Inspiring People to Cook Again
Ingredients My grandma and my mom made homemade Italian Sunday Sauce (some call it Sunday Gravy) almost every Sunday when I was growing up. For me, this is the best recipe for Sunday Sauce on the planet. It reminds me of growing up in a […]
Creamy spicy garlic butter tuscan shrimp in a light and creamy garlic parmesan sauce with sun dried tomatoes. Hold the pasta for a low carb keto approved / keto friendly meal! Everyone loves shrimp and garlic. Shrimp scampi, spicy garlic shrimp and other shrimp recipes are […]
Italian Eggplant Parmesan is a dish that I have been making with my family since I was a little girl. It’s a simple Italian dish that my mother and my grandmother taught me how to make. The crunchy eggplant combined with homemade marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese is just a magical combination.
Although this recipe takes some time to make it is well worth the Ohhs and Ahhs you will get from your family and friends when you serve it. So the next time you are at the market pick up some eggplant and surprise your family with this amazing Italian treat.
Serves approximately 12-15 people
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Lightly season each disk with salt and pepper and place in a large bowl or strainer and cover with a paper towel.
In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. Spread the breadcrumbs in a separate shallow bowl, and the flour in a third shallow bowl.
Dip a slice of eggplant in the flour then the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs being sure to coat well with each step. Set aside on a baking tray. Repeat until all the eggplant is coated. Place vegetable oil in a 10-inch frying pan and heat oil over medium high heat until oil is hot enough for frying. About 2-3 minutes.
Fry a few pieces of eggplant at a time placing the fried pieces on a separate plate covered with a layer of paper towels to absorb excess grease. Once all the eggplant is fried you can begin to assemble it. In a large rimmed baking dish add a thin layer of sauce.
Place one slice of fried eggplant on the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer making sure you don’t over lap the pieces. Place about a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella on top of each slice.
Sprinkle each piece with some grated Parmesan cheese. Top each piece with another eggplant slice and some marinara sauce.
Add another sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from over and add more shredded mozzarella cheese on top of each of the eggplant pieces. Place back in the oven uncovered and bake until cheese is melted and browned slightly. Remove from oven and allow the dish to cool for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped basil.
Please be sure and share this recipe on Pintrest and Facebook so we can spread some kitchen love.
A simple Marinara sauce or red sauce is a staple in Italian cooking. It’s easy to make, freezes well, and can be used in so many recipes. It’s perfect over pasta or to make pizza, Parmesan dishes and most tomato based Italian recipes. There is […]
Italian Chicken Panini is one of my kid’s favorite sandwiches. The salty taste of the prosciutto goes so well with the melted mozzarella. Have you ever wanted to make these Panini’s at home like you see in magazines or have had at a great bistro café […]
Other than the holidays, summertime is my favorite time to be with family. Most of my extended family and friends live in New Jersey and all of them love to cook. This year, I decided to start snapping up recipes from everyone’s houses while we vacationed in New Jersey, most of my friends got new houses from Homes for sale in Burlington as well so I’m exited to go there but I´m not going to do the same thing, I´m going to build my new one with these plans for building your own home. This year we are planning on going camping many times, so I already started to look for tactical flashlight list so I’m prepared.
One of the most culinary stops on my Summer tour is what we call “Camp Reo.” My cousin Anthony (“AJ”) Reo is a wonderful example of an Italian Jersey boy who loves his family and his garden and his Sunday pasta.
Camp Reo’s all about the pool, the home made wine, cold beer, fresh produce from the garden and way too many cooks in the kitchen to prepare 10 different courses. The new terrariums for kids will allow your children to start their own garden and have fun at the same time, it´ll be a great way for them to get into gardening. Although the food changes with each visit, the event seems to always be the same. Family and friends show up from all over New Jersey in waves from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 to gobble up the latest appetizers coming out onto the deck and out to the pool.
All the while, we shared stories of “what Grandma used to make” and endless rounds of bocce, bean bag toss and all sorts of games in the pool and some video games like CSGO, by using resources and site as mycsgoboosting.com/resources/ for helping us.
On Sunday, we enjoyed homemade mozzarella, london broil, pulled pork, fresh salads from the garden, pasta salads, grilled chicken, (too) many bottles of homemade cabernet, Merlot and cabernet franc and pastries that you just can’t get in Florida.
On Monday, when the crowd cleared, I had a chance to explore the garden with my cousin Anthony to harvest some giant zucchini squash, fresh spices and tomatoes to make stuffed zucchini squash and jalapeno shrimp scampi. Anthony grows squash, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, beans, basil, lettuce, arugula, broccoli, raspberries, strawberries and even pears.
What really makes me happy, as a big believer in the power of food to bring family together, is that Anthony and his son A.J., often cook together and A.J. has learned to make the most delicious homemade mozzarella cheese and our dinner on Monday night, a stuffed zucchini. We pulled some giant zucchini squash from the garden and they stuffed it with a delicious mix of lean ground turkey with garlic and their own special mix of spices, including some spicy sausage and on some of them, feta cheese.
Unlike my recipe, AJ takes all of the meat out of the zucchini and cooks it before mixing it with the meat mixture and then places it into the zucchini shells. They broil for just a few minutes and the result is amazing. Check out my recipe for Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini Squash, which I’ll be updating soon with some of AJ’s tricks. We also enjoyed a great summer tomato salad and you can find my recipe here for Summer Heirloom Tomato Salad.
Be on the looking for more information, photos and recipes from my trip. Next stop is at the home of my friends Sherife and Rudy for some Hot Italian Pepper Cream sauce and other delicious foods in my old hometown, since we got One Sure Insurance for our car we are trying to go to as many places as we can. Until then, here are some more photos from Camp Reo.
When I was a teenager, this was one of the first soups I ever made. It’s so easy and since I’m a soup lover, this is comfort food for me. I wasn’t feeling well last week, so I made this for myself. It reminded me […]
Pasta and broccoli is a delicious vegetarian dish that reminds me of being a kid. My mom was a busy workingwoman like most of us today, so this was a simple meal she could whip up after a day at work. I love the rich […]
