Eggplant in Miso Seasoned Sauce & White Beans and Sausage with Chimichurri Sauce on Toast

Eggplant in Miso Seasoned Sauce

Ingredients and Directions for Four Servings

2 medium sized eggplants *

2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for brushing eggplant

Garlic salt, for sprinkling on the eggplant slices

1 white or yellow onion, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and put through a press

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons white miso

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy type sauce such as tamari, Maggi or reduced sodium

Optional: Greek yogurt and parsley for serving

Wash, dry and cut the ends off the eggplants. Slice about 1/4 inch thick and brush each side with a little oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Either grill over medium heat about 5 to 7 minutes a side or bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.

While eggplant is cooking, saute the onion slices in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat until tender - about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pressed garlic and continue to cook for 30 more seconds. Pour in the beef broth. Whisk in the miso, apple cider vinegar and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Cut the cooked eggplant slices into fourths and add to the miso broth mixture. Gently toss. Serve with a swoosh of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of parsley if desired.

*In the photo above, I used a combination of regular and baby eggplants.

White Beans and Sausage with Chimichurri Sauce on Toast

Ingredients and Directions for Two Servings

2 to 4 slices of good quality bread, toasted
1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 (15 oz.) can of white beans such as Great Northern or cannelloni
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tablespoon diced red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking sausage
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Drain and rinse the beans. In a bowl, gently mix together beans, diced tomatoes, diced red onions, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Place the toast on a serving plate. Ladle the bean mixture and browned sausage slices between the two servings of toast. Top each serving with a tablespoon or two of chimichurri sauce.

Spicy Oven Roasted Harissa Eggplant & Chicken

It was absolutely wonderful to have the whole family together to celebrate Thanksgiving! Jennifer and Allison have been traveling and working in Australia since January, so we were especially thrilled.  All the festivities got kicked off in Chicago where Caroline and her fiance Adam live.  Although at different times, both our little Aussies flew into O'Hare.  It continued back home through Thanksgiving when we all enjoyed traditional, but very rich seasonal dishes.  After a few days, we were ready to get back to eating easy to make and a little more healthy food.  I got the inspiration for this dish from Bon Appetit Magazine only their version featured chickpeas.  Jennifer loves eggplant and Harissa packs a huge flavor punch.  However, this dish is very spicy!  For a less fiery option, substitute tomato paste for the Harissa and add 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and rosemary.  It's equally as yummy! 

Ingredients for Four Servings:

1 pound chicken pieces such as breast, thighs or legs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced or put through press

1 cup chicken broth, divided into 1/2 cup portions

1 medium egg plant

Heaping 1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup harissa sauce 

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, washed and roughly chopped

1 lemon, quartered

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix salt and pepper together and rub into the chicken pieces. If desired, cut large pieces such as chicken breasts up. Heat oil in oven proof skillet over medium heat. Brown both sides of the meat, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat and set it aside.

Using the same skillet, saute the onion until it is tender and soft. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 30 more seconds. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Stir and scrape the bottom to loosen the fond, or residue that might have collected at the bottom of the pan. Remove pan from heat.

Wash off the egg plant and cut off the ends. Cut into cubes. 

Put the egg plant into the pan with the onion and garlic. Add tomato paste, harissa sauce, and remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth.  Gently stir to combine the vegetables are coated.

Nestle the chicken pieces among the egg plant and onion mixture.

Place skillet into preheated oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until eggplant is nicely browned and easily pierced with a fork.

Remove skillet from oven. Divide mixture between four serving plants. Sprinkle each portion with 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Place a lemon quarter on each one along with 1/4 cup dollop of Greek yogurt. 

Asado Argentino

A couple of weeks ago we were thrilled when our friends from Argentina, Lucas and Sergio, were able to visit and give us the gift of an Argentine cookout.  They were here in the United States to present a paper at a symposium in Chicago, so when the conference was over they journeyed just a bit more to visit us.  Lucas and Sergio grill out just about every weekend when the weather is good; it's an Argentine tradition.  Roy, Allison, and I took them to a huge carniceria or meat market.  The grill guys were excited to find cuts of meat similar to what they were used to back in Buenos Aires and we bought 20 pounds. When we got back home, Sergio started to prepare the fire with Lucas as his assistant.  No gas grills for these two! Sergio used straw and crumpled up newspaper to get logs going, which in turn got the charcoal to just the right temperature.  The rule here is low and slow with the thinner cuts of meat getting done first. I can't show you one photo of a beautiful plate with all the dishes we sampled because the food eaten at an asado is served in stages as it gets done. The first course is usually grilled provoleta or provolone cheese served with bread and olives. Next comes the first meat to be done, chorizo sausages, which are served with chimichurri sauce. I love chimichurri with steak, but Argentines usually serve this cilantro/parsley mixture with the sausage. The rest of the meat is served as it gets done along with ensalada Rusa, a potato salad with peas and carrots, and grilled vegetables. We also had grilled (I used the gas grill for these - gasp!) peppers with an egg cooked inside them. Often a simple salad of lettuce, carrots, onion, and maybe tomatoes is sometimes also served.  Lucas and Sergio like just a squeeze of lemon for salad dressing. We loved this relaxed style of eating and entertaining; it's conducive to great conversations and strengthening of friendships.  Thank you Sergio and Lucas for sharing this with us!

The Meat

The only seasoning Lucas and Sergio used was a bit of coarse salt. They explained the cuts of meat to me as costilla de vaca y puerco (beef and pork ribs), lomo de cerdo (pork loin), chorizo de puerco (pork sausage), and diezmillo (thin chuck steak). Sergio used our two portable fire pits and a shovel to keep moving the charcoal around so he could get the fire at just the right temperature. Sergio said he had taken an active part in asados since he was 16 - even before he could drive!  For the men in Argentina, tending to the cooking of the meat in an asado is truly an art! The chorizo and the thin chuck steak were done first.  Next came the pork and beef ribs. Finally the pork loin was done.

Chimichurri

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup diced red onion

4 garlic cloves, put through press

2 to 4 small Serrano peppers (depends on how much kick desired)

2 tablespoon diced red bell pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Seed and finely dice the peppers and set aside.  Put the cilantro and the parsley in a food processor.  Add the vinegar and olive oil and blend just until the herbs are roughly chopped. Avoid turning them into mush.  Transfer the herb mixture to a bowl and stir in the pressed garlic, diced Serrano, diced red bell pepper, and the oregano.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Marinated Olives

1 (15 oz.) can of whole pitted black olives

1 (10 oz.) jar of whole green olives stuffed with pimiento

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar is a substitute)

2 garlic cloves put through a press

2 teaspoons dried rosemary (or a couple sprigs of fresh)

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Gently combine all the ingredients together.  Serve at room temperature but store in refrigerator.

Grilled Provolone Cheese

1 large, thick sliced piece of aged provolone cheese

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano or a spring of fresh herbs

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

loaf or baguette of good bread

Wrap the bread in foil. Brush both sides of the cheese with the olive oil.  Rub in the herbs and red pepper flakes (I did not use the red pepper flakes) or lay the fresh herbs on top. Place in a oven safe dish and heat on the covered grill five minutes or until melted and spreadable. Heat the foil wrapped bread on the grill at the same time. (I used some aged provolone cheese that was sliced over an inch thick. Initially, I threw it right on the grill because I was hoping for grill marks.  I did get some indentations, but had to pull the cheese off and put it in a foil pie pan because I could see it was just going to melt through the slats.) Everyone loved this and I ended up grilling three hunks of cheese.

ensalada Rusa

4 medium russet potatoes

1 (10 oz.) package of frozen peas

4 medium sized carrots

3 to 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Open the package of frozen peas and pour them out in a bowl.  Set them aside, they will thaw during the rest of the preparation time.  Peel the potatoes and cut each into 4 to 6 chunks for cooking. Place in a pot and cover with water.  Cook over high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes more or until a fork can pierce them easily. They need to be soft but not mushy.  When they are done, drain them and run very cold water over them to stop the cooking process and cool them down. Cut them into smaller, bite sized squares and place them in the bowl with the peas. Peel the carrots and slice them.  Put them in a pan and cover with water.  Cook over high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and cook for about 5 more minutes or until a fork can pierce each carrot piece easily. Drain them and run cold water over them as well, then transfer them to the potato/pea bowl. Sprinkle the vinegar, salt, and pepper over the vegetables.  Gently mix in just enough of the mayonnaise to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grilled Vegetables

1 medium eggplant

1 medium zucchini

1 medium yellow summer squash

1 large red onion

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper for sprinkling

good balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion into 1/2 inch slices.  Core and seed the peppers and cut them in half.  Brush both sides of all the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill over medium heat, 5 minutes per side. Cut the peppers into smaller pieces. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Eggs in Grilled Peppers

1 bell pepper for every two people

1 egg for every bell pepper half

olive oil

garlic, put through a press, about 1 clove for 4 pepper halves

1 tablespoon shredded mozzarella cheese for each pepper half

Core, seed, and cut each pepper in half.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Place cut side down on medium heated covered grill and cook for 5 minutes or until the pepper is softening.  Flip the peppers over and brush each inside with the pressed garlic.  Sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese.  Crack an egg into each one.  Cover the grill and cook about 5 more minutes or until the egg is set.  Later, Sergio told me the cheese is usually sprinkled on top as well.

Happy Grilling!

Twice the Fun - Two Sauces

A couple of weeks ago one of Allison's roommates, Grace, had a birthday.  They live with four other girls in a house on campus and seem have a huge amount of fun in between periods of serious studying.  Grace's mom, Mariana lives close to me, and she came over to my house with groceries. 

Under her direction, we cooked up a delicious birthday meal for Grace, the roommates, and some friends.  Mariana wanted to make a couple special sauces that could be served over pasta. She had in mind one of Grace's favorites, a beefy mushroom sauce made from Trader Joe's packaged filet mignon beef tenderloin, but also a vegetarian ratatouille as a meatless choice.  I've had "two sauce option" dinners before, and one sauce usually over powers the other due to stronger flavors.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when both of these sauces could hold their own even while on the same plate. In fact, they played off extremely well against each other - just as the roomies do!

Ratatouille Sauce

Ingredients and Directions for 4 servings:

1 medium eggplant
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, put through a press
1/2 each of medium red, orange, and yellow bell peppers
2 (15 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 oz. spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Cut the eggplant into 3/4 inch slices and place in a bowl.  Cover with water and add 2 teaspoons of salt.  Set aside while continuing with the rest of the steps in the recipe.

Peel and dice the onion.  Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet and add the onion. Saute over medium heat until the onion is tender but not brown.  Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

While the onion is cooking, cut the zucchini and yellow squash into 3/4 inch slices, and then cut the slices into cubes.  Seed the bell peppers, discard the membranes, and cut them into cubes.  Drain and rinse the eggplant slices and cut those into cubes.  Place in the pan with the tender onions.

Cook the vegetables over medium heat for about 10 minutes until they are tender but not mushy. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, garlic salt, salt, and pepper.  Cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

Beef Tenderloin Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients and Directions for Four Servings

16 oz. filet mignon beef tenderloin
4 oz. shiitake mushrooms
6 oz. sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion
1 medium shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch

8 oz. spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Slice the beef tenderloin into strips.  Wash, rinse, and slice any really large mushrooms into smaller pieces.  Peel and dice the onion and shallot.  Peel the garlic cloves and put through a press.

Melt the butter into a large skillet.  Add the beef strips and cook over medium heat until brown.

Remove the beef with a slotted spoon, allowing the juices to remain in the pan.  Add the onion and shallot to the same pan and saute over medium low heat until tender.  Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.  Now remove the onion mixture allowing the juices to remain in the pan.  Add the mushroom to the pan and saute over medium low heat until tender. Return the meat and onion mixture to the pan.  Add 3/4 of the broth and scrape the pan to loosen any "fond" from the bottom of it.  Turn up the heat and allow the mixture to reach a boil. Stir the corn starch into the remaining broth and pour it in all at once.  The sauce should thicken up almost immediately.  Serve it over the hot, cooked spaghetti.

An American Mom Makes Argentine Food

     Last year when Allison did a year long study abroad in Argentina, I was thrilled when I got the chance to visit her there.  Caroline and Jennifer went too and we had a wonderful time.  Buenos Aires is the largest city in Argentina and it's full of wonderful things to see and do.  We went to the Evita Museum, Tango Dancing, and Recoleta Cemetery.  We saw the Japanese Gardens and toured the many varied neighborhoods in such as Palermo.  One thing we did a lot of is eat, because the food is fabulous!  About 97% of the Argentine people have a European background and much of the cuisine has an Italian or Spanish influence. Of course the meat is great, but so are the vegetables.  Everything is smaller and tastes better - chicken, lettuce, eggplant.  Even the portion sizes are smaller and frankly, so are the people! 

There was a place about two blocks from Allison's apartment called la Continental.  One restaurant out of a franchise chain, it was like a Panera Bread - sort of fast food only with an extensive menu. Sometimes Allison would meet friends there and they would study while they ate. The girls and I went a couple of times while we were there.  We ordered the typical foods: empanadas, pizza, and milanese. Each type of empanada had its own crimp design along the edge according to what filling is inside.  We loved the cheese and onion ones, but also the meat kind.  Allison's favorite pizza had yellow banana peppers and green olives on it; a surprisingly delicious combination!  The milanesa is similar to eggplant or veal parmesan except very thin steak is used. It's breaded, fried (or baked), and often served topped with marinara sauce, cheese and sometimes ham. Now that she's back in school here in the Midwest, it's senior year career fair-interview time.  I went down to see her last week in order to drop off the standard black business suit, and while I was there I cooked up some of her Argentine favorites.  Since I only had a limited amount of time,  I cut some corners - I used frozen pizza dough, refrigerated biscuits and an easy red sauce. 

Milanesa

For Easy Marinara Sauce:

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Milanesa Steaks

1 pound very thinly sliced sirloin tip steaks

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

4 eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons olive oil if frying or cooking spray if baking

8 oz. mozzarella cheese

8 oz. sliced ham (optional) 

1 tomato, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

Make the super easy sauce first by combining the tomato sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and let it simmer over medium low heat while you are breading the steaks.

Next follow these steps to prepare the steaks for cooking:

 

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together.  Cut the steak into serving sized pieces.  Use tongs to submerge the steak in the flour so its covered all over.

 

In a second bowl, whisk together the eggs and mustard.  Dip the flour covered steak in it.

 

Finally, pour the bread crumbs out onto a plate and coat both sides of the steak with them.

Now they can either be baked or fried.  If baking, spray both the pan with cooking spray and the top of the steak.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the crust is nice and brown.  If frying, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook about 10 minutes on each side.  Be careful not to burn the crust and try to turn the steak over only once.

Transfer the steak to a baking pan (if not on already) and ladle sauce onto each piece.  Top with a ham slice (if using), cheese, and a tomato slice.  Sprinkle with some of the oregano.

Place the pan containing the milansea into a 375 degree oven for about 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.  These are often served with French fries! Enjoy!

Empanadas

Meat Filled Empanadas

For the meat filling ingredients and directions, please go here: http://yatesyummies.blogspot.com/2012/02/easy-empanadas-for-allison-and-cassie.html

I now use refrigerator biscuit dough because it's so easy to use. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

 

I just spread out the dough rounds like a little pizza, fill, and seal with fork tines.

Onion Cheese Empanadas 

Ingredients

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

Directions:

Saute the onion in the olive oil until very soft and just beginning to barely get brown.

Fill each dough round with about a tablespoon of onion and a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella cheese. Fold, seal, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until the crust is nice and brown.  

 

Allison's Favorite Pizza

Ingredients for two 12 inch pizzas:

1 batch of the easy marinara sauce from above

2 packages of frozen dough for a 12 inch pizza or a premade crust

8 oz. ham slices

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup jarred yellow banana peppers

1/2 cup green onives

1 tomato sliced thinly

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

 

Spread the dough out onto a pizza pan, baking stone, or even a cookie sheet. Ladle the sauce on to the pizza and spread it around.  Top each pizza with 2 cups of the cheese, ham slices (if using), banana peppers, green olives, tomato slices, and a teaspoon of oregano.  Bake on the middle rack at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is bubbly.

 

Grilled Eggplant Caprese

  Eggplant is one of my daughter Jennifer's favorite vegetables. The other day I was trying to think of different things I could do with it and this recipe - which I had almost forgotten about - popped in my mind. I first found it on the Better Homes and Garden website, but tweaked it a bit. The cheese could easily be left out to make this dish dairy free - and while it couldn't really called a caprese salad anymore - it would still be delicious!

To grill eggplant: cut off ends, slice 1/2 inch thick, brush eash side lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Place directly on grate over medium heat. Grill about 5 to 7 minutes per side until their are nice grill marks and the eggplant has a brown exterior but is soft inside.

   Eggplant Caprese Salad 

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup dried tomatoes (not oil packed)

1 medium eggplant

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

                                                               Scant teaspoon salt                                                                   

Scant 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 to 4 fresh medium sized tomatoes, sliced

1 to 2 large balls (16 oz,) of fresh mozzarella cheese

A few fresh basil leaves for garnishing

Place the dried tomatoes in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them.  Set them aside and let them sit for at least 20 minutes.

Cut the eggplant into half inch slices.  Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Place the eggplant slices on a grill over medium heat.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side until the eggplant has nice grill marks and is brown but not burnt.

After the 20 minute soak, drain the dried tomatoes, dice them up, and place them in a food processor along with the basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, and vinegar.  Blend until finely chopped.

Slice the mozzarella into slices.  On a platter, alternate and arrange the mozzarella, tomato, and eggplant slices. Spoon the dried tomato mixture on top and garnish with the fresh basil leaves.