Brainy Eggplant Lasagna... So so good!

 

Did you know that the name "eggplant" was given to the fruit by Europeans sometime in the mid-18th century; originating in Naples? The size and shape of the fruit was similar to those of goose eggs. At the time, the eggplant was more white and yellow than today's purple-skinned fruit, leading to an even closer comparison of the eggplant to an egg.

For this eggplant dish you will need: at least two large ripe eggplant, one purple onion, bread crumbs, canned crushed tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

To begin, chop onion and saute in skillet until browned, then remove and set aside. Next, wash and slice the eggplant length wise. Simmer in shallow amount of soup stock (chicken or beef) in the same skillet used for the onion. Likely, you won't get all the slices in at once so just do three or four at a time. Doing this, softens the eggplant and cuts down baking time in the oven.

Layer in a glass baking dish in this order: olive oil to coat the dish, eggplant slices, olive oil drizzle, sprinkle of bread crumbs, spoon of tomato sauce to each slice, grated cheese and dash of dried herbs (rosemary, mint and oregano). Put only one layer of onion... just before top layer.

Top off with sauce and grated cheese... bake on 375 until bubbling

 ~ Tutti a Tavola!











 Online source ~ https://oureverydaylife.com/different-names-for-an-eggplant-12080443.html

Brainy Northern Italian Polenta...

 

Polenta is made from cornmeal. It can be eaten as a hot mush, or chilled then fried as a thick slice of yumminess. Northern Italians like polenta very much. It is often served with mild Italian sausage or a thin rolled braised beef called Braciole.

For this dish, you will need to have: olive oil, one onion, yellow cornmeal, chicken stock, Parmesan and butter.

Polenta -
2 tbs of olive oil
one whole onion chopped
2-4 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
4 tbs of butter or 1/2 stick

Heat oven to 350F. On the stove, saute your onion in the olive oil in a deep oven safe pot until browned on all edges; then, add your stock (use 2 for thicker) and 5 cups of water. Heat to boiling on high and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Then cover and bake for 45-50 min.with an occasional stir - about every 10 min. Remove from the oven, add the butter and Parmesan for one last stir, then let it set covered.

 












Spoon the creamy polenta onto a plate, making a kind of thick pancake. Let is sit for a min or two. Then top with a sausage and a lite creamy tomato sauce. Or just serve and eat the sausage with the polenta alone... perhaps with only a pat of butter or cheese on the side.

 ~ Tutti a Tavola!  

Brainy Atlantic Salmon with Ratte Potatoes and Asparagus...

 







 

The benefits of farm raised Atlantic salmon include higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Why? Its due to the regulated diet of farm-raised salmon, they have more nutrients. What about wild-caught? Well, in case you didn't know, all Atlantic salmon on the public market is farm raised. Guess, if you want 'wild' you have to go wild... and go fishing ;-)

A package of two large fresh caught Atlantic salmon fillets cost 7.75; that means for two people the cost was 3.87. Roasted potatoes for two people (six rustic cut skin on potatoes) cost only .90 cents. Half a package of fresh green asparagus cost 1.50 cents. Do the math and you will see that this dinner cost less than 6 dollars per person. There is no restaurant in America where you can get this dinner for that price. Cooking at home is Brainy delicious and frugal!!!!

Of course, I did buy a 2 lb bag of potatoes @ 2.49 and using only about 6 out of that bag was figured somewhere around the amount given above. The full package of asparagus cost 3.00; hence, half used gave us 1.50. I did not include the cost of the white wine which was six dollars for the bottle and we each had one glass so about 1.00 dollar there per person. A squeeze of fresh lime @ .25 cents and half stick of butter is another .50 cents. We are still not over eight dollars per person.

 ... food like art

You will need to buy two salmon fillets; unless you want to feed the family. Then you may want to buy an entire side fillet at the cost of 15.00 divide that by 4 and you have 3.75. Begin by roasting as many rustic cut ratte potatoes as you need in the oven on 375. Use a cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil, garlic powder and rosemary. 

Top the potatoes with Himalayan pink salt (or any kosher salt or sea salt) and bake for 35 min. As the end of that time approaches, sear on high heat the fillets in olive oil and spices: garlic powder, red pepper flakes, Himalayan pink salt and black pepper.

Once seared to blackened, you can turn down the heat and add 2 pats of butter and let simmer while you prepare the asparagus. Next, wash and cut the asparagus, push aside the salmon and add the spears. The potatoes should be finishing up, ladle onto a serving plate, lay on the salmon fillets (skin side up). Take a quick minute now to blacken the asparagus.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Brainy Harvested Rustic Veggies with Lamb Chops...

 

 

Lamb for dinner is making a comeback and if you never had good lamb (like a good steak)... you don't know what you are missing.

For this dish you will need: lamb chops per person, rustic veggies: carrots and fingerling 'ratte' potatoes.  To begin, marinate the lamb chops in olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and sea salt along with a generous sprinkle of fresh dried herbs: rosemary, sage, mint and oregano.

While the chops are marinating, prepare fresh garden harvested fingerling potatoes and young fresh carrots. Scrub but do not peel either. Place in glass baking dish, douse with olive oil and herbs. Bake in 350 oven with convection on. After 40 min. check veggies for tenderness.

Place the lamb chops in the oven also in a glass baking dish. Sear on the same temp as veggies using the convection option. Reduce the heat to 325, turn off convection and let roast for 15 - 20 min. then check to see if the juices from the chops start to run and the meat is gently pink. If it looks good and the veggies are done... its time to serve and eat!

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Brainy Chicken a la Bonne Femme...

 

When you consider the ingredients, Poulet a la Bonne Femme and Chicken Vesuvio are pretty much the same dish. Why not... after all, when it comes to simple home cooked meals, families in Europe used similar ingredients when conditions called for rich sustenance and frugality.

With that said, this dish can be made in a variety of ways including with mushrooms but always with bacon, onion, peas and potatoes.

For this dish you will need: chicken thighs (as many per person as you will serve) with the skin on and bone in, potatoes, onion, bacon, peas and onion. To begin, saute the onion along with the bacon until browned and crispy. Remove the onion and bacon from the skillet, saving the bacon grease.  Add some olive oil to the skillet and fry the chicken thighs skin side down and do the same for the other side.

Remove the thighs from the skillet and place in a glass baking dish to be kept warm in the oven at 275 while you saute the potatoes (washed and diced) in the same skillet; adding, 2 tbs of butter. Next, toss in the peas (frozen or fresh) along with a dash of salt, black or white pepper, garlic powder and dried herbs of your choice.

 Bring back the onion and bacon...

Bring the chicken back into the mix along with 1 cup of beef stock and 1/2 cup of beer...let simmer!

Serve with a good Burgundy or Chianti...

~ Tutti a Tavola!