Category Archives: Wine & Food

February 2, 2014 · 12:59 pm

Today’s Super Bowl Menu


Just thought I’d share since we’re having our good friends and next door neighbors Randi and Jim over for the game:

  • Jalapeño Pesto Dip
  • California Onion Dip (recipe near the end of the blog in the above link)
  • Fritos Scoops Corn Chips to go with the onion dip
  • Santitas Yellow-Corn Tortilla Chips to go with the jalapeño pesto dip
  • Various ales, both American and English to accompany the chips and dips
  • Green chili cheeseburgers made with organic, grass-fed beef on:
  • Homemade hamburger buns
  • 2011 Bordeaux Supérieur Grand Vin de Bordeaux to accompany with the burgers

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January 27, 2014 · 5:35 am

“Fried” Eggplant Parmigiana without the Frying


The End Result!

The End Result!

Eggplant parmigiana.  Who doesn’t just love a really good one?  Problem is that all good parmigianas are fried in oil, right?  After all, if it’s not fried it’s not crisp.  If it’s not crisp it’s not good.

Wrong.  Here’s my version of this classic dish.  It’s crisp, light, not greasy, reheats well, and once it comes out of the oven you can serve it any way you want:  As is either as a side or the main star; individually topped with marinara and mozzarella and baked again; layered lasagna-style, again with marinara and perhaps ricotta and parmesan and topped with mozzarella.

I’m also going to show you the secret to removing the bitter flavor some people taste when eating eggplant.  So, if eggplant normally tastes on the bitter side to you, you may still want to give this a try.

What You'll Need

What You’ll Need

What you’ll need:

  • One large, firm, fresh eggplant
  • Salt . . . lots of salt
  • All purpose flour
  • Egg wash (2 eggs beaten with four tablespoons of water)
  • Breadcrumbs (I prefer plain, although you may like Italian)
  • Cooking spray
  • Optionally — grated parmesan cheese

Cut the eggplant into thick slices — from ⅓- to ½-inch thick.

Now for that secret trick to remove the bitterness that some people seem to taste in eggplant:  Liberally coat both sides of each slice with lots of salt, place the slices into a bowl or colander, and just let the slices sit for about an hour.  You’ll notice that the salt seems to extract from the eggplant a darkish liquid.  That’s what we’re looking to draw out.  After the salt has done its job just rinse it away along with the bitterness and pat dry the slices.

Salt Away the Bitterness

Salt Away the Bitterness

Rinsed and dried

Rinsed and dried

At this point you may want to mildly salt the slices again, but there will be some residual salt inside the slices so go sparingly.  Dredge the slices through the flour.

Floured

Floured

Coat both sides of each floured slice with the egg wash.

Dipped in Egg Wash

Dipped in Egg Wash

Toss the eggplant with breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated.  Here’s where the optional parmesan cheese comes in — mix some into the breadcrumbs for additional flavor if desired.

Coated in Bread Crumbs

Coated in Bread Crumbs

Arrange the slices onto a rack placed inside a shallow oven-proof tray.  Spray the top of the slices with a layer of oil.

Sprayed with Cooking Oil

Sprayed with Cooking Oil

Place the eggplant, rack, and tray under the broiler, but not too close.  You want the slices at least eight inches to a foot away.  If your oven has a “Convection Roast” feature (in which the convection fan blows while the broiler element supplies the heat) so much the better.  This is the method I use with the oven set to about 400° to 425°.

Check the slices frequently.  Once they start to brown they can burn pretty quickly.  When the slices are nicely and evenly browned remove the tray from the oven.  Flip the eggplant slices and spray another layer of oil on the newly exposed side.  Return to the oven and brown.

Flip and Repeat

Flip and Repeat

Once the oven “frying” is complete remove the eggplant and use in any of several ways as mentioned above.

Wine pairing:  Hey, it’s Italian.  You certainly can’t go wrong with Sangiovese or Chianti Classico, right?  Other options include Shiraz if you’re using a spicy marinara.  Pinot Noir makes another good choice, especially if you’re going to serve the slices straight out of the oven.  Tempranillo would make for a creative but workable pairing.  I would tend to stay away from Super Tuscans, Bordeaux-style reds, or heartier Zinfandels as they would probably overpower the delicate eggplant flavor.

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January 26, 2014 · 5:25 pm

Bonus Blog, Bonus Recipe — A Super Dip for the Super Bowl


Here’s my annual Super Bowl Super Dip Recipe:

In addition to the suggested uses below (besides as a chip dip), I’ve since taken to using it also as a pizza sauce and in macaroni and cheese.

So, reprinted from last year, here is my soon to be world famous Jalapeño Pesto Dip:

The great things about this recipe are:

  • It’s healthy as all get out.
  • It’s so tasty you’ll completely forget how healthy it is.
  • It’s not as spicy hot as it sounds (although it’s definitely not for the timid of tongue, either).
  • It goes great with anything from tortilla chips to corn chips to potato chips to even pretzels.
  • It’s so simple to make even a husband can do it.
  • The leftover jalapeño pesto is great on a whole variety of dishes ranging from omelets to burgers (use as a topping)  and even mixed with ground beef for tacos or chili.  By all means use your imagination with the leftover pesto, because you’ll probably think up dozens of uses for it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds fresh whole  jalapeño peppers
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. granulated or fresh crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • ⅓ cup good extra virgin olive oil or other healthy monounsaturated oil

Step 1. Bring to boil just enough water to immerse the jalapeños.  Once the water is boiling, add the jalapeños and bring the water back to boiling.  Gently boil the jalapeños, stirring occasionally, for fifteen minutes.  Drain the jalapeños and set aside until they are cool enough to handle.

Step 2. Slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise and remove the stems.  Now, this next procedure is where you control the heat to some extent.  On most of the jalapeños, remove the seeds and the ribs to which those seeds are attached.  Keep the seeds and ribs on approximately one-third of the jalapeños, choosing in particular those jalapeños with very white, healthy-looking seeds and discarding those seeds that are dingy or brown in color.  Increasing the number of seeds and ribs retained will increase the heat; decreasing that number will help to tame it.

Step 3. Place the jalapeños, cumin, garlic, and salt into a food processor.  While pulsing, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  Do no overdo the processing or you’ll destroy those beautiful white seeds and lose texture, but you do want a fairly smooth consistency.

Serve with either warm or cold with your favorite chips. Warm is particularly interesting, especially if you contrast that with a well-refrigerated California onion dip (one envelope of Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix combined with one pint of reduced-fat sour cream).  Serve these two dips side-by-side and watch eager fans alternate between the two of them.

And since this is listed under Wine & Food the next question would have to be, what kind of wine would you serve with this?  Well, first of all, this is definitely an accompaniment to beer, especially a good, fairly strong ale.  But if you would like wine with this, it’ll have to be one that helps tame the fire.  That suggests a semisweet white.  Think:  Johannisberg or German Rieslings, Chenin Blanc, or Gewürztraminer.  The cooler white wine serving temperatures supply immediate relief and the sweetness helps neutralize the capsaicin (the compound that gives peppers their “heat”) in the long term.

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