Paying Penance, But In A Good Way . . .

Our last meal for Sue’s birthday was WAY over the top, and we don’t regret a single mouthful. No apologies, just some yummy penance.  This is a salad! This is a salad!

We have heard that there are people somewhere that don’t like eggplant. We think this dish could change their minds. It is hot and cold, crunchy and soft, tart and slightly bitter (referring to the arugula), and completely satisfying. (We know how to do penance.)

We decided to dress the salad and the eggplant with an on-the-fly vinaigrette consisting of Italian olive oil, freshly grated garlic, lemon juice and a touch of Dijon. We were surprised that the recipe didn’t call for a dressing and after very little discussion, took matters into our own hands. Somewhere in this blog there is a written recipe for how we do our vinaigrette, if you don’t have a favorite of your own.

Breaded Eggplant with Arugula and Parmesan

Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Source: “Whole Living”, September 2012

1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1 inch thick slices
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ c flour
1 large egg, whisked with 1 T water
2 c panko or coarse homemade breadcrumbs
1 c olive oil, for frying
2 c baby arugula
¼ c shaved Parmesan
lemon wedges for serving

Arrange eggplant in a large colander and season generously with salt.  Let stand 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.

Divide flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs among 3 shallow bowls. Dip each eggplant slice, turning to coat and shaking off excess, in the flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet (oil should be about ½ inch deep) over medium heat, and working in batches, fry eggplant until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes per side.

Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt and pepper.

Top each cutlet with arugula, Parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon.

Meg raided her wine stash for the Toasted Head Untamed Red. It is a blend of varietals - Syrah, Zinfandel, and Petite Syrah. We think it is a very good California blend and liked it with this meal. Any one of the individual varietals would be equally good. It was purchased at Raley’s Supermarket for $9.99 on sale.

Here comes a return of Lorena’s Gluten Free Fruit Tart recipe in the form of almond cookies. As you recall, our leftover dough from the tart made six measly cookies. This time we decorated the tops with little almonds and took pictures as evidence. See?

Almond Cookies
Original recipe courtesy of Bella Italia, Reno Nevada
Recipe adapted by Sue & Meg For Saturday Night Specials 3/23/2013

1 2/3 cup of almond flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 extra large egg
3 tbsp butter, diced and chilled
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
¼ cup sliced almonds

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Add the egg and mix with a fork until combined. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll level tablespoon balls of dough in your hand. Place about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet covered with either a parchment or a silicone sheet. Dust lightly with sugar and flatten slightly with bottom of a glass.  Press 3-4 sliced almonds into top of each cookie.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes until golden around edges. Remove to rack to cool.



Almond Cookies With Tangy Lemon Sorbet

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

As mentioned above we added vinaigrette to the salad.  We think arugula likes to be dressed.  We also only used about 1/2 cup of olive oil to saute the eggplant. Those were our only changes to the recipe. Hard to believe, huh?

The almond flour that we used in the cookie recipe is closer in texture to an almond meal. This time we added 1/3 cup more of this almond flour to make a slightly stiffer dough.  Next time, and there will a next time, we are going to add a little almond extract.  We baked the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on a silicone covered baking sheet.  We love the texture of these cookies. They are crisp and yet chewy.

Here's to good eating!

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink... ~Epicurus