Happy Tuesday!

Hazel_B

it's pretty quiet around here today. How was everyone's long weekend?

loopy82

I went to the state fair twice. Went out to dinner on Friday and Saturday night. That about sums up my weekend. Nothing too exciting. However, I will say that fall arrived on Friday I believe and has not left. It is cold!

katanne9

Not long enough!

Hazel_B

I know what you mean loopy, I don't want to admit that summer may be gone.

I just worked around the house all weekend. Although I didn't get very much accomplished aside from seeding the lawn.

I did a lot of cooking though, made my first eggplant parmesan, , my first broccoli soup and my first peach cobbler.

loopy82

How did the eggplant parmesean turn out? I have really been wanting to try out eggplant lately. I have never cooked with it before though.

Hazel_B

It turned out really well, except that I messed up the salt though. You need to salt the eggplant before cooking with it to pull some of the bitterness out of it and then you wash off all the salt. I think I may have used too much salt or didn't wash them well enough.  It wasn't rediculously salty, but I'm sensitive to salt so I could really tell.

BF asked for a second piece, if that says anything.

loopy82

I will have to try something with eggplant now that I have all sorts of time on my hands to work on my cooking.

deburnin

Worked all day Saturday. Did homework Sunday. Monday went on a short motorcycle ride and then had a movie night with a friend. I really wanted to go to Niagara Falls, but it was way too cold and BF was too busy with studying anyway. One month till he should be done with all studying and tests. wOOt!

notquiteblushing

I went to a music festival all weekend.  It was a lot of fun but COLD!

Hazel_B

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_happy-tuesday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:7f607896-c095-4d7a-8747-8e0849993470Post:4117ee7f-312f-4d00-ad76-ac859cfb59f0">Re: Happy Tuesday!</a>:
[QUOTE]I will have to try something with eggplant now that I have all sorts of time on my hands to work on my cooking.
Posted by loopy82[/QUOTE]

I definitely recommed it. The recipe I used had ricotta cheese in it as well, so it was pretty cheesy.

Since fall has basically arrived. I also suggest trying to may butternut squash soup. I tried that last week and it was really good.

MLekathLEEN

It was too short! LOL
We mostly did the usual weekend routine of sleeping and napping. Spent a good chunk of time figuring out what season's clothes I should wear and ended up being WRONG every day. Short sleeves? AHH, too cold and windy. Jeans and sweatshirt? AHH too hot..I gave up.

On the upside, mom and I booked our trip to Massechusetts!! I tried to set it up with my school schedule and the best weekend seemed to be next week..EEK! She's psyched and looking up as many tours as we can fit into 3 days.

calindi

Mmmm eggplant parm!

If you want a recipe, here's my favorite - I make it about every other week:

1 eggplant
Italian style breadcrumbs
Panko breadcrumbs (Japanese style for extra crispiness - not necessary if you can't find them)
Flour
Italian seasonings (oregano, parsley, garlic)
Salt, pepper
Olive oil
Egg
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella
Parmesean

I honestly don't ever salt or milk my eggplant, though I've heard people recommend it.  I've never found it necessary.  Take the eggplant, skin it, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick sections width-wise (so they look like a circle).  In a wide bowl or pan, whisk the egg.  In another wide bowl or pan, mix 1 part flour, 1 part breadcrumbs, and 1 part panko breadcrumbs.  Add a sprinkling of garlic powder, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper into the breadcrumb mix.  Put a large sautee pan on the stove with a nice layer of olive oil.  Heat it up over medium heat.  Take a piece of eggplant, dip both sides in egg, then toss it in the breadcrumbs.  Place it on the pre-heated oil.  Cook until lightly brown on each side.

Make pasta of your choice (I like penne).  Put it on the bottom of a large baking dish.  Toss with tomato sauce (I make my own, but canned is fine).  Place the fried eggplants on top as you finish, then cover in more sauce, then shredded mozzerella and a sprinkle of parmesan.  Broil in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to brown lightly.

Yummy!

Hazel_B

Your eggplant parmesan sounds really good, but so different than the one I made!

leia1979

OMG, I love eggplant parmesan. Maybe we should just have a recipe exchange thread.

My weekend was good. On Saturday we went to the cat show. We saw Savannah cats, and they are huge! I'm talkin' 25+ pounds but skinny! I also love the Maine Coons and they even had a housecat category (there were shelter adoptees competing).

Sunday was car fixin' day. Changed my oil; BF did something with the brakes on his car for four hours. Then we went to karaoke with my best friend. She and I sang the Glee version of "Don't Stop Believin'."

Monday we went to the beach. It was packed--finally a nice day there, so everyone went. And this morning I had to kill a ton of wasps that were trying to use one of my yard decorations as a nest. I used a whole can of Black Flag on those little effers!

BCRockies

That eggplant parm sounds delicious! I'm always looking for new recipes to try so I'm goinig to store this one away.

As for me, went camping on Saturday but it rained and howled the whole night so we packed up quickly in the morning. Last night BF and I held an early Thanksgiving dinner as I'll be out of the country on the holiday. I love roasted turkey so this was fantastic!

calindi

Thanks guys!  I hope you like it as much as we do.  We seriously have that eggplant parm about once every other week.  Soooo good!  With a bottle of red wine, it's pretty fantastic, and it doesn't take very long to do.

My other favorite (easy) recipe I made this weekend is chicken piccata:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half width-wise to make them skinnier for frying
Olive oil
Butter
3 lemons
Chicken stock
Artichoke hearts (from a jar in oil, usually best, but canned work, too)
White button mushrooms, sliced
Capers
Flour
Panko breadcrumbs
Italian seasonings (oregano, parsley, garlic)
Salt, pepper
Egg

Mix panko and flour and seasonings in a wide pan or tray.  Whisk the egg in another wide pan or tray.  Dip the chicken in the egg, then toss in the breadcrumbs.  Heat a sautee pan over medium with 2 Tbs of oil and 1 Tbs of butter, then add the chicken.  Cook until both sides are brown, then remove from the pan and place in a separate serving dish that is at least 2-3" deep (ideally over cooked pasta, like angel hair).  Once all chicken is cooked, add 1-1.5 cup chicken stock, the juice of 2-3 lemons, the sliced mushrooms, the artichoke hearts, and capers (drain before adding).  All of this is to taste, so stir it up, taste the sauce, it should be a little tart but a nice blend of lemon and chicken stock.  Heat it up, then add 2 Tbs butter.  Pour it over the chicken, serve with pasta.  Yum!  This is one of my family's all time favorites that I make - my father called it "restaurant quality" which I take as a high compliment.

loopy82

Thanks Cate! These recipes sound delicious!

calindi

I hope people like them!  That's how I spend my long weekend - cooking!  Though I would have given my pinkie finger to go to the state fair and get some of those fried mashed potatoes.  Mmmmm!

Friday we went to a friend's birthday.  We spent Saturday with friends who were in town, then Sunday was relaxing with breakfast in bed and board games all day, then chicken piccata for dinner, followed by snorkeling and a sunset cruise, which was REALLY perfect.  We just needed some fun, and it was awesome.  We would swim around, and then he'd reach out and hold my hand, or touch my leg, or squeeze my butt.  All of which was cute and fun.  And we kept pointing at things for the other to see, and came up with our own little sign language of pointing and thumbs up and 'okay' signs to communicate under water.  It was really an awesome evening!  And then just cuddled and drank champagne while we watched the sunset on the ride back.  On Monday, we grilled burgers and did laundry and then met up with friends.  All in all, a perfect weekend!

tafft1

I have been looking for a good Chicken Picatta recipie for ages , so thanks for posting this ! I haven't had eggplant parmesan in YEARS so I may need to give that a try as well !

My weekend was pretty awesome. Was off Saturday so me and DH spent the whole day together - a rarity for us on a weekend since I work retail. We spent said day arguing with Comcast for 40 minutes and ending up with a better deal until we move next year. After that we spent time at JCPenney , Torrid , Bed Bath and Beyond , two malls , enjoyed lunch together at a local family owned restaurant. I ended up walking away with a new pair of sexy boots and a new dress - along with new pillows , bathroom rugs and various odds and ends.

I worked Sunday and Monday but they were good work days - and it wasn't too late so we still got some time together as well And today I am off work and cleaning and looking forward to a good week

OH and my pro pics came in!! Squeee!!! They are amazing

loopy82

Are you going to AW those pro pics Tafft? I can't wait for mine!

tafft1

Sure Loopy - ask and you shall recieve