For Love of the Food - Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

Parmigiana di Melanzane alla Griglia

I love good, Italian comfort food. Whether it's pasta, chicken, fish or meat, the Italians know how to do it right: lots of flavor through a combination of herbs and spices, fresh ingredients, and finesse - because any good meal deserves the correct amount of time and love to make it perfect. Luckily, I have a lot of time on my hands.

This week - on my journeys through the aisles at the local Price Cutter - I noticed that the eggplant in the produce department looked particularly nice. With the concept to make a healthier version of eggplant parm on my mind, I grabbed two of the aubergine bulbs and added them to my cart.

Now, one thing that most people don't know is that the eggplant is actually a fruit. In fact, it's actually a berry; a rather large berry, but a berry nonetheless. As a member of the nightshade family - which includes a variety of highly toxic plants - the eggplant was, at one time, considered to be incredibly poisonous. This could be partly due to the highly bitter taste of the fruit if it is not properly salted and let sit to drain for a period of time. Also, while most people associate the eggplant with mediterranean cooking: Eggplant Parmesan (Italy), Ratatouille (France), Moussaka (Greece) and Baba Ghanoush (Turkey), the fruit is actually native to the Indian sub-continent, where it is referred to as brinjal - "King of Fruits." 

While I could sit and regale you with other interesting tidbits about the eggplant, I figure if you really want to know more you can check out the websites I've listed below in the reference section. Otherwise, let's get back to the task at hand, making eggplant parm healthy!

In the following recipe, instead of battering and frying the eggplant in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, I have grilled the raw slices on an indoor grill pan, allowing the eggplant to retain its firmness, but giving it a seared flavor that is really warm and hearty when combined with the sauce and cheese. 

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants, comparable in size

1 28oz can of crushed or chefs cut Italian tomatoes (like San Marzano or Cento)

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes with herbs

2 tbsp fresh basil, leaves only

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin

3 anchovy filets

2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup red wine (a few glugs from the bottle)

2 tbsp EVOO, plus extra for the grill

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (optional)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Prep your eggplant by cleaning and cutting the fruit lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices (discarding the end pieces). Place in a colander lined with paper towels and liberally salt the eggplant. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

While the eggplant is draining, start your marinara. In a large pot over medium-high heat drizzle the EVOO on the bottom of the pan and add the three anchovy filets. As the oil begins to warm, the anchovies will begin to break down and dissolve, emitting a pleasant almost nutty smell. Once the filets dissolve, add the garlic to the pot, and let simmer for just a minute. Then add the 2 cans of tomatoes, the wine, a liberal splash of salt and a couple twists of the pepper mill. Stir the pot, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Be sure to stir the sauce periodically and test for taste. Add more salt, if needed.

Begin heating up your indoor or outdoor grill, spraying or brushing with a thin layer of olive oil. Over medium heat, begin adding the slices of eggplant. Sear for for 2-3 minutes (or until the eggplant is lightly softened and the char marks are nicely set). Before flipping over, mist or brush the un-seared side with EVOO. Flip and sear on opposite side for 2-3 minutes. Repeat process until all of the eggplant is grilled. Return the eggplant to the towel lined colander to absorb any excess oil. 

After all the slices are grilled, remove the lid from the sauce pot and add the basil. Stir to combine and turn off heat. 

Spray a large baking dish with EVOO, then spoon a thin layer of the marinara on the bottom. Add your first layer of eggplant. Sprinkle each slice with a some of the mozzarella, then add a spoonful of the tomato sauce to the top. 

Repeat until all the eggplant is layered - using a criss/cross method. On the final layer, sprinkle the parmesan on top of the sauce. 

(Optional) - To add a bit of a crunch - and to replicate that traditional flavor - toast 1/2 cup of Italian style breadcrumbs in a small pan over medium heat and dust the top of the baking dish.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Serve stacks, sprinkled with extra parmesan cheese if desired, with a glass of cabernet. Follow with and a mixed salad - after you've eaten at least two servings! 

References:

Eggplant - Wiki

Eggplant - Health Info

A Roll of the Dice

Bridges are an aspect of engineering that have always fascinated me. From their earliest, natural beginnings (a felled tree laying over a ravine or stones creating steps in a river), they united people, communities and agrarian societies. They have linked together different cultures and civilizations, served as conduits for trade and commerce, and played significant roles in the history of the world, be it the pre-historic Bering Land Bridge, the Arkadiko Corbel Arch Bridge in ancient Mycenae, the bridges of Rome, or the Luddendorf Bridge on the Rhine River. While the bridges of Missouri may not be as old or storied as those previously mentioned, they have their own cultural relevance and historic impact on the midwest and America.

(Construction of Eads Bridge, ca. 1873 or 1874)

The first major bridging operations in Missouri were on the East Coast of the state, along the Mississippi River, specifically in St. Louis. In 1867 - following the end of the Civil War -  James Eads began construction of an arch bridge across the river, which would connect Illinois to Missouri. Completed in 1874, the Eads Bridge was deemed the largest arch bridge in the world at the time, measuring 6,442 feet. The Eads Bridge, like many others along the Mississippi, eased the burden of those traveling west by eliminating the need to ford the expansive river. With Missouri and western America now in the line of sight for weary Southerners looking to start a new life, an influx of settlers began pouring into the state. By the late nineteenth century, St. Louis was considered the fourth largest city in the nation, and by the dawn of the twentieth century the burgeoning population was putting a  severe strain on the public utilities and resources of the state.  So, from 1929 to 1931 a large civil works project that included the construction of roads, railways, infrastructure, powerhouses, the Bagnell Dam and the resultant Lake of the Ozarks were undertaken, helping to generate hydro-electric power for the Union Electric Company out of St. Louis. At its completion the Lake of the Ozarks was deemed the largest man-made, non-flood control lake in America at 90 miles long, with over 1,100 miles of shoreline.

 (Pouring Concrete at Bagnell Dam, ca 1930)

(Aerial Panorama of Lake of the Ozarks)

It is important to understand the history of the Lake of the Ozarks; while the original intent of the Bagnell Dam project on the Osage River was to generate hydroelectric power, the creation of the lake generated new businesses in the form of marinas, campgrounds, boat tours and a pantheon of small, recreational themed shops. However, while the creation of the lake had its socio-economic impacts on the people of Miller, Camden, Benton and Morgan Counties, it also had a physiographic impact on the surrounding land and communities.

When the Bagnell Dam was finished in the spring of 1931 - four months ahead of schedule - the area dredged out for the Lake of the Ozarks quickly filled out. However, as the water pushed its way down the branches of the serpentine lake, pre-existing streams and creeks turned into full fledged rivers and tributaries. Where a stream had once cut across an old dirt road outside of Tuscumbia, a river now ran. Seeing the necessity to either realign roads or cross the gap, local government officials called on a local bridge builder by the name of Joseph A. Dice to remedy their problem. With a mission at hand, Mr. Dice set out on a veritable crusade to reunite the communities of central Missouri with a series of suspension bridges. There is no way that Mr. Dice could know it at the time, but in the future his bridges would become critical byways to the citizens and tourists living near or venturing to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. While 80-some years have past since Mr. Dice created his bridges, they are still well traveled, maintained and visited - historic swinging bridges, floating in the tree tops and over rivers in the wooded Missouri hills.

(The old swinging bridge at Tuscumbia, built by Joseph A. Dice)

On Wednesday, Sabrina and I jumped in the car and made our way for Swinging Bridges Road, unaware of what we may find. As it was the daytime, the ride was breezy and pleasant, and the small houses we passed were quaint and bucolic. Were we traveling down the road at night, however, our experience may have been different, as the road meanders and curves unexpectedly then brings you face to face with very old bridges which may be traversable by car, but sure make a lot of scary noises when crossed.

As we approached the first of the two bridges built by Joseph Dice on Swinging Bridges Road - Mill Creek Bridge - Sabrina and I opted to pull over into a cutout on the side of the road and take the bridge by foot. We walked to the meandering Mill Creek below and took some shots of the small, 135' span bridge, watching with trepidation when an F350 towing a john boat slowly crossed the steel decking. The noise made Sabrina start and I spent the better part of the crossing attending to my Catahoula, versus taking pictures of the truck and boat, which at one point seemingly filled up the entire span.

(View of the Mill Creek Swinging Bridge, looking East)

After a walk along the creek to assuage Sabrina's nerves, we were ready to take a closer look at the bridge and continue on down the road.

(A noise in the trees makes the cur pause and contemplate a chase through the woods)

(While the original cables exist, for historic preservation only, reinforced steel suspension ties and a new decking have been added to make the bridge structurally sound for crossing)

(Across Mill Creek, looking North from the old and new footers)

As we made our way down the road, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had friends who had traveled the road once before - in the dark of night - and the bridge which they told me about could not be the tiny rambler I had just crossed, could it? As I came to a fork in the road which told me Swinging Bridges abruptly turned to the West, I soon realized THIS was the bridge of which I had heard stories - the 500 foot, Grand Auglaize Swinging Bridge.

(View of the Grand Auglaize Swinging Bridge, looking Wast from the towers)

(The sub-structure of the 414' span, looking West across the Grand Auglaize Creek)

(The view from above. My friend who had crossed the bridge in the dark of night had once told me, as they were crossing the bridge she looked at her husband and said: "[Honey], I think were in the tree-tops...". She was correct!)

(The decking was replaced in December 2011. However, the steel trusses and suspension cables are all original; a testament to Mr. Dice, who used to test the tension of the wire by "feel" alone and never used a blueprint in his 45 year career! When the state of Missouri made it a requirement to start providing blueprints for bridges in the 1940's, Joseph A. Dice retired.)

(Sabrina, playing it safe)

Our Wednesday journey to see the "swinging bridges" of Miller County was well worth the trip. To see such a well-preserved piece of architecture functioning much in the same way it did over 80 years ago is quite a marvel. More remarkable is that Mr. Dice and his crew of eleven built the two bridges in the span of four months using only a stump puller and a team of mules to place the large towers, everything else was pure "mean strength." With that in mind, all I can say is - they just don't make 'em like they used to!

References:
Missouri Historical Timeline
Eads Bridge
St. Louis
Lake of the Ozarks
Bagnell Dam
History of Swinging Bridges and Joseph Dice
Grand Auglaize Specs

Mountain Storms and Western Suns

It was a rainy night in the middle of the Ozarks when the wind came rolling over the hills. Nestled in their bed the husband and wife slept soundly while their dog stood alert, a sense in her canine bones that something just wasn't right. A flash of lightning lit up the night sky, illuminating the room and its inhabitants. Then, as if a loud gong was struck in the heavens, a thunderclap shook the house and reverberated across the mountain, setting the cur to scramble quickly under the bed.

If our weekend were to be set to a novella, this is how it would begin. A rainy weekend, hunkered down in the house, watching old movies, eating lots of food, and hoping that we only had to contend with the thunderstorms and not the potential tornadoes that were forecasted.

While Sabrina is not the biggest fan of thunderstorms - as noted by her disappearing act under the bed - she doesn't mind a nice, lazy weekend in the house. There were a few breaks in the bad weather to take her out for at least one walk on Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, she was content to just laze about the house enjoying the time with her people.

As I mentioned earlier, we spent most of the weekend eating and watching old movies. Particularly enjoyable was our Saturday evening "Dinner and a Movie" - Pork Pizzaoila and "Clue" (the 1985 cinematic version of the beloved Hasbro board-game).  There's nothing quite as good as watching a movie that you recall with fond memories from your childhood, along with feel good food.

Today, again relegated to staying inside the house due to the bad weather, we decided to do brunch: Spinach and Gruyere Quiche, Mixed Greens with Toasted Pecans and Pears in a Maple Honey Vinaigrette, Coffee and Wine. It took us a few hours, and I have to give props to my wonderful husband who made the quiche (all from scratch, thanks to Martha Stewart) to impeccable standards. Matt has officially become the "Brunch-master," while I maintain my Executive Chef status Monday thru Saturday and for Sunday evening meals.

This evening, sated from all the food and cuddled up on the couch, Matt and I looked out our front window to see that the sky had gone from gray to gold. 

 

The dog resumed her rounds of the house. She returned to the living room where her people sat and surveyed the area. Outside a coyote howled, and in the nearby meadow a cow plaintively lowed. There would be no rain tonight, no flashes of lightning, no loud claps of thunder. Resigned that all was right and well, that there would be no cause to scamper for the underside of the bed this evening, she lowered herself to the floor and curled up in a snug ball. As her eyes closed she felt secure and warm, bathed in the fading glow of the setting sun.

Ramblin' Roads

On Wednesday, Sabrina and I loaded up the car for our weekly "exploration" of Pulaski County. She brought along her trusty Nylabone, while I packed my water bottle (and Sabrina's travel water carrier) and the Nikon. We set off not really knowing where we were going, but sure that the pleasant day would guide us in the right direction.

Now normally I research a point of interest in Pulaski County every week and then make sure I know how to get to said location. But this past week I really just wanted to get out of the house and into the country. I wanted to find a secluded little place where I could park the car and take Sabrina on a long walk through the woods, and maybe - if I was lucky - find something cool to photograph while we were out. Fortunately for me, luck was on my side.

I decided to head up Route 66 in hopes of finding a promising rural road that could lead to untold trails and treasure. What I found was Temporal Lane, a packed dirt road which winds its way southeast of Devils Elbow and happens to run under the wooden trestle railroad, running between Rolla and Ft. Leonard Wood, which I had previously blogged about in my February post, Get Your Kicks. The structure is in amazing condition, and I couldn't help but take all kinds of pictures of the trestles which have kept the railway standing for 70 years!

I was tempted to jump the fence at the base of the bridge and get a shot of the track up top, but - aside from the horse in the pasture that I thought I might spook - the farmer's house, on whose property the bridge lies, was in plain sight.  I decided to count myself lucky to have gotten some great, up-close shots of the beautifully engineered structure.

Sabrina was pretty happy with the day, as well. She loves a good car ride, but she also loves to see the wildlife in the countryside and to get out and stretch her legs in the woods. She's definitely in her element when she's nosing around in the underbrush, undoubtedly smelling all of the critters that were scurrying around the night before. Additionally, there's nothing she enjoys more than a nice clean stream or river, where after a long hike she puts her paws in the water for a cool-down and dips her snout in for a few long, languid laps. Lucky for us, all of the the things Sabrina loves to do were at our beck and call on our adventure down Temporal Lane.

(This picture was taken with my camera phone, thus the quality and resolution is slightly lacking)

We made our way back home, having spent a couple of hours out and about charting the great wilds of Missouri. Our first priority of business was to check for ticks and delouse ourselves if necessary. As luck would have it, we were free and clear of the little parasites!

On such a beautiful day it was nice to just get out of the house and not really know where I was heading; inevitably finding that when you aren't looking for anything in particular you find the most beautiful treasures. 

A Feast for Easter

I love holidays! Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are some of my most cherished days of the year because they are almost always filled with family, laughter, love and lots of food.

Typically I've always spent these special days at my grandmother's, my aunt's, my mother's, my father's or my in-law's homes. This year, however, Matt and I spent Easter together, just the two of us. It was our first Easter as husband and wife, in our first home, with our first dog, making our first Easter meal traditions.

Our epicurean celebration of Easter began Saturday night when we sat down to eat saffron risotto with scallops. It was a nice dish, but - to my dismay - a little dull. The rice was great, but I had woefully under seasoned the scallops. I learned on Saturday that no matter what you use to cook scallops in - I used butter, garlic, lemon and wine - even if you cook them perfectly, it's all about the right amount of salt. I used too little, and (as anyone who has ever eaten a scallop will tell you) they tasted a little sweet and bland. So, I am determined to try this recipe again and perfect the scallop's execution. Once complete I will post under the "Pages" section of the blog, and then you can all determine if it's a success or a failure!

Following my Easter Eve meal, I was determined to make Easter dinner phenomenal, but my husband beat me to the punch!

I woke up early on Sunday and got ready for church, while Matt took Sabrina out for a long walk. My plan was to return from the Easter service, start my dessert, move on to prepping for dinner, and eat our feast around 5 o'clock.

Upon my return from church, however, I was greeted by the smell of biscuits, bacon and hollandaise cooking in the kitchen, and my husband (with trusty Sabrina at his feet) putting together a variation of eggs benedict - my favorite breakfast meal of all time!

It was delicious! Matt poached his first egg and I watched in silent admiration, having never done it myself. He used biscuits instead of English muffins (our grocery store apparently had a run on the bakery item), and bacon instead of canadian ham. I also got a special parfait of sugar-free pudding with plum preserves to accompany my plate, and a mimosa to wash it all down. Super yummy! We were both so excited by the meal, we decided to make it again this coming Sunday in hopes of truly mastering the art of poaching an egg; a future blog, I'm sure!

With our bellies full, and the mimosa's flowing, we decided to take some time for the food to digest before  jumping into preparing dinner. Ready with a plan, Matt ushered me into the living room where he had Breakfast at Tiffany's all queued up and ready to watch. We spent the next couple of hours enjoying Truman Capote's wonderful story, which always leaves me silently crying as Holly finds herself and "Cat" in the end. It's such a good story. If you've never seen it or you haven't watched it in a while, go add it to your Netflix list!

I immediately started getting everything ready for dinner and dessert once we were done watching the movie. On the menu: Lamb Chops with a Rosemary/Thyme/Garlic Oil Rub and Red Wine Reduction, String Beans with Almonds, Roasted Baby Potatoes, and Pecan Pie. Although I started cooking a little later than I had intended, we sat down to eat at 6:30, which worked out perfectly.

I have to thank my dinner success to the following individuals and companies:
- Emeril Lagasse for the lamb recipe, which I tweaked here and there.
- My Uncle Jamie, who makes string beans with almonds every Easter, and it just wouldn't have been the same without them.
- Price Cutter for the beautiful loaf of bread, which I brushed the residual rosemary/thyme/garlic oil rub over and baked for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Fannie Farmer, for the amazing pecan pie (homemade pie dough and all)! **Check out my 'pages' tab where I've listed this recipe for the "Best-of-All Pecan Pie"**
- I'm happy to say the roasted potatoes were all mine!

At the end of the day we were all pretty tuckered from all of the good eating. Even Sabrina was knocked out, having gotten to try real bacon, lamb and string beans all in  one day!

It was a day filled with laughter, love, food and our new family memories. I hope that you all had just as wonderful a day!