Eggplant Parmesan

This recipe is what comfort food is all about for me. I love it and it's always a big crowd pleaser at Christmas dinner.

My best eggplant making tip is to slice the pieces evenly, otherwise the thicker pieces end up being chewy and not cooked through all the way. I like mine to be no more than 1/2 inch thick.




Eggplant Parmesan

2 small eggplant
1 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
olive oil
2 jars of sauce (Or some of the yummy homemade stuff you made earlier)
8 oz shredded mozzarella and parmesan mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix bread crumbs and grated cheese together in a wide bowl. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
3. Dip the eggplant rounds first in the bread crumb and cheese mixture, then in the eggs, and finally back into the bread crumb/cheese mixture. The first extra dip allows for better breading coverage. If you need more bread crumb mixture just make sure to use the same ratio of cheese to bread crumbs.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in large frying pan.
5. Add eggplant making sure the rounds are flat against the pan. You'll probably have to cook them in shifts. Add extra oil as necessary, there should always be a thin layer coating the bottom of the pan. The rounds are done when they are golden brown on both sides.
6. When the rounds finish cooking put one layer in the bottom of a corningware. Then ladle sauce over it and sprinkle about 1/3 of the shredded cheese, depending on how much of a cheese lover you are. After that rinse and repeat (minus the rinsing) until all the eggplant is layered with the sauce and cheese.
7. Put the eggplant uncovered in the oven for about an hour. Cooking time will depend on how thick you cut it. I would start checking on it at around 45 minutes. You will know it's done when you can easily slice through the eggplant, skin and all.

Spaghetti Sauce

Of course you can use it for other things than spaghetti, that's just what I like to call it.  My grandmother always called it "Gravy".  I don't know if that is an Italian thing to call spaghetti sauce gravy or not.  I really should ask her one of these days.  This recipe is based on her gravy recipe but has been tweaked slowly over the years to perfection.

I am posting this recipe in preparation for my spaghetti and meatball recipe because spaghetti and meatballs is nothing without a good sauce.  My disclaimer about this recipe is that it takes 5 hours.  That is not to say you have to be there baby-sitting it for 5 hours but I do recommend a stir or two every hour.  This recipe makes a lot so I would be a good idea to have mason jars ready to store it in.  I make so much at a time because it is not often that I think of putting this sauce on the stove 5 hours before I want to go to bed. 

So here it is!

Spaghetti Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves of garlic cut into quarters

1 medium onion

5 (28 ounce) cans of pureed tomatoes (any but Hunts!)

1 1/2 cans of water (it will make sense later don't worry about it)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

1 tablespoon garlic powder (because you can never have enough garlic in your life)

1 teaspoons rosemary

1 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large pot (big enough for 6 1/2 cans of liquid) over medium heat.  

2. Saute garlic and onions until they are softened and translucent, garlic should be lightly browned.  

3. Add 5 cans of sauce, take the pot off the heat while adding the sauce or the splatter make your kitchen look like Psycho II.  

4. Take one of the cans you just emptied and add 1 1/2 cans of water to the sauce.  This will make it liquidy but don't worry because you are going to cook it for 5 hours and the water with simmer away, leaving the sauce nice and thick.

5. Add oregano, basil, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme and sugar to the sauce.  Give it a good stir so everything is mixed in really well.

6. Bring the sauce to a boil. 

7. Lower the heat to a slow simmer.  I find every stove simmers at a different temperature so check back often in the beginning to make sure you maintain that simmer over the full 4 - 5 hours.

8. Stir a couple of times an hour.  

9. Cook for 4 - 5 hours.  Taste it to make sure you have the desired thickness.  If it is getting to thick, feel free to add water. If it is still too liquidy after 5 hours feel free to cook it longer, just be careful not to burn it.

Tip: Sometimes the water in the sauce with collect at the top.  If it is still not thick enough when you stir it in wait for the water to settle to the top again and just spoon out the desired amount.  This does not always happen however, it depends on the type of tomatoes you buy.