When people discover that I’m a chef, one of their first questions is, “Did you always love to cook?”
No. No I did not.
But that’s probably because I didn’t always cook.
My childhood Thanksgivings consisted of stovetop stuffing straight outta the cardboard box. The mashed potatoes were some kind of dehydrated flakes you just added milk to. And my cranberry sauce slithered out of a can into a log of wiggly gelatin. (Okay so I still eat canned cranberry sauce because I will shamefully admit that nothing else compares to that gelatin taste!)
In fact, I first started experimenting with cooking when I moved to NYC. I’d like to say that the plethora of farmer’s markets got me inspired. Or even that I tasted a meal at one of the thousands of incredible restaurants and needed to recreate it. But honestly, it was probably because I moved here with no family and no friends to go out to eat with. So, instead I cooked for one in my 300 sq foot studio on a stove that resembled a child’s easy bake oven.
I remember the first dish that really got me into cooking. (After hearing this story I’m sure you’ll wonder why.) I had decided to make eggplant parmesan. I even went out and bought a new Pyrex specifically for the dish. I knew it was a good one because it set me back a good 30 bucks. The eggplant was sliced. The marinara was cooking. The oven was preheating. I was just adding all of my ingredients into my smart new Pyrex investment when all of a sudden the entire glass casserole dish exploded…….
…….
It LITERALLY shattered into a thousand pieces. Leaving me standing in my kitchen, covered in red sauce and scared to move for fear of stepping on glass. When my brain finally came to and stopped just saying, “What the f*@k?!” over and over again, I realized I needed to clean up the mess.
And later as I was simultaneously picking glass out of my hair and red sauce from inside my ear (how it got in there we’ll never know) while waiting on my online dinner delivery order to come; I resolved not to quit. I hope by know you’ve learned that I DO love a challenge. This eggplant parmesan catastrophe would not define my cooking experience!
And so, friends, that’s how it all got started.
Ten years, multiple eggplants, and one Pyrex explosion later, I’m still cooking. I wish both you AND me luck in this week’s eggplant parmesan recipe!
Yields: 10 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hr
Ingredients
2 eggplants, sliced ~1/4-inch thickness
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
5 cups marinara sauce
1 bunch of fresh basil, torn into small pieces.
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Spray aluminum foil lined baking tray with nonstick spray. Dredge both sides in egg and breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 450°X 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- In a bowl, combine parmesan and basil.
- Transfer eggplant to a casserole dish. Layer eggplant, then mozzarella slices, followed by grated parmesan. Repeat until ~1/2 inch below the top of the dish, finishing with cheese layer.
- Cover with aluminum foil. Bake X ~30 minutes at 450°. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese begins to brown and bubble.
The Cook’s 2 Cents:
- Sometimes if the eggplant isn’t cooked long enough, the skins can be pretty tough. I think that’s one reason why a lot of people aren’t fans of this veggie. If this sounds like you, simply peel the skin off before slicing them.
- I like to slice the eggplants into rounds instead of lengthwise. I feel like it gives you an easy marker for where to cut your portion size after it’s finished cooking.
Nutrition Facts:
Servings Per Recipe: 10
Calories: 146 Fat: 7g Sodium: 107mg Carbs: 13g Fiber: 5g Sugars: 4g Protein: 10g
