Yum-O...as Rachel Ray says. It was just great and I read every post carefully and followed your wonderful advice. It was SO good. I feel so empowered now that I have made my first eggplant parmesan. Helene and Sweetie didn't leave a crumb. Sweetie says I can cook for him for another fifty years.

Ciao! AND THANK YOU!

I have made lots of eggplant over the years and have just now started to bake the breaded eggplant instead of frying. Cuts out a lot of grease.

sound like we need an eggplant cook off

YES YES YES TO YOUR ABOVE INSTRUCTIONS...................

"Then place the fried slices on a plate covered with papertowels and cover each layer with additional paper towels to absorb oil. "

I forgot to mention that.....glad you did as it's extremely important to absorb the oil............before baking it..........Buffalo mozarella is great in this dish as well..........

I thought I had sent Gracie my full recipe for Eggplant Parm, thus didn't go into any great detail this time around.......but so important to do as you said........

FYI : Italians are also Europeans.

ciao

This thread tells you why my parents were right when they taught me not to discuss politics, religion or cooking because in doing so you could get yourself into real trouble...but then I never listened to my parents

Ciao

Recipes all sound similar to mine and I am getting hungry! I like to top mine with shredded Asiago Cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (love cheese). Also fresh basil leaves on top...yummy!

So....did you make the eggplant ?? How did you make it and was it DELICIOUS ? I'm sure it was.

Here's another version, one that my Sicilian-American mother always makes, and it's quite different from the others mentioned here.

Peel your eggplant, slice into 1/4" slices or rounds, and salt. Put in a colander, top with a plate and weigh the plate down. Wait about hald an hour, and pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.

Put your olive oil (NOT EVOO) in skillet and fry the eggplant. No flour, breading or egg) until a bit soft. Turn, and cook other side. Drain well.

Make your sauce by sauteeing chopped garlic until aromatic. Add a can of crushed plum tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh basil, torn by hand, the last 5 minutes of cooking. A little oregano, if desired, may be added at this time. Don't overcook the sauce.

In a baking dish. layer a little sauce. Add the eggplant, layering evenly. Top with a little more sauce. Generously sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese and bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes. No mozzarella cheese. It's a parmesan. Sounds simple, and is served on top of macaroni. Delish! and makes a great sandwich...

I did and It was delicious. I posted yesterday and we are warming up the leftovers right now.

Makes me sad I came so late to real guidance in Italian cooking.

But with all your help I may try another recipe soon.

Applesoff's version sounds very good too. Maybe I should ask...what is your favorite Italian dish that you make at home? I love Chicken Piccata out... do any of you make it at home?

Here is how I make Chicken Picatta; I use skinless chicken breasts cut in half ( not as thin as a cutlet), dredged in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter and saute chicken. Remove chicken and add a little broth and lemon juice and zest. Simmer a coule of minutes and throw in some capers. Return chicken to pot for a few minutes. Service with pasta, but my family likes it with rice.

My Linda makes the best spaghetti. She starts with canned sauce, either Wegman's Diavolo or Wegman's Grandpa's Sauce, and adds to it a small can of tomato sauce with green chilies. Then she adds a pound of Gianelli's hot sausage, either regular or turkey, depending on how healthy she wants the sauce to be. And she'll also add chopped green peppers, garlic and onions too. All of this goes into the crock pot, and over the next 5-6 hours she occasionally skims the fat off the top. I get home at 6:00PM, and the kitchen smells outrageous. She makes angel hair pasta and serves it up with some fresh Italian bread from Wegman's bakery (and sometimes she gets the more expensive bread - the $4 big round loaf with garlic cloves baked in it - yum). She likes cheese sprinkled over the top on hers, but I'm a purist - no cheese for me. Add a bottle of good Chianti classico from Pascale's, and it's a purely perfect Syracuse Italian night for us. When we move to TV later this year, we'll have to bring a stock with us from Wegman's. And any visitors from Central NY will be expected to transport some as well.

That sounds good, but, as you know, we have no Wegman's at TV! Soooo ......

So I am very relieved to see that there are as many opinions on cooking eggplant parm as there are on every other subject on TOTV! Kind of strengthens my belief in humanity!

B.

Gracie.........

Lemon Chicken Piccata is also my very favorite and very easy to make at home.....in about 20 minutes prep time and 30 minutes sauteeing time, etc. I can never find the capers, so I leave them out.....but here's the recipe below. I serve it with baby broccoli florets over which I drizzle a small amount of olive oil that has been sauteed with garlic cloves, pinch of salt and pepper.

Lightly buttered Angel hair pasta is a nice "go along" dish but also Italian rice which takes a bit longer with all the stirring. Angel hair cooks in 2 or 3 minutes....so I'd go with that. Buy the kind that comes in "nests" then you can make just how many portions you want for your husband, daughter and yourself......or more for company.
I think it's called DeCeci, imported from Italy (angel hair pasta).



LEMON CHICKEN PICCATA: (4 servings)


3 LARGE BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST HALVES CUT INTO 1/2 INCH MEDALLIONS. (DO NOT FORGET TO POUND THEM THIN)

SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE

1/2 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR....

2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL........ADD MORE AS NEEDED

1 CLOVE MINCED GARLIC

1 CUP "COLLEGE INN" CHICKEN BROTH (IN A CAN) can use low sodium

1/2 CUP WHITE WINE (OPTIONAL)

1/2 FRESH LEMON, THINLY SLICED

1/4 CUP FRESH LEMON JUICE

2 TABLESPOONS CAPERS, DRAINED & RINSED

3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

2 TABLESPOONS ITALIAN FLAT LEAF PARSLEY


PREHEAT OVEN TO 200 DEGREES..........

PLACE A SERVING PLATTER IN THE OVEN AS A WARMING PLATE.....

PLACE THE CHICKEN BETWEEN SARAN WRAP OR PARCHMENT PAPER AND POUND THIN..........

SEASON THE CHICKEN BREAST WITH SALT AND PEPPER AND DREDGE THEM IN FLOUR....
(some people use bread crumbs but the original calls for flour)

HEAT THE OIL IN LARGE SKILLET AND PAN FRY THE CHICKEN UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN ON BOTH SIDES.

IT JUST TAKES 2 OR 3 MINUTES PER SIDE........

WORK IN BATCHES AND DO NOT CROWD........ADD MORE OIL IF NEEDED.

NOW........PLACE THE SAUTEED CHICKEN MEDALLIONS IN THE OVEN ON THE WARM PLATTER TO HOLD THEM WHILE YOU MAKE THE SAUCE

A THIN COATING OF OIL SHOULD REMAIN IN THE SKILLET.

SAUTE THE MINCED GARLIC CLOVE / CLOVES UNTIL FRAGRANT....
ONLY A FEW SECONDS......DON'T BURN THE GARLIC...

POUR IN THE CHICKEN BROTH.

POUR IN THE WINE IF YOU ARE USING IT.......

SCRAPE ANY CRUSTY CHICKEN BITS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE FRYING PAN......

NOW...STIR IN THE LEMON SLICES AND BRING TO A BOIL.

LET COOK, STIRRING, UNTIL SAUCE REDUCES TO APPROXIMATELY 2/3 OF A CUP.........SHOULD TAKE ABOUT 5 MINUTES.

NOW ADD THE LEMON "JUICE".......(AND CAPERS IF YOU HAVE THEM).

SIMMER UNTIL SAUCE IS REDUCED AGAIN AND SLIGHTLY THICKENED.
APPROX. 5 MORE MINUTES.

ADD THE BUTTER TO THE SKILLET.....LET IT MELT INTO THE SAUCE.

ADD THE PARSLEY........AND TAKE SKILLET OFF THE HEAT.

ARRANGE THE CHICKEN ON SERVING PLATES AND POUR THE SAUCE OVER TO SERVE. GARNISH WITH MORE LEMON SLICES......

Better buy a big bag of lemons.......for the juice, the recipe and garnish.

IT MAY SOUND COMPLICATED BUT IT IS VERY VERY SIMPLE TO MAKE.
YOU REALLY CANNOT RUIN IT. I PROMISE.

It also "holds well" for latecomers. You can double or quadruple this recipe for when your family visits, Gracie.

Again, there are many versions.......but they basically all taste the same.

A nice "light" meal........with the broccoli for color and angel hair pasta.