Hazelnut crusted eggplant with tapenade & brie

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We had some brie & some gorgonzola leftover from a party, so I decided to get all fancy with my eggplant slices. When I made the eggplant, I added 1/3 cup of crushed hazelnuts to the breadcrumb/flour mixture. It gave the eggplant a wonderful flavor and a bit more crunch.

I put a spoonful of tapenade on a slice of eggplant. Then a slice of brie or gorgonzola. I put them in a hot oven till the cheese was melted and crispy. Then I topped with another slice of eggplant, spooned over some tomato sauce, and served with a simple arugula salad. And this, my friends, is but one way to serve eggplant!

Here’s Bob Marley’s Mix Up Mix Up, which I’m pretty sure is about different versions of eggplant recipes.

Eggplant that anyone can love

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Eggplant

Eggplant can be a tricky vegetable. If not cooked properly it can taste odd and bitter, and the texture can be unpleasantly slimy and spongy. But…if cooked properly, it can be most delicious. After years of perfecting my eggplant-cooking technique, I’ve arrived at the best recipe in the entire universe! Well, probably not, but it is really good, and it does tend to appeal to people who don’t believe they like eggplant. The eggplant is sliced thinly, marinated with balsamic and herbs, and then dipped in egg & breadcrumbs. Typically I use a mixture of herbed flour and breadcrumbs, but I’ve also used cornmeal, oatmeal, semolina, and nuts, and it’s all good! It’s oven-fried…baked on a sheet covered with oil, until it’s crispy and light. These slices of eggplant can be used in a million different ways. They’re good with various different sauces and good bread. They’re good cut into pieces or layered whole in savory pastries. If you slice the eggplant lengthy-wise you can roll them up around various fillings, and rebake them with a sauce or without. Good on pizza, good with pasta, good with roman gnocchi…

Eggplant, spinach, mozzarella pie

Here’s Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band with The Eggplant that Ate Chicago. Maybe this is why eggplant got a bad name!
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Not necessarily hummus

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Hummus is delicious – but the lovely subtle chickpea lends itself to all sorts of flavor combinations. Nothing could be easier than to whip up a chickpea dip, and it’s a wonderful recipe to have on hand to feed unexpected guests. In the summer, when it’s too hot to cook, or after work, when you just don’t have the time or energy to cook, this makes a nice dinner with some good bread and a good salad. Hummus, french fries and red wine is actually a favorite meal of ours! Store-bought hummus is surprisingly expensive. But a can of chickpeas is very cheap, and dried chickpeas are even cheaper. I tend to use canned – I do for most beans. I like to cook them from dried, but I don’t always decide what I’m going to make early enough to provide for soaking & cooking time. I’ve found that the secret ingredient to making a hummus with a light pleasant consistency is … water! A little bit of water added at the end and blended in really pulls everything together in a surprising way. Yup.

Here’s Hank Mobley’s The Dip, to listen to while you decide what to add to your chickpeas.
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Shark cake! Aaaaaaghhhh!!!!!!

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Shark cake!!

Watch out! There’s a shark swimming through schools of gummi bears, and he’s eaten a lot of them! They’re in his belly!! My son turned 6 yesterday, and he asked for a cake shaped like a shark, with gummi bears in his tummy. So that’s what he got!! The cake itself is quite simple – just a regular cake made with half brown sugar, and with chocolate chips added at the end. Whenever I double (or triple) a cake recipe I add an extra egg. So this had four eggs altogether. (Not sure how that math works out, quite!) And the frosting is butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla. The trick to getting a sharky nose was to use pie plates instead of cake pans, to give it that bevelled look. And then cut the sides away – it’s quite complicated! But fun to make.

Here’s the playlist I made for Isaac’s birthday.

Split pea soup with carrots and fines herbes

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Split Pea soup

I have to admit to a fondness for split pea soup out of a can – that log of sludge, which slides out with a squishy sound. It actually makes a smooth and comforting soup. But the thing about split peas is that they don’t need to be thick and stodgy. They can be almost delicate, but still with that reassuring distinctive flavor. This soup combines yellow split peas with carrots (so many from the CSA!!) and a version of fines herbes. These herbs are FINE! Well, not quite. I used scallions instead of chives. And I used dried chervil because I couldn’t find fresh. It’s a light flavorful soup, with a nice amber broth.

And here’s a version of Burning Spear’s Foggy Road, to remind you that this soup is not so thick you’d name a fog after it.
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Quiche

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Spinach-herb quiche

Quiche is simple to make, delicious and satisfying to eat, and incredibly versatile. You just mix up a paté brisée crust, whisk together some milk and eggs, and then decide what kind of cheese and vegetables you’re in the mood for. Yesterday I made a roasted mushroom/smoked gouda quiche, with a pinch of smoked paprika to accentuate the flavor. And I made a baby spinach & herb quiche, with a touch of goat’s cheese. But you can really use any kind of cheese or combination of cheeses, and pretty much any vegetable you like. I love greens, and they taste good with artichoke hearts or fennel or diced, sauteed summer squash. You can choose the cheese to complement the veg, or just go with whatever bits and pieces you have on hand.

roasted mushroom quiche

Of course it’s got to be the B52s with Quiche Lorraine.
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Flava faves

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Combining flavors makes cooking joyful. We’re so used to some flavor combinations that it’s hard to think of one thing without another. Other combinations are thrillingly new and unexpected. I find it fascinating that our notion of a food’s flavor changes from country to country. In some places peanut butter is thought of as a savory food, but in the US we combine it with jam, chocolate, ice cream… I love the idea of unexpected foods tasting good together – sweet and savory, warm and cool.

I wish I had Remy’s ability to really experience and savor flavors, but I feel like all-to-often I’m more like Emile, and I just hork it down.

What are some of your favorite flavor combinations? What are some very different tastes that are unexpectedly delicious together?

White bean & tarragon pie

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White bean tarragon pie

It’s handsome and delicious! This pie has a filling of white beans, mushrooms and tarragon, and an oatmeal-pecan crust. You’ll have to forgive my enthusiasm, because I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but it was really really tasty. A number of strong flavors combined perfectly, so that nothing seemed out of place or in your face. Tarragon is a bit of a prima donna herb – it can be a little too prominent. But its lovely hint-of-anise/hint-of-lemon flavor shined perfectly in this pie. The dough, with pecans and toasted oats, is not as hard to work with as it might sound, but it does lend itself to this simple & forgiving form. You just roll it out and then fold it up like an envelope. And it makes wonderful crackers!

Here’s Les McCann’s Oatmeal.
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Non-sausage rolls with butternut squash and goat cheese

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Butternut squash goat cheese rolls

One of the nice things about being a savory pastry geek, is that when you have an opportunity to bring an appetizer to a party, you’re prepared!! These are loosely based on the good old-fashioned sausage roll, in construction at least. But the filling is a lovely blend of roasted butternut squash, spinach, goat cheese and hazelnuts. A nice balance of sweet, tart and earthy. These make a nice appetizer or snack for a party. With a bowl of soup or a good salad, they make a satisfying meal.

Here’s Tom Waits’ Eggs & Sausage and a Side of Toast, performed live on a TV show in 1976. And a very funny interview with him after. Look at everybody smoking!
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the thumb print cookie grows up

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Almond chocolate chip jam thumbprint cookies

Remember thumbprint cookies? Fun to make and to eat! This is a slightly more sophisticated version, with ground almonds and dark chocolate chips mixed into the dough. But they’re just as fun to make and as delicious to eat as ever!

Here’s Nina Simone’s Jelly Roll. Only a slight connection, I’ll admit, but undoubtedly one of the best songs ever!
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