Date I made this recipe:
February 2, 2014 (Super Bowl Sunday)
NBC Sunday Night
Football Cookbook, introductions by
Faith Hill and John Madden – 150 Great Family Recipes from America's Pro Chefs
and NFL Players
Published by: Time
Inc. Home Entertainment
ISBN:
10:1-60320-797-X (2008)
Recipe: Baked Eggplant with Mozzarella and Parmesan,
created by Chef Tony Hanslits, Tavola di Tosa, Indianapolis – p. 153
I just KNEW this was going to happen when I selected this
recipe.
This year's Super Bowl matchup pitted AFC Champions, Denver Broncos, against the NFC
Champions, the...Green Bay Packers (Kidding. Sadly)....the Seattle Seahawks. But despite a plethora of recipes in this
book for each NFL team, I could not bring myself to choose one that favored
either team, but most especially not the Seahawks. Remember the "Fail Mary" pass from
the Packers/Seahawks game? Yeah. That's why I can't root for them.
After a long (booth) review of the book, I decided to
slightly favor Denver
by selecting a recipe for quarterback Peyton Manning's former team, the Indianapolis Colts. Even better, thought I, the game was being
played in New Jersey, home of every Italian and Sicilian who did not stay put
in either Italy or Sicily, and so why not eggplant parmesan?
Well, I knew that this was tempting fate and I was not
proven wrong as the Seahawks trounced, and I mean trounced Denver.
Oh my word, the Broncos were embarrassed. At one point, I finally pleaded with the
Broncos on Facebook to just score –
anything, any number at all because "0" was embarrassing. At the time I posted it, the score was I
forget for the Seahawks and the Broncos had a goose egg. Shortly thereafter, the Broncos scored a
touchdown, elected to go for (and made) the two-point conversion and so avoided
the unspeakable – a shutout. There has
never been one in Super Bowl history.
Way to go...Broncos.
I know I am not alone when I say that a Super Bowl game
should be interesting. A Super Bowl game pitting the Best Defense in the league
(Seahawks) against the (hahahahaha) Best Offense in the league (Broncos) should
be outstanding. It should be a close game, bringing us to the edge of our comfy
chairs (like we're going to sit outside in that weather). It was boring. Really boring. Even the commercials lacked luster. I don't know—maybe the continuous polar
vortex of the past few weeks took its toll?
(As an aside and speaking of being a boring, slow-moving game, how
hilarious is it that the Super Bowl teams were from the two states that have
legalized pot? Very.)
Lucky for all of you, this recipe is not boring. In fact, it was pretty yummy. But the making of it thereof was messy,
people, messy. One minute the oil in the
pan just seemed to sit there (like the Broncos) but then seconds later, it got
all fired up (like the Seahawks) almost to the point of smoking (and thus a Lost in Space "Danger, Will
Robinson" moment). But then the
minute I put the eggplant in the pan, it was like all the oil disappeared,
leaving me with a dry pan, and in some cases, almost burned eggplant. It was very frustrating. I think the oil problem might have been
because the cupboard in which I store my oils is cold (it's on an non-insulated
wall of my vintage kitchen) and so it took too long to heat and then when it
did, like I said – smoking. I ran the
exhaust fan the entire time. But
luckily, the end result was great.
This recipe says to use "prepared" tomato sauce
which is code for "store bought," but no self-respecting Sicilian gal
like me is going to settle for that so I took some previously-made Verme family
sauce out of the freezer and used that instead.
You are not required to do the same, of course, but a homemade sauce
always tastes better than store-bought.
And so we munched and we groaned and we sighed and we sighed
some more and finally the game was over and there was much rejoicing by Seattle and much dismay by Denver.
Final score, you ask? 43-8. Ridiculous, of course, but it could have been
worse: Seattle could have scored even more
points. Although a bronco is not a
racehorse, it was clear that this year, for Super Bowl XLVIII (48), they were
the day's "also ran's."
Better luck next year, Denver. And congratulations, Seattle.
Heckuva game.
Baked Eggplant with
Mozzarella and Parmesan – serves 4
1 Sicilian eggplant (see Note below)
2 large eggs
¾ cup fresh bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if necessary
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Chef's Note: Sicilian
eggplants are fat and globe-shaped rather than oblong, but you can substitute a
long, thin Italian eggplant or a small regular eggplant in this dish, as the
flavor of each variety is nearly identical.
Choose a male eggplant if you can (Ann's note: ???!), one that does not have a deep
indentation in the flower end (the opposite end of the stem) – it will have
fewer seeds than a female eggplant.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
Cut the eggplant crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat the
eggs. Put the bread crumbs in another
shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip the eggplant slices in the eggs, then
coat with bread crumbs. When all the
slices are coated, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary to avoid
crowding the pan, and adding a little more oil if necessary, add the eggplant
slices and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per
side. As each slice browns, remove it to
paper towels to drain until all the slices are browned.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of the
baking dish. Arrange a layer of eggplant
slices over the sauce, then top with some of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Continue layering sauce, eggplant, and cheeses until you have three layers,
finishing with the cheese. Bake for 35
to 45 minutes, until bubbling and lightly browned on top. Serve hot, garnished with the parsley.
No comments:
Post a Comment