When I went to the market over the weekend, I picked up
a couple of eggplants. I had it in mind to make eggplant
parmesan. I have never made that before, I'm very leery
of it because, often, it makes me queasy. I really like it,
but ... eeee*. Well, I ordered some at lunch on friday, don't
know why. It was excellent, and I determined that I wanted
to make it at home.

Meanwhile, ron made sauce yesterday, with extra meatballs
and sausage with making a lasagna in mind. He got the
ricotta, some of that packaged mozzarella, whatever. Whoops,
forgot the noodles.

So, he got up this morning and decided he would make eggplant
lasagna. Okay, sounds good to me, I'll try making eggplant
another time, because my two beautiful ripe eggplants had just
been hijacked by force, the weapon a sharp knife.

I'll be damned if it wasn't outstanding, the best (close enough
to) eggplant parm I have ever had. I've been aced out of that,
I'll never be able to make better. Damn.

Heh, looked like a lot of work, I got to hang out reading and
have a nice lunch brought to me. It's tough being me.

nancy

*eeee is the sound I kinda think of making when I feel queasy

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
> When I went to the market over the weekend, I picked up
> a couple of eggplants. I had it in mind to make eggplant
> parmesan. I have never made that before, I'm very leery
> of it because, often, it makes me queasy. I really like it,
> but ... eeee*. Well, I ordered some at lunch on friday, don't
> know why. It was excellent, and I determined that I wanted
> to make it at home.
>
> Meanwhile, ron made sauce yesterday, with extra meatballs
> and sausage with making a lasagna in mind. He got the
> ricotta, some of that packaged mozzarella, whatever. Whoops,
> forgot the noodles.
>
> So, he got up this morning and decided he would make eggplant
> lasagna. Okay, sounds good to me, I'll try making eggplant
> another time, because my two beautiful ripe eggplants had just
> been hijacked by force, the weapon a sharp knife.
>
> I'll be damned if it wasn't outstanding, the best (close enough
> to) eggplant parm I have ever had. I've been aced out of that,
> I'll never be able to make better. Damn.
>
> Heh, looked like a lot of work, I got to hang out reading and
> have a nice lunch brought to me. It's tough being me.
>
> nancy
>
> *eeee is the sound I kinda think of making when I feel queasy
>
>
My weekend eggplant story:
I don't usually pick up eggplant, but it was reasonably priced and this ng
had been talking about steaming eggplant instead of salting and draining it.
Yesterday, I got out my big "Yan Can Cook" rice cooker/steamer with two
tiers (one for each eggplant) and put it outdoose to steam the eggplants.
These eggplants by the way had the 'darkest' seeds I've ever seen. I don't
know if that affects the taste or not.
I put a lot of EVOO on the bottom of a large casserole pot, placed one layer
of the eggplant and started looking around for ingredients to layer. I
found: fresh tomatoes (6 of them) frozen corn, vidalia onions, celery, fresh
red bell peppers, fresh garlic, rosemary & basil, 1/2 lb. of a fresh ball of
mozzarella, I flicked off hunks of gran padano cheese, some parmesan
regianno; I would have liked to have some zuccini, but didn't.

We've yet to have/eat it, but might reheat it and eat some later tonight; as
yesterday I was in the business of finishing off the crock-pot 24/30 hour
carmelized onions for onion soup and eating it. Thanks for all the
information regarding the onions in a crockpot. It turned out sooo good.
As I didn't think my souffle pots would take the broiler without breaking, I
toasted the bread, put cheese on them, then put the bread and cheese in the
microwave a few seconds to melt, then sprinkled on lots of parmesan reg.
It didn't taste like being under the broiler, nor completed with one of
those hot fire-thingies, but it tasted pretty darned good. It's been so
long since I had french-onion soup in Paris, that my taste buds will not
allow me to compare, but it was good. Thanks all. My arm is intact without
all that stirring.

I'm glad your eggplant was a success. How did ron de-juice the eggplant.
P.S. Yes, it is always fun to be pampered. I love it, too.
Dee Dee

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
> When I went to the market over the weekend, I picked up
> a couple of eggplants. I had it in mind to make eggplant
> parmesan. I have never made that before, I'm very leery
> of it because, often, it makes me queasy. I really like it,
> but ... eeee*. Well, I ordered some at lunch on friday, don't
> know why. It was excellent, and I determined that I wanted
> to make it at home.
>
> Meanwhile, ron made sauce yesterday, with extra meatballs
> and sausage with making a lasagna in mind. He got the
> ricotta, some of that packaged mozzarella, whatever. Whoops,
> forgot the noodles.
>
> So, he got up this morning and decided he would make eggplant
> lasagna. Okay, sounds good to me, I'll try making eggplant
> another time, because my two beautiful ripe eggplants had just
> been hijacked by force, the weapon a sharp knife.
>
> I'll be damned if it wasn't outstanding, the best (close enough
> to) eggplant parm I have ever had. I've been aced out of that,
> I'll never be able to make better. Damn.
>
> Heh, looked like a lot of work, I got to hang out reading and
> have a nice lunch brought to me. It's tough being me.
>
> nancy
>
> *eeee is the sound I kinda think of making when I feel queasy
>
>
>
>

Nance, I've been craving lasagna lately, but my hubby won't eat carbs. Why
have I never thought of eggplant lasagna before????? EXCELLENT idea! Do
you blanch the eggplant first or put it in the pan raw?

kili

"kilikini" > wrote

> "Nancy Young" > wrote in message

>> So, he got up this morning and decided he would make eggplant
>> lasagna.

>> I'll be damned if it wasn't outstanding, the best (close enough
>> to) eggplant parm I have ever had. I've been aced out of that,
>> I'll never be able to make better. Damn.

> Nance, I've been craving lasagna lately, but my hubby won't eat carbs.
> Why
> have I never thought of eggplant lasagna before????? EXCELLENT idea! Do
> you blanch the eggplant first or put it in the pan raw?

You know, I had never thought of it that way. I would consider what he
made to be very low carb, but I don't do low carb, so you'd have to put
your own expertise to it. This is preliminary, let me run it by him when he
gets to work, I will post any changes.

Using two eggplants:

He cut the eggplant lengthwise into slabs. Put them onto cake cooling
racks, sprinkled kosher salt on both sides. After a half hour he rinsed
them and dried them very well. From there he dredged them in flour,
shook off all the excess, dredged them in egg and sauteed in a pan
with oil, 3 minutes each side, drained them on paper towels. You want
the oil pretty hot as otherwise the eggplant will soak up the oil. Some of
them he dredged in breadcrumbs (panko, I think) after the egg bath.
Either way it was not much flour or breadcrumbs at all.

From there, he put some sauce in the bottom of a 9X13, then layered
the eggplant with: ricotta he mixed with egg and a good handful of fresh
basil, chopped. Some sauce, then the next layer. I don't think he used
all of the eggplant. Also, I think you might want to cut the slabs to give
good coverage in the pan. Sauce on top, then the mozzarella, shredded,
all over the top.

Bake (I'll ask about the temp, I assume 350, then how long), then serve.

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
>
> "kilikini" > wrote
>
> > "Nancy Young" > wrote in message
>
> >> So, he got up this morning and decided he would make eggplant
> >> lasagna.
>
> >> I'll be damned if it wasn't outstanding, the best (close enough
> >> to) eggplant parm I have ever had. I've been aced out of that,
> >> I'll never be able to make better. Damn.
>
> > Nance, I've been craving lasagna lately, but my hubby won't eat carbs.
> > Why
> > have I never thought of eggplant lasagna before????? EXCELLENT idea!
Do
> > you blanch the eggplant first or put it in the pan raw?
>
> You know, I had never thought of it that way. I would consider what he
> made to be very low carb, but I don't do low carb, so you'd have to put
> your own expertise to it. This is preliminary, let me run it by him when
he
> gets to work, I will post any changes.
>
> Using two eggplants:
>
> He cut the eggplant lengthwise into slabs. Put them onto cake cooling
> racks, sprinkled kosher salt on both sides. After a half hour he rinsed
> them and dried them very well. From there he dredged them in flour,
> shook off all the excess, dredged them in egg and sauteed in a pan
> with oil, 3 minutes each side, drained them on paper towels. You want
> the oil pretty hot as otherwise the eggplant will soak up the oil. Some
of
> them he dredged in breadcrumbs (panko, I think) after the egg bath.
> Either way it was not much flour or breadcrumbs at all.
>
> From there, he put some sauce in the bottom of a 9X13, then layered
> the eggplant with: ricotta he mixed with egg and a good handful of fresh
> basil, chopped. Some sauce, then the next layer. I don't think he used
> all of the eggplant. Also, I think you might want to cut the slabs to
give
> good coverage in the pan. Sauce on top, then the mozzarella, shredded,
> all over the top.
>
> Bake (I'll ask about the temp, I assume 350, then how long), then serve.
>
>

Gosh, that sounds so yummy. I am definitely going to make this this week.
I especially like that the eggplant is fried, too. I'll be all over this
one! Lots of good leftovers for the hubby to take to work, too! I thank
you so much for this wonderful idea, Nancy. It's much appreciated.

kili

"kilikini" > wrote

> Gosh, that sounds so yummy. I am definitely going to make this this week.
> I especially like that the eggplant is fried, too. I'll be all over this
> one! Lots of good leftovers for the hubby to take to work, too! I thank
> you so much for this wonderful idea, Nancy. It's much appreciated.

No problem. I know I got the eggplant part right, I watched him do
that part, it's the rest I'm hazy on. (smile) For instance, I ran a
scientific
test by having some for breakfast, and I don't think there is sauce between
the layers. Anyway, you know how you like your lasagna, I really don't
think you'll be disappointed.

nancy

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
>
> "kilikini" > wrote
>
> > Gosh, that sounds so yummy. I am definitely going to make this this
week.
> > I especially like that the eggplant is fried, too. I'll be all over
this
> > one! Lots of good leftovers for the hubby to take to work, too! I
thank
> > you so much for this wonderful idea, Nancy. It's much appreciated.
>
> No problem. I know I got the eggplant part right, I watched him do
> that part, it's the rest I'm hazy on. (smile) For instance, I ran a
> scientific
> test by having some for breakfast, and I don't think there is sauce
between
> the layers. Anyway, you know how you like your lasagna, I really don't
> think you'll be disappointed.
>
> nancy
>
>

I think I'll do the sauce between layers. But, gosh, kudos to you and your
hubby for solving my lasagna dillema! Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank
you!

kili <-------who can now make her lasagna and eat it too!