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This is a fun spin on eggplant Parmesan. You could serve over pasta, but it’s great on its own as a small plate for dinner or an appetizer.

Ingredients

• Eggplant, sliced length-wise about 1/4 in thick
• Beaten egg
• Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 C olive oil (or other frying oil)
• 2-4 oz chevre
• Standard tomato sauce (see previous recipe)
• Fresh basil

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the oil till it crackles and pops when you drop a drop of water in it. Dip the eggplant into the egg wash and then dredge it in breadcrumbs. Place in the skillet, one at a time. When the edges start to turn brown, turn the eggplant over. When both sides are brown, remove from oil.

Next, you’re going to place a piece of eggplant on a plate, then spread some goat cheese on. Then put another piece of eggplant on top of that and some more goat cheese. Stack it about 3-4 slices high. Don’t put goat cheese on the top piece.

Spoon the tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with basil.

This is a super easy sauce that you can serve over pasta, gnocchi, or fried chicken or eggplant. Rather than a sauce that comes from a jar you can taste all the flavors because you’re using all fresh ingredients. This recipe is for two servings, but you can easily double or triple the recipe to serve more, or save leftovers for later.

Ingredients

• 10 medium crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 C dry white wine
• 4 medium tomatoes (blanched, peeled, and seeded)
• 2 T butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T fresh basil chopped

Directions

If you’ve never used fresh tomatoes for a sauce before, you’re in for a real treat. The trick is to blanch them in boiling water. Score the top of them by making an “X” across the top. Put them in boiling water for a minute. The boiling water gets under the skin making it easier to remove. Take them out and run them under cold water. When they’re cool enough to hold, peel the skin off.

Next, chop the top off the tomato and use your fingers or a spoon to scoop the seeds out. You’ll end up with a heap of yummy tomato flesh. You can mince it with a knife or throw it in a food processor or blender if you don’t like a chunky sauce.

Meanwhile, saute the mushroom slices in the olive oil over high heat. Add some salt. You’ll really want to cook theses down to get a nice flavor. Once they’re pretty well browned, add the crushed garlic. Allow this to cook for about a minute, mindful not to let the garlic burn. Then add the white wine and stir. When this is mixed, add the tomato and stir.

Allow the entire mixture to cook for another 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving, add the butter and mix it in. Serve over fresh pasta with fresh basil scattered on top.

I’ve got a bunch of herbs growing in pots on my back porch. I had no idea what to do with the tarragon until I thought up this beauty of a sauce. As a rule, tarragon and lemon usually work quite well together. They are the main flavors in Hollandaise sauce. Use them with chicken, white fish, or scallops. Here I have the chicken served with green bean almandine, parsley buttered potatoes, and a nice dry white wine.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken tenders
• 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 C dry white wine (I used Lolonis fume blanc)
• 1 lemon
• 2 sprigs French tarragon
• salt, to taste

Directions

In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over high heat till a drop of water pops on the surface. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then in the bread crumbs. Place in hot oil and turn down to medium. Cook the chicken on one side till it browns, then turn over. Turn the heat down to a smidge higher than low. All the chicken to finish cooking.

Once the chicken is done, remove from the sauce pan. Drain about half the olive oil. Try to keep all of the bits and pieces that fell off the chicken as it cooked. Turn the heat back to high. Add the crushed garlic and cook until translucent. Immediately add the white wine and slosh around a bit. If you’re using a gas range, this is the part where the sauce might catch fire. This may be a bit scary if you’re not expecting it, but it will certainly impress any guests watching you prepare it.

Add the tarragon and juice from the lemon. Allow the sauce to cook over high heat for another minute to thicken a bit. Add salt to taste.

Put the chicken on plates and pour the sauce over.

This is a family favorite. It is basically a heart attack in a bowl. Serve it with some dripping garlic bread, a Cesar salad, and some nice wine. Mixing all the ingredients together can be rough on the biceps, but all the effort is well worth it when your guests leave with full and happy stomachs. Make sure to use good bacon and sausage because it adds most of the flavor. Also try substituting pancetta, ham, or other cured meats.

Ingredients

• One package of pasta
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 C half and half
• 1 lb bacon
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 C grated Parmesan cheese (you could also use any combination of Romano and Asiago)
• 1/4 C chopped parsley (garnish)

Directions

Start by cooking all the meat. I typically chop up the bacon before cooking it and drain the fat off midway through cooking. Don’t drain off all the fat, because you’re going to want to use it later.

While the meat is cooking, beat the eggs and half and half and let sit. You want this to get close to room temperature for mixing everything together.

When the meat is a quarter of the way done, start boiling the water for the pasta. While you’re waiting, share some wine with your guests (this makes it all taste better). You’ll need your strength for the rest of the procedure.

The meat is done when it is on the verge of charring. Cook the pasta al dente and drain. Add some of the bacon and sausage fat to the pot and crush the garlic into the fat over high heat. Cook the garlic till it starts to get translucent, then take off the heat. Add the pasta and more of the fat (you’ll want to add about 1/4 C total). Mix well.

Then add all of the egg mixture and the cheese. Mix well and continuously. Turn on the heat to low and keep mixing. The traditional recipe you don’t need to turn the heat back on because the pasta cooks the eggs. If you want to cook it a little (like I do) you need to keep mixing the pasta so that the eggs don’t cook too much. You want to pull it off the heat when the sauce starts to thicken.

After it’s off the heat, add all the meat and stir in. Plate the pasta and garnish with parsley and cracked black pepper.

This is a new spin on the traditional Lebanese dish. I use a lot less parsley and substitute couscous for bulgur wheat to whip this up in no time flat. It’s a great dish for the summer. You can eat it alone or serve it with grilled chicken or fish.

Ingredients

• 3 C cooked couscous
• 2 bunches fresh parsley
• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1/4 C chopped green olives
• 2 cucumbers
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 4 lemons
• 1/2 C evoo
• 1 T salt
• 1 T cinnamon

Directions

The couscous is pretty easy to cook. You just add hot water to the grains and let it sit covered for a few minutes. It immediately starts to absorb all the water. Put it in the fridge to cool it for the all the fresh veggies (you don’t want wilty mint).

The parsley is pretty much the hardest part of tabouleh because you have to chop SOOO much of it. The trick is to try to get as much of the leaves off without getting the branches. I find that if you skim off the outside leaves, you can get most of them without the twiggy parts. Then chop very fine. For the mint, pull the leaves off the stalks, pile them up and chop.

Chop the scallions, up to 2-3 inches up the green. Cut the cucumbers in half and scoop out the seeds. If you want, you can also peel them, but I kind of like the extra green. Then chop them up. Chop up the tomatoes. If you’re not going to eat all the tabouleh in the next day or so, you might want to consider cutting up tomato each time you want a serving. I feel that the tomato gets a little mushy after a few days and makes the salad a little watery. Cutting up fresh tomato makes it seem fresh each time you eat it.

After all this chopping, you’re going to end up with a beautiful, big pile of veggies.

To make the dressing, squeeze the juice from the four lemons. Mix in the salt and cinnamon. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. Then mix in the evoo. Mix in the veggies, the dressing, and the couscouse and serve.