Last Monday morning, after Marissa had left for work and I returned back to her apartment from taking Dave to the airport, I sat down to eat lunch. It consisted of a boxed salad I’d picked up at Trader Joe’s the day before. My plan was to eat half of it and save the remaining half for lunch on Tuesday; that didn’t happen. I scarfed down the entire tasty thing.  Monday night, when Marissa came home from work, we jumped in her car and headed back to Trader Joe’s to do her “big” grocery run.  She would finally have stocked shelves, refrigerator, freezer, and wine rack and could stop eating like like a “third grader with a drinking problem.” Instead she is now a young woman with healthy choices and plenty of nice wine to accompany her adult meals. (Did you know that in California “Two Buck Chuck” is actually two bucks, well actually $1.99?  Not that the $2.99 we pay in AZ is a bad deal, but I always wondered why it was called “Two Buck” when it really cost three bucks… now I know.)

Anyhow, point is, I picked up another box of the same salad for my Tuesday lunch… and finished it off again after a long morning of shopping for the apartment. I’d made myself a long “must get” list, which resulted in a late (as in around 2:30) lunch, so I was famished.  Now what was I going to to for my lunch on Wednesday?  You guessed it… I bought another box of the same salad.  And this time, I didn’t even bother transferring to a dinner plate, just ate it right out of the plastic box, pitiful!

Believe it or not, I’m not sick of it yet… so I made it for dinner last night.  Best part? There are leftovers. I’ll be having it for lunch today, and I’m already looking forward to it.  The recipe I’m going to give you has several revisions, substitutions, and two regrettable omissions.

• I used seared scallops instead of grilled chicken, just because I had scallops in the freezer I wanted to use up. Any protein will do, chicken, fish, beef, or pork… or none at all, it’s a filling salad with or without.
• I substituted Jarlsberg Swiss cheese for the Asiago, again because I had it on hand, I’ve decided I prefer the Asiago.
• I used red Belgium endive instead of red cabbage because I didn’t want a nearly full head of cabbage leftover and I adore those little packs of 2 white and 1 red Belgium you can get at TJ’s.  They never go to waste around here.
• I subbed other dried fruits for the dried currants in the TJ version. There is a package of TJ’s Triple Fruit Treat in my pantry (a mix of dried mango, cranberries & blackberries). This, I recommend highly, it really added to the salad. Besides, currants are hard to find, even TJ’s rarely has them available.
• And finally, I forgot that the salad had corn and diced red bell peppers in it until I went to post the picture here a few minutes ago. So you won’t see corn or peppers in the picture of my salad, but I’m adding them to the recipe, they are a must!

Field Fresh Chopped Salad with Seared Scallops and Sweet Basil Dressing ala Trader Joe’s

Sweet Basil Dressing
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup water, or more to adjust to desired consistency
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad
1  3/4 cups water
1  1/3 cup Israeli couscous
1 pound sea scallops, defrosted and patted very dry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 head red Belgium endive, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted and patted very dry
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper; cored, seeded and diced
3/4 dried TJ’s Triple Fruit Treat, or any dried fruit of your choice
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans

Dressing:  Place all ingredients, except the oil and black pepper, in a blender or food processor and blend on high until well combined. With the motor running, add oil in a steady stream through the feed tube, until the mixture is thick and emulsified. Taste and thin with more water if desired. Season with black pepper, to taste.  Makes about 3 cups. May be stored in a jar for up to 12 days in the refrigerator.

Salad: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the couscous and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and spread out onto a large baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, pat scallops dry and generously season with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the olive oil and butter.  When the butter is bubbling, add the scallops. Do not crowd the pan, leave space between each scallop; sear until golden brown on one side, turn over and sear on other side until golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. When scallops have cooled slightly, cut each into 4 pieces.

In a large serving bowl, toss together the cooled couscous, Romaine, endive, corn, green onions, bell pepper, dried fruit, and cheese. Divide between 6 dinner plates or large flat bowls and top with toasted pecans and scallops. Pour dressing into a small bowl or pitcher. Pass at the table and allow guests to dress their own salad.

Serves 6

A lighter, summer time appropriate version of spaghetti and meatballs.

Pesto Spaghetti  with Baked Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Meatballs

3 slices Italian bread, torn into small pieces (1 cup)
1/3 cup milk
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 egg
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
4 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
Pesto Spaghetti
1 pound spaghetti
2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
1 1/4 cups olive oil
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
Shaved Parmesan cheese, as desired

Meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with foil.  Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about four minutes.

Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes.  Cool slightly.

Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley.  Form into 12 meatballs and arrange on prepared sheet pan.

Stir together remaining 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and brush over meatballs.  Then bake in preheated oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Pesto Spaghetti: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Meanwhile make a pesto sauce, in a food processor or blender; puree basil, garlic, salt, Parmesan cheese, and nuts.  With motor running, add olive oil through feed tube until incorporated.  Pour basil pesto into large serving bowl.

Drain pasta and add to a large serving bowl, toss with pesto, to coat.  Top with baked meatballs, diced tomatoes, and Parmesan shavings and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serve 8

If you’re feeling that it’s too hot to turn on the stove or even worse, the oven, then it’s time for summer rolls; also known as Vietnamese salad rolls or spring rolls.

Now, due to my lack of time to explain it myself,  (I have the teen class graduation lunch today, hosting not only the students themselves but additionally two guests for each student) I turn to trusty Wikipedia to define spring or summer rolls.

“Vietnamese spring roll  – ingredients include slivers of boiled or fried pork, shrimp, chicken, beef, fresh herbs, lettuce, sometimes fresh garlic chives, rice vermicelli or bean threads, all wrapped in moistened rice paper, served cold with dipping sauce. The salad roll is easily distinguished from a “minced pork roll” by the fact that it is not fried, the ingredients used are different. Spring roll refer to the freshness of the spring season with all the fresh ingredients, therefore frying would take away that feeling.”

Summer Rolls

5 ounces bean thread (cellophane) noodles
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
Spring roll wrappers (rice paper rounds), 8 1/2-inches in diameter
1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and sliced in half horizontally
Fresh mint leaves, washed, dried, and sliced thinly
Fresh basil leaves, washed, dried, and sliced thinly
Fresh cilantro leaves, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped
Peeled and shredded or julienned carrot
Romaine or red lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried (tough ribs discarded)
Sweet chili sauce or other dipping sauce(s) of your choice

Cover bean thread noodles with boiling water and let soak 15 minutes; drain well in a sieve or colander. Pat dry between paper towels and toss with rice vinegar.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Fill a pie plate or flat bowl with lukewarm water. Immerse rice paper in warm water for a few seconds to soften them up just until soft but still flexible (work with one rice paper at a time, being gentle as they break easily when brittle).  Remove from water and place rice paper on a damp kitchen towel and let rest approximately 30 seconds until it’s more pliable.

Arrange some of the shrimp, noodles, mint, basil, cilantro, and carrot on bottom half of soaked rice paper; leaving a 1-inch border along edge.  Make sure the ingredients are not clumped together in the center, but evenly distributed from one end to the other, take care to not overfill.  Then place a piece of lettuce atop.

Pressing down on the filling with your fingers (pressing down on the ingredients is particularly important because it tightens the roll), fold the bottom end of the sheet, side nearest you, over the top of the fillings and roll into a cylindrical shape halfway.

Fold the left and right sides inward and complete rolling the remaining half (If rice paper is too dry to seal, moisten unsealed edges with a little more warm water).

Transfer summer roll to a plate or baking sheet, seam-side down, and cover with dampened kitchen towels. Make additional rolls in the same manner.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Bring rolls to room temperature before serving. To serve, halve rolls on the diagonal and place the rolls  on your serving platter.

Serve with sweet chili sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.

Whenever I’m in Costco, I check to see what fresh fish is available and if I see ahi tuna, I can’t pass it up. Seared ahi is light and refreshing, so is this salad. It was too hot to use the grill the other day when I made it, so I used the grill pan instead, but if weather permits, use your grill outside and eat al fresco!

Ahi Tuna and Grilled Vegetable Salad

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons water
Two 6-ounce ahi tuna fillets
2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices
1 medium yellow crookneck squash, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 heart of romaine lettuce, torn into individual leaves

Place the basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and the water in a food processor, process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside.

Spray a grill pan over high heat and spray with Pam. Lightly spray one side of the tuna, the squash slices, and the onion with Pam, then season with salt and pepper.

Place tuna on grill pan and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer tuna to a plate and tent with foil.

Place both squashes, onion, and tomatoes on grill pan and cook until tender-crisp; about 5-6 minutes for onion, 3-4 minutes per side for squash, and 1 –2 minutes per cut side for the tomatoes.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on 2 dinner plates, drizzle with about half of the pesto, place the tuna and grilled vegetables on top of lettuce and drizzle with remaining pesto.

Serves 2

What are you looking for; Gluten free? Easy-breezy? Meatless Monday? Kid friendly? Convenient? Meat-free Friday Lenten meal? Then this recipe is for you! But before we get to it, I want to provide you with a head’s up about tomorrow’s recipe.  Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day – the most amazing Irish Soda Bread recipe. It comes directly from the source, a true Irishwoman who also happens to be a great friend of this blog. None other than, Sharon Cereska; loyal follower, mother to long-time students of Les Petites Gourmettes, and one of the two winners of our latest contest. Sharon generously brought me a loaf of the delicious bread as a thank you when she came to my cooking class at Les Gourmettes (the prize of said contest). Marissa and I devoured the entire loaf before Dave even knew it was in the house! Besides the usual flour, and such, you’ll need 1 egg and 1 3/4 cups buttermilk. Get to the store and pick those up so you can make the bread.  Trust me, you’ll be thanking me, and especially, Sharon, later!

Another thing I have to thank Sharon for is for helping me keep porn off this very website. Long story short, when I first started the blog, spam (which is mostly porn) was not an issue, I was flying under the radar. Not knowing better I basically approved all comments (they were few and far between back then). Early one morning I received a frantic call from Sharon who alerted me to the fact that one of the comments she saw, linked to the most disgusting porn site. I ran to my computer and I was in shock! It was awful, my heart was racing as I immediately deleted it.  Then it was just like that feeling when you’re innocently driving along in your car and barely escape an accident, involving YOU! All the blood races to your head and you just keep replaying it over in you mind. I paced around the house for about an hour in horror and shock.  I immediately called my webmaster, Cyndi, and she installed a spam filter.  So, I have much to thank Sharon for!  The spam continues to flow into this site daily – as you can see from the snapshot of my blog dashboard below. In only 9 months – 5559 spam compared to 1214 real comments! Thankfully that filter keeps you from having those images burn into your eyes and soul, as it did to Sharon’s and mine! :-)  OK, on to today’s perfect little recipe.

Mini Polenta Pizzas

18-ounce tube cooked polenta *
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup prepared pizza sauce
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Fresh julienned basil, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil; lightly grease foil with olive oil or Pam. Set aside.

Cut the polenta into 3/8-inch-thick slices using a sharp long knife. Place the polenta slices in the prepared sheet and brush each lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread half of the polenta slices with the pizza sauce; spread the remaining slices with the pesto.

Sprinkle the pizza sauce-covered rounds with the almonds and mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle the pesto- covered rounds with pine nuts and Parmesan.

Return to oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the toppings are heated through. Let stand 1 minute before removing from the pan. Garnish each pizza with fresh basil and serve immediately.

Makes 10

* Find at Trader Joe’s on the aisle with the olives and sauces. In fact, you will find great prices on all the ingredients for this recipe at Trader Joe’s.

Here is what I did with some of the leftover Citrus Salmon from yesterday’s post.

Lemon Basil Pasta with Salmon

1 pound dry campanelle, penne, or fussili pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 cup chiffonade of fresh basil leaves
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups cooked salmon fillet, broken into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, basil, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon olive oil sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Gently fold in the salmon and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6

Friday, January 7, 2011

7:30 AM – Awake, shower, dress, eat breakfast, and put up blog post for the day.

9:40 AM – Open email and find this gem:

Happy New Year Linda!
Been following your blog and your bumper crop of citrus. I bought an ACME years ago when our landscape included many prolific citrus trees. It juices at lightening speed! Would you like to borrow mine? Let me know and I’ll drop it by ; )
Jeanie

9:43 AM - Immediately Reply:

Oh Jeanie, you are a lifesaver! YES, a thousand times, YES! Thank you so much, I was actually thinking of putting out a neighborhood search for a juicer I could borrow. I’ll have to show you the one I have, you will die laughing when you see it! Thank you! xoox
Linda

(that is my tiny little juicer in the background!)

9:44 AM – Go out the French doors and haul the crate of Meyer lemons inside. Thoroughly wash each piece of fruit. Zest and then cut in half the entire contents of the crate in anticipation of Jeanie’s arrival. Which she does, a mere 5 minutes after I have finished.

11:12 AM - Jeanie arrives with the Acme “Supreme Juicerator” in tow. After a quick tutorial of how to work the beast, Jeanie leaves and I set to work on the Meyer lemons.

11:45 AM – The Meyer lemons are all juiced! In only thirty minutes? It can’t be! It would have taken me at least 90 minutes with my infantile juicer, that would have included the time to let it cool down after it would have overheated repeatedly!

11:46 AM – Place 1 tablespoon zest in each compartment of mini muffin tins, top with juice and freeze for zest cubes. Pour juice in full size muffin cups (approx. 1/4 cup) and freeze for juice cubes. Once frozen, transfer to freezer quality ziplock bags, each labeled with type of fruit juice or zest and the date. Continue with the remaining fruit.

5:00 PM - With only a 15 minute break to eat a Subway sandwich Connor brought me, I have finished! My arms, shoulders and back hurt, plus my hands are raw and feel as though they have been soaking in acid for the last 6 hours… oh yeah, they have been! But it’s a great feeling – I can now look into my backyard, through those French doors, without dread and guilt.  Here is the bounty that my freezer now holds. Well, minus the amount that I brought to Jeanie, my angel neighbor, when I returned the rock-star Juicerator!

89 Meyer Lemons produced 29 cups juice and 48 zest cubes

12 Blood Oranges produced 2 cups juice and 10 zest cubes

117 Lemons produced 24 cups juice and 60 zest cubes

62 Oranges produced 42 cups of juice and 36 zest cubes

46 Pink Grapefruit produced 34 cup of juice

Although I did zest all of the Meyer lemons, blood oranges, and lemons; I gave up about 1/3 of the way through the oranges and didn’t zest any of the grapefruit, since there is still plenty of grapefruit on the trees (they aren’t at as great a risk of freezing as the other smaller fruits).

And yes, I have ordered a Juicerator of my own from HERE! Jeanie, I can’t thank you enough! You truly were my own personal angel yesterday. xoxo

Oh, and I did manage to make dinner for the family too! I know, I am amazing! What can I say, the Juicerator and the joy of not having the citrus hanging over my head gave me an extra surge of adrenalin. Plus, I really needed to use the fresh homemade mozzarella I made a couple days ago, while it was still fresh!

Caprese Pizza

1 pound whole wheat pizza dough (which Dave picked up at Trader Joe’s)
Pesto
3/4 pound Mozzarella cheese
Heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
Sea salt

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly dust a pizza peel with cornmeal.

Shape and stretch the dough into the desired thickness and shape on the peel. Spread with the desired amount of pesto. Thinly slice 2/3 of the mozzarella cheese and finely grated the remaining 1/3 of the cheese. Lay the cheese slices in an even layer over the pesto. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Season lightly with the sea salt. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Carefully slide off the pizza peel onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked through and the top layer of cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Remove with pizza peel and slide onto a cutting board. Slice and serve.

Makes 1 pizza

I was treated to a fabulous lunch at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms yesterday by my two “cooking cohorts” Barb Fenzl and Kim Howard. Kim told us about a delicious martini she’d had over the weekend at Modern Steak, called Retail Therapy.  It sounded so good and I knew I’d want to re-create here, but hadn’t thought I’d be doing it so soon.

I brought home an unwanted souvenir from my recent travels – a furious head cold! I’ve been downing the Sudefed and Nyquil like candy, but last night didn’t think I could stand even one more dose. So instead, I opted for my own remedy, which I shall rename Head Cold Therapy! It worked like a charm – I slept like a baby. This may not be the perfect remedy for everyone, but it is one great martini!

Head Cold Therapy Martini

Macerated Strawberries
8 ounces (1 cup) fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons premium vodka
1 teaspoon sugar
Martini
12 macerated strawberry quarters
3 basil leaves, torn
2 ounces premeium vodka
1 ounce Grand Mariner
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Ice
Additional basil leaves and lemon slices, for garnish

Macerated Strawberries: Gently stir together strawberries, 2 tablespoons vodka, and sugar until sugar is dissolved, then let stand at least 30 minutes. Makes enough strawberries for 4 martinis.

Martini: In a shaker, muddle 12 of the strawberry quarters and the torn basil.

Add vodka, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and 4 or 5 ice cubes. Shake well until very cold. Strain in a martini glass and garnish with basil and a lemon slice. Final step – drink and feel all better!

Makes 1

Here is the second of the two appetizer recipes using that 2-pound box of cherry tomatoes (cherubs). It couldn’t be easier and they will disappear before you know it … enjoy!

Caprese Sticks

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved crosswise
14 fresh bocconcini (mini-mozzarella cheese balls), cut into thirds
1/4  cup olive oil
2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonde (thinly sliced)
42 long wooden skewers

Thread 1 tomato half, 1 piece of cheese, and another tomato half onto each skewer. Place skewers in an 8×8-inch baking dish.

Whisk together oil, vinegar, and basil. Drizzle oil mixture over skewers; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 at least 1 hour to marinate.

Remove sticks from dish and place 14 sticks in 3 separate stemless wine glasses to serve.

Makes 42 sticks

I want you to know that I am here for you!  Here to make mistakes and tell you about them, so that you don’t make the same mistakes, kinda like a parent tries to do for their kids.  The only difference, as rational adults, certainly you will listen better than the average teenager does!

My most recent faux pas? While shopping for the ingredients for about a half dozen appetizers for an upcoming party, I didn’t follow my own shopping list.  I had written “cherry tomatoes” on both my Costco and my Trader Joe’s lists. I went to Costco first and purchased a 2-pound package of those cute little “cherub” egg-shapped tomatoes.  Next, I was in Trader Joe’s I saw “cherry tomatoes” and thought, “Oh, I’ll have plenty of those from that huge package from Costco,” and promptly crossed them off the list. Bad move! I needed real “cherry” tomatoes for this recipe, round and substantially  larger than those little cherubs. Dang it… but was I going to make another run to the market? No way, do with what you’ve got, that’s my motto … OK, not so much as motto as an admission to the fact that I’m just lazy! So be sure and use cherry tomatoes, they will be easier to hollow out, easy to fill, and will stand up so much better on the serving tray…

The second cherry tomato recipe, which cherubs work perfectly for, will be posted in a couple days.

Avocado and Pesto Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

30 cherry tomatoes
1/2  medium avocado, pitted
2  ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2  tablespoons purchased basil pesto
1  teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato.  Carefully, cut a thin slice from bottoms of tomatoes so they stand upright when filled and placed on a platter. With the paring knife carefully cut out the center of the tomato and use the knife or a small spoon carefully hollow out the tomatoes.  Place the hollowed tomatoes upside down on a rack to drain. Let stand 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the avocado half into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Add the cream cheese, pesto, and lemon juice. Process until completely smooth. Scoop filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip.

Place tomatoes, cut sides up, on a serving platter. Pipe filling into the hollowed tomato. Serve immediately or cover loosely and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving.

Makes 30

Aubergine, better known as eggplant, is a favorite of mine, although you wouldn’t know it by searching for it on this blog. In more than a year, this is only the forth time it has appeared. That is due to the fact that Dave doesn’t think he really likes eggplant and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. But each time he has it, he skeptically says, “that was pretty good.”  I have a theory as to why that is usually the reaction. Dave, and many people, have had eggplant prepared badly. Sadly, it is a common phenomenon, because eggplant can be a huge greasy  bitter mess.

Eggplant is like a sponge, it will soak up as much oil as it give it.  And the flesh can sometimes be naturally bitter. Like cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco; eggplant is a member of the nightshade family and it has much more of tobacco’s bitterness than the other family members.  The remedy for the bitter sponginess is to salt the flesh first. Salting, also known as degorging, accomplishes two goals: it pulls out juices that carry bitter flavors, and it collapses the air pockets in the eggplant’s sponge-like flesh, thus preventing it from absorbing so much oil and becoming greasy. The salted eggplant may be place in a colander for an hour (best done with cubes) or placed in a single layer out on paper towels (best with slices). After the degorging is complete, rinse off the salt and squeeze dry before continuing. Eggplant can be cooked with the peel on or off. Unfortunately, the gorgeous aubergine color does not remain once it is heated, if it did, I would never peel it.

** If you made the slow-roasted tomatoes from two days ago, add them into these stacks – delish!

Mediterranean Aubergine Stacks

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into,at least eight, 1/2-inch slices
Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 cup purchased marinara sauce
2 ounces soft goat cheese, such as Montrachet
1 cup coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and a grill or grill pan to high. Generously sprinkle eggplant with salt on both sides and place slices on a paper towel-lined plate in a single layer and let sit for an hour (you will see a lot of liquid beading on the surface).

Rinse the eggplant in cold water to remove the salt, firmly squeeze the slices to draw out the moisture, and then pat the eggplant dry with paper towels to dry completely.

Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and Italian seasoning. Grill on each side for 3 to 4 minutes.

Place grilled eggplant on Silpat mat or foil lined baking sheet. Dollop with half of the marinara. Crumble all the goat cheese over; sprinkle with 2/3 of the basil. Top with another slice of grilled eggplant. Mound mozzarella on top and spoon remaining sauce over.

Bake for in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Transfer stacks to a platter or serving plates and garnish with remaining basil.

Makes 4 stacks

It’s been a strange week. Dave was out of town on business Friday – Friday. I was in California that first weekend for a wedding (gorgeous wedding). Then Marissa went down to Tucson for her boyfriend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Alberto!).  And on Thursday, I took Connor up to Flagstaff to begin his sophomore year at NAU (Have a great first day today, Con! Missing you!).

The four of us were never home at the same time, and now we won’t be again until … Thanksgiving, probably (insert sad face here). After all that disruption, what we need is breakfast for dinner. There aren’t too many things that feel more cozy than having traditional morning food in the evening.

These sandwiches are delicious with or without the addition of a poached egg. I did four with and four without. Use any cheese you like, but I’m using pepper Jack to go with the jalapeno sausage I purchased at The Pork Shop… so darn good!

Sausage and Basil-Parmesan Biscuit Sandwiches

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup minced fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 egg

3/4 pound bulk fresh pork sausage
16 thin slices pepper Jack cheese
Poached eggs, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two forks, until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Stir in basil and cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stir with a wooden spoon until just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; pat into a 1-inch-thick circle. Cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter into 8 biscuits. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove form oven and cool slightly on a rack before slicing. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

While biscuits bake; cut sausage crosswise into 8 equal pieces and flatten each into 3-inch rounds. Cook sausage patties in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Split biscuits, then make sandwiches; layering with bottom half biscuit, 1 slice cheese, 1 sausage patty, (add poached egg here, if using) another slice of cheese, and biscuit top.

Place sandwiches on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Makes 8 sandwiches

If you have a food processor, then this is one of the quickest and easiest dips possible. Serve it with the toasted pita wedges as I suggest or go an even easier route and serve with purchased pita chips, tortilla chips, or crudités. It’s fast, it’s yummy, and it’s pretty. What more can you ask from a dip?!

Basil Parmesan Dip with Pita Chips

8 pita pocket halves
Pam
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup sour cream or Fage yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each pita half into 8 wedges.  Place wedges on a baking sheet. Spray wedges with Pam; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper and salt.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until crisp.

In a food processor, with the machine running, drop the peeled garlic cloves through the feed tube to finely mince. Remove the lid and add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, basil leaves, parmesan, sour cream, and lemon juice and process until smooth.  Transfer into a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve.

Serve with pita chips.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups