A Hearty Meal for a Fall Evening

The second night during our weekend getaway in Mattituck, I made a quintessential fall meal for me and the Prince: parmasean crusted chicken cutlets, potato gratin, and honeyed carrots. It was delicious with all the flavors complimenting one another well. Here are the recipes for the potatoes and carrots...enjoy with a nice, crisp beer!

Scalloped Potato Gratin (courtesy of Tyler Florence)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling (I used gruyere - its a better cheese for potato gratin!)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

Honey Glazed Carrots (courtesy of Sunny Anderson)

Kosher Salt
1 pound baby carrots
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

A Fork in the Ratatouille

This weekend the Prince and I had a lovely getaway on the North Fork of Long Island in Mattituck. I decided to cook both nights we stayed there, and the first night I made a light and delicious dish of Ratatouille with pasta, paired with a Simi Chardonnay. It came out well. The only issue was that I halved this recipe and there was still plenty of left over! I suggest halving it, unless you are having a large dinner party.

Ratatouille with Penne (courtesy of epicurious.com)
2 eggplants (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 onions, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
coarse salt to taste
4 yellow squash (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (I used 1 can of plum tomatoes when I halved this, use 2 for this)
7 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 pounds penne rigate (with ridges) (I used cavatappi with ridges)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Accompaniment: grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together eggplants, onions, 1/4 cup oil, and kosher salt in a large roasting pan, then roast mixture in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in squash, bell peppers, 2 tablespoons oil, and more kosher salt and roast mixture, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. While vegetables are roasting, simmer tomatoes, garlic, thyme, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and kosher salt in a heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir tomatoes into roasted vegetables and season ratatouille. Cook penne rigate in a 6-qt. pot of boiling salted water until al dente and drain. While pasta is cooking, stir parsley and basil into ratatouille and season. Toss penne rigate with 1/3 of ratatouille and serve topped with cheese.

Comfort in a Can

I got really annoyed a month back when someone told my beloved Cookbook Junkie (http://www.cookbookjunkie.blogspot.com/) that real cooks don't use canned soup. Excuse me? Sometimes even the best of chef's are in the mood for a comforting casserole in classic American style! I made one for myself on this particular evening and it was delicious...

Comfort Casserole a la Amy

1 pound of medium sized shells, cooked in salted water al dente
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 soup can full of 2% lowfat milk
1 cup of diced ham
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients into a casserole dish and cook at 350 degrees in the oven until hot and bubbly!

No debate here - it was good!

During the Vice Presidential Debate, I made my boyfriend and I a meal of lamb chops, green beans with onions, and Paula Deen's Oven Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic. The lamb chops marinated in olive oil, fresh minced garlic, and salt and pepper before I sauteed them in a pan. The green beans and onions were sauteed in some olive oil, salt, pepper, and then topped off with some hot sauce for a little kick. Here is the potato recipe - it was wonderful and perfect for an early autumn meal:

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds small new red potatoes (about 15), scrubbed and dried
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 6)
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I used fresh)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pare a narrow strip of peel from the middle of each potato. In a large bowl mix the oil, garlic, and rosemary; add the potatoes and toss well. Transfer the potatoes to a shallow baking pan and roast until potatoes are tender when tested with the tip of a knife. Serve hot.

Corn as high as an elephant's eye...

Jack eating butter dipped roasted corn at a local farm! These are the perfect Autumn moments!

The Good Doctor is a Great Cook!

Two Saturdays ago when the Prince and I were out in Mattituck (see Eyreaffairs for my post on the lovely day), we feasted on an amazing dinner made by J. Sarah's dad. Both of her parents are great cooks; her mother has made some of the best meals of my life. Eggplant parmigiana over spaghetti is a household favorite of the family's, and I was indoctrinated into EPP over SPAG (as its called by the family) a few years ago and it is one amazing recipe. J. Sarah's dad was kind enough to give the Prince and I the recipe, and it is being shared here with you readers. I must admit that try as you might, it will taste great...but not as great as his!

I recreated the dish this past Thursday evening for the NFL opener of the Giants crushing the 'Skins (see above photo). It seemed like the perfect dish to make to kickoff football season! Instead of spaghetti, the Prince got fresh buccatini from the local Italian pizzeria and, instead of wine, the Prince tapped me, him, and his brother a Heineken mini kegger! The beer went quite well with this dish. It was great, and the Prince's mom even enjoyed it! I hope you make this dish soon!

Dr. H’s Eggplant Parmigiana

Tomato Sauce (can be made in advance and frozen)
Makes 64 ounces-enough for two LeCreuset cookers

Ingredients:
2 lbs of Italian plum tomatoes
2 small cans of tomato paste (not seasoned)
1 large green pepper
1 large white onion
2 large cloves of garlic
10 stalks of fresh basil (remove stems)
5 stalks of fresh parsley (remove stems)
½ a teaspoon of thyme (can be dried)
½ a teaspoon of rosemary (can be dried)
½ a teaspoon of oregano (can be dried)
2 ounces of Olive oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 ounces of hearty red wine
1 ounce of sake or dry vermouth
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of Angostura bitters
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes into small pieces
Dice the pepper, onion and garlic
Chop the basil and parsley

Add a small amount of olive oil to the bottom of a large sauce pan, begin to heat and add the tomatoes and then all of the ingredients in no particular order. Stir until everything seems nicely mixed and cover. Heat enough to get near boiling and then turn down to a simmer. Cook for a few hours (probably better the longer you cook but 3 hours is probably adequate.

Now, while the sauce is cooking you can work on the eggplant (unless you also did it earlier (4-6 hours). There is no right amount of eggplant but you need enough to make 5 or 6 layers in the cooker. This works with any of the many types of eggplant but a few different colors and shapes seems to add to the dish.
You also need some dry oregano and basil
Bread crumbs (unseasoned)
Olive oil
Mozzarella cheese cut into ¼ inch slices
Romanao cheese-grated

Wash the outside of the eggplant and cut into pieces (long or circles) that are about ¼+ of an inch thick. No need to remove the skin but if you cut long pieces the outer ones with skin on one side need some of the skin removed so you can bread them.

Dry off the eggplant. Take 3 eggs and beat them briefly. Set up a plate with a layer of breadcrumbs and sprinkle some oregano and basil on the crumbs and mix in.

Add enough olive oil to completely cover the bottom of a frying pan and heat enough to fry rapidly. One by one dip the pieces of eggplant in the egg (both sides) and then lightly bread both sides and place in the hot oil. Do as many as will fit in the pan and then fry both sides to a light brown and remove on to paper towels. Fry all the eggplant.

Assembling the EPP:
Start with a thin layer of sauce followed by eggplant (three or four pieces) and 3-4 pieces of cheese. Cover with sauce and start the process again. When you’ve filled the LeCreuset sprinkle on Locatelli Romano to cover the sauce.

Bake for ~45 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese just begins to bubble.

Cakey Goodness

Aunt Maimy and Jack admire his Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake, made by the bakers at East Norwich Bakery....