a touch of cotija cheese, a few cilantro leaves, and a squeeze of lime.

Sweet Potato + Black Bean Quesadillas:

1 large sweet potato (baked until tender)

1/2 onion (diced and rinsed in cold water)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 small chipotle chili (minced)

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (chopped)

1/2 lime (juiced)

2 large wheat tortillas

olive oil

chili salt (mix equal parts ancho chili powder and salt)

Mash sweet potato with a fork and divide between two tortillas. Toss onion, beans, chili, cilantro, and lime juice together in a large bowl. Sprinkle mixture over sweet potato spread. Add chili salt to taste. Fold tortilla in half and brush with a tiny bit of olive oil. Grill in a frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Cut in half and serve with corn chowder.

Pignoli Amaretti

Go ahead and lose your inhibitions! After making these almond and pine nut cookies for the first time tonight, we've decided that hoarding pine nuts and using them sparingly is just too pious. You need to use about half a bag or so to coat these Italian cookies. Make up for it by food processing your own almond paste for them instead of relying on store-bought. They are not too sweet and have the coolest toasted, rich, marzipan-like flavor and light, chewy, smooth texture...the perfect pre-weekend splurge.

Pignoli Amaretti

1 cup whole or sliced almonds

1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c raw sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 c pine nuts

Blend almonds in the food processor two minutes until it forms a paste; add a little water if moisture is needed for the paste to come together. Add sugars and vanilla and pulse. Add egg and do the same. Next, add all dry ingredients and pulse again until just mixed.

Spread pine nuts on a plate. Use a small scoop to place dough on pine nuts and roll it around to coat. Cook at 350 degrees for 10 min. on a slipat-lined cookie sheet and let them cool.

Can I Get 3 More Followers?

That would give TCV 100 blog followers.

Sorrel and Arugula Pesto

I had sorrel for the first time yesterday. I can't even say that I had heard of it before then. My buddy Jill gave me some to try in my CSA bag this week. The flavor is like nothing else I have ever tried. It looks sort of like spinach, but the taste is entirely different. I would describe it as grassy, slightly bitter, and citrusy. From the 1st bite I knew I would have to try it in pesto. That is just what I did.

2 cups fresh sorrel

2 cups fresh arugula

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 small garlic clove

olive oil

salt & pepper

You will notice that there is no lemon. There is no need. The sorrel adds all of the citrusy flavor you need. The first four ingredients go into a food processor. Then add enough oil to get it moving. It should take a few tablespoons. Blend until everything is well incorporated, but not until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste.

I served this pesto on a pizza with roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and goat cheese. You can get my pizza crust recipe HERE. While you are at it, read THIS STORY I wrote about my true and undying love of pizza.

Seared Fennel and Carrot Salad

There's gotta be sweet, savory, sour, and spicy in most dishes. We are liking balance above all else over here lately, and this simple, impressive little experiment was a hit. It splits the difference between a side dish and a salad, and it was perfect with arugula and truffle oil soufflés tonight. Here's how it went:

a fennel bulb, split lengthwise

2 carrots

2 tbsp. canola oil

5 dried Turkish apricots, diced

2 oz. Maytag blue cheese, crumbled

1 oz. sherry vinegar

drizzle of olive oil

fleur de sel and crushed pepper to taste, plus fennel fronds to garnish

Heat canola oil on high on stovetop. Place fennel and carrots, cut side down, into hot oil. Stick this in a 450 degree oven for 30 min. Arrange fennel and carrots on plates and top with crumbled blue cheese and diced apricots, which you just toss with sherry vinegar and olive oil. Garnish with fennel fronds and add your salt and pepper.

Banana Pudding + Meringue

Ah, banana pudding...The Wife fondly recalls this dessert as a constant in her family's refrigerator every week, a copious amount in a big glass bowl, always topped with clouds of singed meringue. Everyone ate it straight of the container like wild wolves with magical spoon-holding abilities. You can make this whole deal from scratch, but it won't be as good. Rarely do we advocate throwing together a few store-bought ingredients as a recipe for dessert success, but she has cracked the code of banana pudding and wants to share it with you.

She uses Dr. Oetker's vanilla pudding mix in a box and prefers 2% milk, not skim. Wait 'til it cools to put the pudding together -- you can hurry it along with an ice bath under another bowl. Plain old classic, but not reduced-fat, Nabisco Nilla Wafers work best, of course, so arrange them on the bottom and sides of your bowl or pan. Organic bananas sliced into rounds are mandatory, too, at the bottom, and then just pour the cooled vanilla pudding over it all.

Please don't even think about using whipped cream on top. Instead, here is our hard-fought, always-fluffy meringue recipe:

Meringue

2 egg whites

pinch of cream of tartar

1/8 cup raw or powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Put packages of frozen fruit or vegetables all around your stand mixer's bowl to keep it as cold as possible. Pour in all ingredients and mix on high for 1-2 minutes in order to whip in lots of air. Once hard peaks form -- they should stand up on their own when you pull the whisk up -- spread this on top of chilled pudding. Using the back of a spoon, pull peaks up from the smooth meringue. Place meringue-topped pudding under a broiler for just a few seconds.

Tips: Watery meringue happens when cold meringue is added to warm pudding, so be sure they are close to the same temp.! Also, make it all ahead. It is so much better after a day in the fridge.

Mushroom and Barley Soup

I went to a great dinner at the Dixon called the Brewer's Feast. Dale Skaggs and Mike Lee paired handcrafted beers with each of four courses. The beer and the food were amazing. It got me thinking about what I would make for a beer dinner and the answer seemed obvious: barley. Beer is brewed from barley so it makes perfect sense to me. Here is what I came up with. Oddly enough I chose to drink wine with it.

10-12 oz small cremini mushrooms (quartered)

4 cloves garlic

2 large carrots (diced)

2 celery stalks (diced)

1 white onion (diced)

3 cups cooked barley

1 cup roasted tomatoes

2 bouillon cubes

1 tablespoon butter

red or white wine for deglazing (or beer)

2 bay leaves

4-6 cups water

olive oil

salt & pepper

First toss the mushrooms in a few tablespoons of olive oil and roast them along with the garlic cloves in a covered dish with the oven set at 300. Leave them in for 45 minutes to an hour. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat saute carrots, celery, and onion in some olive oil until the onion is translucent. Deglaze the pan with a half cup of wine. Add the remaining ingredients including the mushrooms and their juice to the pot. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

I served mine with a few warm chanterelles on top and a grilled cheese on rustic seed bread. This is the perfect meal for a cool fall night.

Creamy Polenta with Warm Tomatoes and Olives

Surprisingly enough, simple preparations often make the best meals. Such is the case with this simple but delicious post-farmers-market fall lunch. I'll be honest: this is my most favorite dish I've made in a while. There is something magical about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I suppose this is my own little way of saying my final farewell to homegrown tomatoes for the season. I used three kinds of tomatoes from three different farms; the small orange ones came from Whitton, the medium-sized yellow ones came from Dodson Farms, and the green tomatoes came from Tims.

For the polenta:

1 cup of Delta Grind grits or polenta

4 cups water

2 bouillon cubes

4 cloves garlic

Salt & pepper

Boil water, cubes and garlic. Add grits and stir to make sure there are no lumps. Simmer on low until thick which should take about 30 minutes.

For the tomatoes:

1 green tomato (chopped)

handful of yellow tomatoes (whole)

handful of orange tomatoes (whole)

1/8 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

Toss the tomatoes and the oil into a soup pot and turn the burner on high. (The high walls of the soup pot will keep the tomato juices from evaporating.) Once the tomatoes start to release some juice, remove from the heat and set aside; you just want them to warm through, so this should only take a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also sautéed some kale in garlic and olive oil for this dish as well.

To serve, spoon polenta onto a plate, top with greens, tomatoes, chopped oil-cured olives, and parsley. Spoon the the tomato juice from the bottom of the pot over the preparation for extra flavor.

This Little Piggy Went to Market...

..and bought every tomato he could get his hands on. October 28th was the last East Memphis Farmer's Market so The Wife and I brought home all we could carry including tons of sweet potatoes, three kinds of tomatoes and two kinds of greens. We will miss this Wednesday tradition and look forward to the spring when they reopen.

Perfect Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Being lazy in the kitchen is not always a good thing, but it can lead to some unexpected discoveries. While taking a shortcut preparing a batch of eggplant parm, I left out a step. I typically dry out-bread in the oven before pulverizing it into crumbs which I use to coat the slices of eggplant. This time I tore up a 1/2 of a fresh baguette and stuck it into the food processor with two cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. The result was a moist breadcrumb unlike any I had ever used. I shrugged and went ahead as usual dredging the eggplant slices in flour, then beaten egg, and then coating each with moist breadcrumbs and arranging them on a large baking sheet. I preheated the oven to 375, drizzled each slice with a little bit of olive oil, and stuck them into the oven. After 15 minutes, once the top started to look golden, I flipped them, drizzled them again with olive oil, and left them to cook for another 15 minutes. The final step is to ad a heap of grated parmesan on top of each eggplant during the last five minutes of cooking. This is a great dinner with tomato sauce, parsley, and spinach but it also makes a great sandwich for lunch on-the-go.

The result was fantastic. The outside was crispy and crunchy, but the inside was soft and moist and in between is a rich layer that tastes like it has been batter-coated. With dry breadcrumbs the outside may be crisp but the inside not yet cooked. This way it is all done at the same time. When you take a new path, even if it is a shortcut, you always make a discovery.

Chicago Marathon Photos

The Perfect Vessels at Swanky's Taco Shop Tonight (10.23.09)

We start the music at 10 & It's FREE. I hope to see you all there. I'll be the one behind the drum kit.