Recipe Revision - Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Casserole

So I have to admit I've been saving this one for a "rainy day" though that's a bit of an oddity in Phoenix.

I found this recipe about a month ago in Food & Wine magazine for Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Casserole




The recipe immediately struck my eye, since I've completely changed my work schedule at the cafe for "Farmer's Market Therapy" (as I like to call it), and there's one guy there with the most AMAZING zucchini. I'm talking zucchini bigger than my forearms, some bigger than the hubby's forearms (and he's 6'5"!)! It is the sweetest, fleshy-est goodness and has become a quintessential summer favorite in the Donhauser household.

Needless to say, I buy it religiously and found this to be a great way to showcase the texture and flavor of a beautiful veggie.

The original recipe is good, though I think it's a great "base" for vegetable casseroles that can serve as a light, one-dish summer meal. When I made the original recipe, I found it to be a bit "wet" (unlike some of the other reviewers), probably because of the fabulous squash. I tend to find that store bought squash seem dried out, so I also try to keep what I do buy in the more-humid fruit drawer in my fridge. (Though now that I think about it, I'm probably caught in the age-old vegetable/fruit debate. Anyone? What's a squash, really? Ha.)

Since there's an easy link, I won't repeat the original recipe here, but I'll start with my revision.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and brushing
1 large zucchini (1 pound), sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick
2 long, narrow eggplants (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and sliced lengthwise 1/3 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
8 ounces greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Oil 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Put the zucchini slices on one sheet and the eggplant on the other. Brush the slices all over with oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the slices on each sheet in a slightly overlapping layer. Bake for 15 minutes, until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shallot and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook over high heat until slightly softened and bubbling, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Oil a large, shallow baking dish (about 10 by 15 inches). Lay half of the eggplant in the dish and spread one-fourth of the tomatoes on top. Top with one-third of the greek yogurt (in spoonfuls). Sprinkle with one-fourth of the panko and basil. Layer all the zucchini on top, followed by another one-fourth of the tomato and one-third of the panko and basil. Layer with the remaining eggplant. Top with the remaining tomato, greek yogurt, and basil. Mix the remaining panko with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 20 minutes, until bubbling and crisp. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve hot or warm.

Ultimately, you can play around with this recipe in innumerable ways. The ingredients above also reflect more eggplant than the way I made the revised recipe originally, as it tends to release less water into the bottom of the casserole (and I love roasted eggplant, period). You could use other squashes, add some chilies for a kick, or even use just a single veggie if your garden is only singularly prolific.

Also, as an end note, the greek yogurt revision was, in all honesty, a last-minute substitution. I spaced on feta, coming home without such a necessary ingredient, and looked for anything remotely dairy and mediterranean lurking in my fridge. I lucked out as the greek yogurt ended up basting the diced tomatoes in a creamy-dreamy goodness that no feta could have ever imagined. I'd also recommend a ricotta substitute (maybe with a bit of nutmeg?), and perhaps also a parmesan-panko mix on top if you like the extra cheese (please!).

All in all, this is a fail-safe, (vegetarian, even) summer dish that reheats amazingly when it's 118 outside and you can't imagine cranking up the oven again!

Recipe Revision - Plum & Port Crostata

This recipe for Plum & Port Crostata is compliments of the "Martha Stewart Living." This gorgeous pastry was featured on the last page of the magazine and was just too tempting to resist. A crostata by definition is an Italian baked dessert tart, traditionally prepared by folding the edges of the dough over the top of the jam-like filling (often cherries, peaches, apricots, or berries) creating a more "rough" look, rather than a uniform, circular shape. It can also be filled with pieces of fruit and pastry cream or ricotta. (Yum!)

As always, I followed the recipe, for the most part, and I have my revisions to the recipe.

Original Recipe
Plum & Port Crostata

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt (I use kosher salt)
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar (I use Baker's Sugar)
4 oz. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tbs. ice water
1 1/2 cups ruby port (You can find port in the wine section of any decent grocery. I paid $6 for a bottle)
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 Thai chile, seeded & minced (optional. I used 1/2 a large serrano pepper, from the Farmers' Market)
2 lbs. Italian prune plums, halved and pitted (I used overripe black plums from Fresh and Easy)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (I always double or triple the spices! I also prefer Saigon cinnamon as it's sweetest.)
1 tsp. heavy cream, for brushing
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (I used Raw Sugar)

1. Pulse flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, slowly add ice water until dough comes together. Shape into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8" thickness. Fit into an 8-inch pie dish, leaving 1-inch overhang. Freeze for up to 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Simmer port and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add chile if desired (while hot). Cover, and let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Stir together the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, plums, cornstarch, cinnamon, and port syrup. Transfer to pie shell. Fold in overhang to form a "crust"; brush crust with cream; sprinkle crust with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes; reduce over to 375 degrees. Bake until golden and center is bubbling, about 1 1/2 hours more. Let cool. Enjoy!



As it baked, the kitchen had a great aroma, a cinnamon-sweet earthy smell. This is part of my love of cooking, especially pies and tarts. After I let it cool about 30 minutes, I served the slices a la mode with a good-quality vanilla ice cream.

After the first bite I was hooked. The crust was nice and crumbly, and it stayed dry even on the bottom. The filling was really tart (a bit much for the huge slice I cut myself), but the filling had an amazing texture, jam-like and smooth. The hubby, after sneaking a bite, exclaimed "Unglaublich!" (Translation: "Unbelievable!"). All in all, the Plum & Port Crostata was a hit.

A few things to note in the original recipe:

• Make sure you're using an 8-inch pie dish if you want the pretty fold. My standard 9 1/2 inch version just didn't do the form justice. Plus after loving the crust so much, I can't imagine what the underside of that edge must taste like, having soaked up 2 hours worth of bubbling fruit syrup.
  

• The crostata has a dramatic fold-over for the "crust." Your dough will crack if it's too cold, so my advice is to freeze for no more than 15 minutes (not the recipe's 30), then transfer to fridge to keep cool.

• Depending on your stove top, the port reduction can take longer than just 25 minutes. Be prepared (and watch your freezing crust) during this step. The recipe doesn't really alert you to keep multiple timers going.
  

• Plum peels are distinctly tart. I think my variety, the same that most of you could find at the grocery, is particularly tart. In a second version, I'd use cherries and blackberries, as I think they would be sweeter and still maintain the tartness that makes this a crisp summer dessert.

Recipe Revision:
Plum & Port Crostata

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
3/4 tsp. granulated sugar (I wanted it a bit sweeter.)
4 oz. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tbs. ice water
1 1/2 cups ruby port
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 Serrano or other pepper, seeded & minced
1 1/5 lb. cherries, pitted
8 oz. blackberries
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. heavy cream, for brushing
Raw sugar, for sprinkling

1. Pulse flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, slowly add ice water until dough comes together. Shape into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8" thickness. Fit into an 8-inch pie dish, leaving 1-inch overhang. Freeze for up to 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Simmer port and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add chile if desired (while hot). Cover, and let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Stir together the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, plums, cornstarch, cinnamon, and port syrup. Transfer to pie shell. Fold in overhang to form a "crust"; brush crust with cream; sprinkle crust with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes; reduce over to 375 degrees. Bake until golden and center is bubbling, about 1 hour more. Let cool. Serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!



I think this recipe a great way to use up any summer fruits that are turning a bit past their prime. All that extra sweetness is transformed into thick, syrup goodness. Here's to recycling fruit that might look past it's prime!

Recipe Revision - (Green Chile) Meatloaf

Quick summary of my cooking strategy:
1) Learn/build on basic techniques.
2) Try new recipes, constantly.
3) Improve, in equal measure, skills and recipes.

I feel like I've made enough dishes to know what I like, and I pride myself on the ability to tweak a recipe before I've started cooking. While this might be considered blasphemy by some recipe-purists, I make it a benchmark of my personal cooking style.

One small consequence of knowing a recipe's "faults" (at least for my own palate) is that I often make a recipe one time, and one time only. I get bored with the flavor by the end of my plate, and the leftovers just drive home how this particular dish isn't going to decidedly change the course of my cooking repertoire the first, or the second, time around.

But sometimes I make a gem. And it falls into the routine of my meal planning, a comfort food that I dream of afternoons before hitting the grocery. So I make it again (GASP!). But true to my nature, I tweak. I play. I "proof" in the more literary sense of the word.

Last night's revision: Meatloaf.

Now I also have to disclaimer this entry, because I have a slight culinary handicap. I don't eat red meat. Yep. No beef, no pork. As I have to simply describe it, "I don't eat anything that started out on 4 legs." It has been this way since 2000, and shall remain into the foreseeable future. Now I'll taste almost anything I can stomach, but I don't as a rule, cook or ingest meals based on aforementioned 4-legged protein repositories.

So Meatloaf is "meat" in the animal sense, but not the beef-based sense. I use ground turkey, generally, but the other caveat is that I've never actually tried the real "meat" meatloaf. My mother despised it. She never cooked it. I only discovered it after working at a restaurant that built it's reputation on a particularly indulgent version. "I can do that!" I said. So I did, but I based my first impression off of the Better Homes & Gardens' New Cookbook (14th ed.). This single volume is the holy-grail of my cookbook collection. I believe that because of it's low-brow status, it provides what is the most standard, American "home-cooking" version of many classic dishes. I had an earlier version in college, which gave me many evenings of good eats. I upgraded to a fancy-shmancy three ringed version, an act I equated with my childhood, baking cookies during the holidays based on recipes in my mother's own greasy-fingerprint-smudged edition. God only knows how old it was. (I still use it when I go home in December, and it's getting awfully yellow and maybe even a bit crinkly. It's amazing.)

So...finally now to the revision part. Ha.

I've made the same basic recipe about half a dozen times, mainly just adding garlic and other seasonings. Last night, a true revision. My husband and I love green chiles, as any good Southwesterner. I've been dying to makeover a meatloaf into its spicier self. Like a gratutious teen movie where the dorky math girl gets va-vavoom hair and a sexy red tube dress. Here goes:

Original Ingredients:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbs snipped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried herbs (basil, sage, oregano), crushed
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/1 lbs lean ground beef, lamb, or pork
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbs packed brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard

Mix the first 8 ingredients, add meat to mix, pat mixture into loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes. Spoon off fat. Mix last 3 ingredients. Top loaf with mixture and bake 10 minutes more to 160 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes to cool and firm up.

Recipe Revision:

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. container of frozen "extra hot" green chiles, thawed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
2 tbs snipped fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tbs ground cumin
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/1 lbs lean ground turkey
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbs honey
2 tbs red chili powder
1 tbs green chili powder
generous dash of Tapatio

Saute first 3 ingredients over low heat until softened. Set off heat to cool. In a bowl, mix the next 8 ingredients, add cooled chile mix and ground turkey, pat mixture into loaf pan (I HIGHLY recommend Williams-Sonoma's special meatloaf pan as it does WONDERS removing fat, keeping it off the top of your loaf), and bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes. Spoon off fat. Mix last 5 ingredients. Top loaf with mixture and bake 10 minutes more to 165 degrees** (higher temp. for ground poultry). Let stand for 10 minutes to cool and firm up. I served this with steamed french green beans and cilantro mashed potatoes (made with lots of butter, sour cream for the dairy, a turn of olive oil, and a boiling and mashing a parsnip with the potatoes for a bit of extra earthy spice). Good pairing, I'd have to say. I was full and the hubby was in a food coma by 8 pm.

Revisions to the Revision (or What I'd Change Next Time):

1.) The loaf was a bit too moist, even after the firming time. I'd probably substitute 1/4 cup heavy cream for the 3/4 cup milk as a way to get flavor and eliminate half a cup of extra moisture. I also believe that ground turkey has a higher water content anyway, so this fix serves two purposes.

2.) I don't' know about you, but I love, I mean love the sweet-spicy combo with hearty foods. I'd probably make even more of the ketchup mixture. I debated using a salsa last night, so I might actually try a half-ketchup, half-red chile salsa mix. Extra spicy, extra saucy. (Sounds like a sequel!)