Eggplant (Melanzana) Parmigiana

  

Growing up, I hated Eggplant. I hated most vegetables. It is the weirdest looking vegetable out there. It's purple, looks like a tear drop, and has this utterly ridiculous green vine thing on top that makes it look like a hat. Just not appetizing. SO, for years, grandma made it, and what did I do, I ATE something else. WHAT A BAD LIFE CHOICE. ALL those years I could've been eating like a king, and instead, I was being a schmuck and not eating vegetables. Idiot. This is delicious. It is so good. And incredibly healthy. My favorite part is taking some nice crusty Italian bread and making a sandwich out of it. But you don't have to. You can just dunk it in the sauce, which is what my family does. It's a Win in my book. Mangia Bene!

Ingredients
1 Large Eggplant, about 1 ½ pounds, sliced lengthwise about 1/8 of an inch thick.
4 cups Meat Sauce (click on my meat sauce recipe to see how to make the ultimate homemade meat sauce)
5 Eggs
Vegetable oil, enough to have about 1/4 inch of oil in the pan
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmiggiano Reggiano
5 oz Fresh Mozzarella

Preparation

1) In a shallow dish whisk the eggs, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Add the flour into another large shallow dish, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2) Preheat your oil over medium heat until nice and hot.

3) Dredge the eggplant into the flour, shaking off any excess, dip into the beaten eggs and add to the hot oil. Cook for about a minute on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and season with some salt as soon as they come out of the oil. Continue cooking up the rest of the eggplant making sure to put a layer of paper towels between each layer of eggplant to soak up any oil.

4) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

5) Take a 9 by 9 casserole dish and spread a little bit of meat sauce in the bottom. Add your eggplant in a single layer and add just enough sauce to cover the eggplant but don’t make it too saucy otherwise it will be very soggy. Sprinkle over the top with lots of fresh parmiggiano reggiano and dot the top with fresh mozzarella. Continue with the remaining eggplant. The very top layer should be lots of parmiggiano and mozzarella.

6) Bake for about 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Hunter's Style or rather, Una Buona Pollo alla Cacciatora. JUST CALL ME, ROSETTA STONE.

  

Buon Giorno e Benvenuto a l'Italia! Oggi, noi facciamo un piatto di pollo che e un tesoro di cottura! It is. It really is a treasure of Italian cooking. JUST CALL ME ROSETTA STONE. AND FOR REAL, I DON'T EVEN CHARGE. YOU'RE WELCOME. If you ever go to an authentic Italian restaurant and try to be international, and pronounce it POY-YO, you may get the Malocchio - the evil eye. And if you're waiter's name is Massimo, do the Italian culture a favor and pronounce it Maah-c-mow, not Mah-SEE-mow. Oy. Mangia Bene and enjoy it!

Ingredients

2.5 Pounds of Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh
2 Large Red Bell Peppers (cut into bite size pieces)
1 Large Onion (cut into bite size pieces)
1 Pound Cremini Mushrooms
1 tsp Hot Pepper Flakes
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 cup Red Wine
1 28oz Can of Whole Plum Italian  Tomatoes w/ juice
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
10 Leaves of Fresh Basil
3 tbsp Olive Oil

Preparation

1) Salt and pepper the chicken and set aside.

2) In a large deep pan, on medium heat, heat the olive oil, sear the chicken breast on each side for about 5 minutes total , you just want the chicken to be light golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

3) In the same pan sauté the onions and peppers until they start to cook down and begin to caramelize about 5 minutes, add the mushrooms and garlic and season with salt and pepper, toss everything and place a lid on the pan so that everything cooks down together and all the natural juices from the mushrooms come out about 7 minutes.

4) Once all the vegetables are cooked down and the hot pepper flakes and add the chicken back in the pan with the vegetables, add the red wine and cook down for 1 minute, add the tomatoes and half of the basil, season with salt and pepper and let this cook covered for 1 hour and 10 minutes on low heat .  

5) After 1 hour and 10 minutes turn the heat off and sprinkle in the remaining fresh basil, plate on a beautiful shallow bowl and serve with crusty bread to soak up the delicious sauce.

A Caprese Pasta Salad aka Una Insalata Caprese con Pasta

 So I have been pressed for time these last few days. LSAT studying, essays, exams, work, homework, auditions, rehearsal, Chapel Choir, Georgetown Events, HALLOWEEN! It's enough to actually drive someone crazy. Eating has become anything I can make quick - and no RAGU or CHEF BOYARDEE will ever touch these lips. Hell will freeze over first before that ever happens. Though it did snow in D.C. this past weekend.....Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this: It's easy prep, delicious, and doesn't dirty that many dishes a.k.a. less crap we all have to do ;) Mangia Bene!

Ingredients
8 oz of Orecchiette Pasta, Farfalle, or any other short cut pasta, cooked according to package instructions and cooled
1 pint of Cherry Tomatoes, halved
8 oz Ball of Fresh Mozzarella, cubed
1 Cup of Fresh Basil Leaves
3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp of Red Wine Vinegar
½ tsp of Dried Oregano
½ Clove of Garlic, finely minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

A couple of Black Olives (or whatever you prefer) (can be cored)

Bocconcini mozzarella

1/2 jar of chopped Roasted Red Peppers in Water

Preparation

1) In a blender add the basil, vinegar, garlic, oregano and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Turn the blender on and when the basil has turned into a paste, drizzle in the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2) In a large bowl add the mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, red peppers, and season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and basil vinaigrette. Toss everything to combine and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Croissants with Prosciutto and Muenster Cheese

This lunch is great and reminds me of breakfasts during my summers in Portugal. I highly advise you all to enjoy this because I can promise you that it will make you a happy individual. Croissants are LOADED with butter, so you already know it's going to be delicious. Anything uber-delicious has butter in it. As long as you maintain a healthy exercise regimen, EAT AWAY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

Ingredients

San Pellegrino Arranciata

1 Croissant

1/5 pound of Prosciutto

1/5 pound of Muenster Cheese

1 Small Hershey's Chocolate Bar (for dessert and a pick me up)

Pot Reast in Chianti. I Really Outdid Myself. No Joke.

SO LIFE IS BUSY - and I feel like I haven't eaten a real meal in about 5 days. Between law school applications, papers, exams, and work, I am literally going stir crazy. So Sunday night, I made it my intention to eat well this week. And eat well did I last night. Sweet Lord Jesus Did I. Sunday night was marinating night and for about 20 hours, my cut of beef swam happily in a bath of herbs, garlic, vegetables and CHIANTI.  When Monday afternoon came around to cook the dish, I was more than excited to eat my dinner. AND SO ladies and gentleman, the happiest roast on this side of the globe. WHO SAYS COWS DON'T SWIM? THEY DO WHEN I'M INVOLVED :D Mangia Bene!

Ingredients

1 4 lb Boneless Chuck Roast
3 Large or 5 small Carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
3 Stalks Celery, diced
1 Large Onion, diced
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
about 1/2 pound to a pound of Button Mushrooms
2 Sprigs of Rosemary
4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
3 cups of Chianti Red Wine
1 15 oz can of Chopped Tomatoes
¼ (or as needed) cup of All Purpose Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
4Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 bag of Frozen Pearl Onions, thawed

Preparation

1) Season the beef well with salt and pepper all over. Sprinkle over the flour and rub it all over.

2) Preheat a large pot over high heat with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil, add the beef and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining tbsp of olive oil and add in the carrots, onion and celery, and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and let them cook for about 5 to 6 minutes.

3) Add the beef back in along with the wine, tomatoes, the fresh herbs and mushrooms. 

4) Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover and let cook for 2 and half hours flipping the meat half way through.

5) After 2 and half hours, add the pearl onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat back up to medium high and cook uncovered for 30 more minutes flipping the meat over half way through.

6) Simply slice and serve over some roasted garlic mashed potatoes and spoon over the delicious thick sauce. Enjoy!

Today's Tasty Lunch - Prosciutto Muenster Cheese Fire Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich with Mustard & Basil

Hi everyone! So TGIF, which means I have time for a proper lunch a.k.a actually sit down, at a table, to some good music and enjoy some tasty creation. Today's lunch was awesome and I pretty much just threw it together - 5 minutes and my stomach decided to be friends with me again :) If you're interested in enjoying it as well, here's the recipe

Ingredients
Half a jar of fire roasted red peppers in water (you can find it in your local supermarket - you can buy the vinegar kind as well - I just don't like it - it overpowers the prosciutto)
3 Tablespoons of Mustard
3 Slices of Sliced bread
3 or 4 leaves of Fresh Basil
4 slices of Muenster Cheese
1/5 pound of Prosciutto

Rigatoni a la Bolognese

Bolognese Sauce derives its name from Bologna, Italy's Emilia-Romagna's capoluogo (the region's capital city). And I would like to be that individual to point out to you that Bolognese sauce, real Bolognese sauce, is not that mediocre-I wish I were Italian-I tried really hard, but failed-sauce that you bought out of a jar at your local supermarket. SO let me be the first one to give to you a happy Bolognese sauce. Made from scratch. You don't even need to get up earlier on a Sunday. Make this. Live WELL. From my family to yours, MANGIA BENE!

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb Ground Beef
1 Medium Onion, finely copped
1 Large Carrot, finely chopped
1 cup Frozen Defrosted Baby Peas
1 28oz can of Italian Crushed Tomatoes
1 cup Red Wine
1 lb of Rigatoni
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmiggiano Reggiano


Preparation

1) Fill a large pan with cold water, add a nice handful of salt and bring to boil for the pasta.
2) In a large high sided pan preheated over medium high, cook the beef with the olive oil for about 2 minutes until almost cooked through. Add the chopped onion and carrot and let cook about 5 to 7 minutes or until the onions and carrots start to cook down and soften season with lightly with salt and pepper.
3) Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and turn the heat to medium. Partially cover and cook for about 30 minutes, check on it periodically.
4) After 30 minutes, season with salt and pepper and add the peas. This is also the time to add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the peas in the sauce for the same amount of time it takes for the pasta to cook.
5) Once the pasta is cooked al dente, (don’t overcook your pasta it’s a big no no) turn the heat off on the sauce and mix the pasta and sauce together. Add in some fresh basil and serve up piled high on a shallow plate and grate over some parmiggiano reggiano.