Best of Two Worlds

I love Italian food and I love sandwiches. So, I decided to turn one of my all time favorite Italian dishes--eggplant parmesan-- into a sandwich. The result? Divine.

Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich


What I've learned along the way about eggplants:
1. Cooking with eggplants is tricky as they can very quickly turn into a gelatinous mush. I always refrigerate the eggplants so that they retain their firmness.
2. Blot them dry if they seem a little wet. If that doesn't work, grill them before use.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, sliced
1 cup of breadcrumbs, plain

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of white flour
Hot sauce, a dash of Frank's red hot
Pasta sauce, recipe here
Olive oil, 2 tablespoons or as needed
Shredded Mozarella cheese, as needed
Grated Parmesan cheese, as needed
Dried parsley, as needed
Dried cilantro, as needed
Dried basil, as needed
Red pepper flakes, a pinch
Sandwich rolls or buns

Directions:
1. Beat the egg lighly and add a dash or two of the hot sauce.
2. Add dried parsley, cilantro, basil, red pepper flakes and shredded parmesan to the breadcrumbs and combine well.
3. Set up an assembly line of the beaten egg, flour and breadcrumbs.

 4. Dip both sides of the sliced eggplant into the ingredients of the assembly line as follows: dip into the egg, then the flour << Side note: be sure to tap off any excess flour from the eggplant. Otherwise, you'll end up with chunks of flour on the eggplant>>, back into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs.

 5. Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and brown the eggplant, about a minute and a half per side. <<Side note: to test out the temperature of the oil, add a pinch of flour into the oil. If it fizzes, it's ready to go>>.

 6. Transfer the eggplants to the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the eggplant  is cooked through. Take it out of the oven and cover with pasta sauce.

 7. Top with mozarella and parmesan cheese and melt in the oven. If desired, broil for an additional 2-5 minutes until the tops of the cheese bubble and turn brown.

 8. Toast the sandwich rolls or buns, spread a couple of spoonfuls of sauce on both slices and top with the cheesy eggplant.

 Enjoy!


Till next time, To Life!

Food as Art: Spotlight on Sandy Patangay

I met Sandy Patangay a year ago after I stumbled upon her website, here, during a frantic search for a  henna artist for my wedding mehendi party. She was friendly, professional and incredibly talented. I was stunned at her intricate free style designs and eagerly booked her for my wedding. My friends and family were delighted with her and, eight months later, still comment on the beauty of her work.

Model: Sangeeta Nair-Collins

Henna by: Sandy Patangay
Photography by: Frank Manning/The Pros

So, you can only imagine my surprise and utter excitement when I heard that she'd decided to push the limits of her artistry to an edible canvas. There is at least one person who is eagerly awaiting the day she starts selling these (almost!) too-beautiful-to-eat exquisite creations.

Henna Inspired Cupcakes

 All cupcake "henna" by:  Sandy Patangay

All photos by: Matt Cohen/Matte Design

All cupcakes by: Parul Patel/The Cake Designer

 

 

Till next time, To Life!

My Valentine's Day Surprise

The weeks leading up to Valentine's Day weekend were hectic.  I was consumed with data processing, making seemingly unending edits to my dissertation chapter and trying to meet the stressful demands of being a study coordinator. To make matters worse, Mac became very ill and was hospitalized for a few days (Thankfully, he has since recovered from his ulcerated tongue and is now busy putting on the weight he lost during his illness).

Needless to say, I was in desperate need of some R&R.

I was excited to celebrate our first post-marriage Valentine's Day with the traditional "flowers and chocolate followed by dinner."  But my lovely husband had something else up his sleeve! He surprised me with the absolute perfect gift that combined two of my great loves (aside from him, of course!), cooking and chocolate--a cooking class at the famous Sur La Table!

We spent two hours making and over dosing on white chocolate barks, truffles, fudge and chocolate-dipped strawberries. It was a great antidote to a stressful few weeks.The latter recipe was my absolute favorite and I wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Marbled Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

recipe courtesy of Sur La Table

Ingredients:
2 pints large strawberries, with stems
8 ounces good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
16 ounces good quality white chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:
Rinse strawberries and drain well in a colander. Pat strawberries dry with paper towels. Strawberries must be completely dry to ensure that the chocolate will adhere to their surface. Set aside.

Place a rimmed  baking sheet lined with parchment paper next to stove top.

Place 2 inches or water in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until water simmers. Place the bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate in separate large heatproof bowls. Reduce heat to low and place the bowl containing the bittersweet chocolate over the simmering water. When chocolate has melted, remove from heat and stir with a silicone spatula until smooth. Place the bowl containing the white chocolate over the simmering water. When chocolate has melted, stir with a clean silicone spatula until smooth.


Holding by the stem, gently drag a strawberry in one direction through the chocolate mixture to coat one side. Flip the strawberry over and drag it in the opposite direction across the chocolate mixture.

      

Allow excess chocolate to drip off the strawberry and place it carefully on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Using an offset spatula <<I used a fork and it worked fine>>, drizzle thick lines of melted bittersweet chocolate across the surface of the melted white chocolate. If either chocolate cools too much, place it over the simmering water to melt again.

Repeat process with remaining berries. Once all strawberries are coated, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until chocolate sets, about 5 to 10 minutes <<I enjoy eating them before the chocolate sets. The warm chocolate has a richness that is missing when it cools>>. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Till next time, To Life!

Easy avocado salsa

I love easy, simple recipes that showcase the main ingredient. That is what the recipe below is all about.  It's easy, can be prepared in minutes and the outcome is subtle and delicious. Like the mango salsa, this recipe is very versatile and can be used in burritos, as a chunky guacamole dip or liberally sprinkled on cheesy nachos. I've also added the avocado salsa to my regular iceberg lettuce salad (just be sure to leave out the cilantro) for a fresh spin.

Enjoy!

Avocado Salsa

Some things I've learned along the way:
1. Once you've cut the avocado, be sure to drizzle with lime or lemon juice to keep it from browning. A little goes a long way..one teaspoon of lemon or lime juice is enough for one avocado.
2. When you use tomatoes for a non sauce recipe, such as in this recipe, be sure to remove the seeds. Doing so will prevent the salsa, dip, whatever from becoming too runny.

Ingredients:
-2 ripened avocados, diced
-1/2 roma tomato, de-seeded and diced
-Handful of Cilantro, roughly chopped
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-2 teaspoons of lime juice

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and let stand for 10-15 minutes until the ingredients are well combined.

Yummy mango salsa

My love for mangos started very early in life. Much like the coconut tree, mango trees are abundant in Kerala. Whereas in the States, the mango fruit is still considered exotic, in much of India (and other parts of the world such as South and Central America) it is consumed daily in many forms, from modest recipes to  truly complicated ones that take hours to prepare. One of my favorite childhood memory is sitting on the stairs outside my grandparents' beautiful home and eating green, still raw mangos that we picked from her yard. My grandmother would cut the mango into thick slices and sprinkle it with a dash of salt and indian red pepper. We savored every bite.  Raw mangos are also used to create some delicious Malayali curries. They are a bit complicated but I promise to share them in the future when my mom is here to help with the recipe.

Mangos are also used in non-savory dishes. One of my all time favorite is a drink called mango lassi. yumm. yumm. yumm. Although I've only enjoyed this drink in a restaurant, I do hope to try my hand at making it at home. If I do, I'll def share it with all of you.

I love the versatility of this recipe. You could use it in a taco, on nachos or on baked white fish. It's fabulous.

Hope you'll try it.

Mango Salsa

Some thing I've learned along the way:
1. The mango has a HUGE pit in the middle which can be challenging when trying to cut the fruit. The best way to cut a mango? Start by cutting the top and bottom parts of the mango to create a stable base. Use a veggie pealer to cut away the tough skin, cut the outer parts of the fruit working your way in to the center. Discard the pit.

Ingredients:
-2 ripe mangos, cut and diced into small pieces
-Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
-Dash of indian red pepper (may substitute cayenne)
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-Juice from 1/2 a lime

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and let stand for 15-20 minutes to allow the ingredients to mix well. This recipe may be made a day in advance but be sure to keep it refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Till next time, To Life!

A much needed taste of summer....

I am not a winter person. In fact, its safe to say, i hate the winter. The cold, the frigid wind and the constant feeling of being chilled to the bone is NOT my idea of fun. I love to feel the sun on my face while sipping an ice cold drink and relaxing with a great book. Since that is still a few months away *sigh*, I wanted to re-create the summer feeling with food. Something about the hot summer months lends itself to eating light and delicately flavored food. So I cranked up the heat in the apartment and sat down to dinner with Mike to savor my summer inspired fare. :)

Enjoy!

Shrimp Taco with Mango and Avocado Salsa

A few things I've learned along the way:
1. Flavor every layer of a dish. That means flavor with salt, pepper etc as you add each new layer of ingredients.
2. How do you know when an avocado is ready to be used? Most fruits turn black when they begin to spoil. Not an acvocado! It's green when it's raw and turns black when it's ripe. Be sure to use only ripened avocados unless the recipe specifically calls for the raw version. Also, lighly squeeze the avocado. One that's ready to be used will yield to the touch without caving in.


Ingredients:
1 pound of shrimp, deveined and cleaned
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 pinch of Indian red pepper (may substitute with cayenne)
Tortillas
Juice of one lime
Mango salsa, recipe here
Avocado salsa, recipe here
Cilantro, roughly chopped
Vegetable oil, as needed

Directions:
Thoroughly clean the shrimp. Drizzle with vegetable oil and season with salt, black pepper and indian red pepper or cayenne pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes while the shrimp marinates.

In the meantime, warm the tortillas on stovetop. Cover the tortillas with a lid/aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Cook the shrimp. <<side note: click here for a refresher on how to cook shrimp>>

Now, it's time to build the taco. Layer a few pieces of shrimp on a tortilla and add the mango and avocado salsa and enjoy. It's that easy!

Till next time, To Life!