Eggplant!!

I'm baaacckkk!

Let's get right to it - A friend is in need of eggplant recipes, and I'm always willing to help out a friend!

So...early Saturday morning, off to the Memphis Farmers Market I went, in search of some delightful Chinese eggplant. I easily achieved my goal, and also picked up some Ripley, TN cherry tomatoes (more on that later). I could easily have left with a ton of beautiful produce, but I remained focused...

Back at home, I was in a mood to grill, so I decided to make Eggplant and Goat Cheese rolls, one of my favorite ways with eggplant, with some of my little purple beauties.

*My camera (well, its batteries) was giving me fits yesterday, so I don't have step-by-step pics, but hopefully my descriptions will do...

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Rolls

2-3 small Chinese Eggplants (other varieties are fine, I just happen to love Chinese
- total weight should be 1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs)

Coarse Kosher Salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar, for marinating

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 tsp dried red pepper flakes

1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 lg clove garlic, finely minced

6 oz goat cheese (I like the plain Montchevre)

5 large leaves of fresh basil, minced

2 TBL fresh oregano, minced

2 TBL fresh parsley, minced

Trim ends from eggplants, and then thinly slice, horizontally. (1/4in is a good thickness) You want long, thin strips.

Lay strips in single layer on double thickness of paper towels, sprinkle with coarse Kosher salt, and cover with another double layer of paper towels. Allow to 'sweat' for 20-30 min. This removes the excess moisture, and bitterness, if any, from the slices.

Rinse slices with cold water, and pat dry with fresh paper towels.

In med bowl, whisk together Balsamic vinegar, and both types of pepper. Pour 1/2 of mixture into a long, (non-metal) shallow baking dish, cover with eggplant strips, and then pour the rest of the mixture over top of the strips. Cover, and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

Put olive oil and garlic into a small saute pan, and warm slowly over low heat. The low heat allows the garlic to release its sweetness. As soon as tiny bubbles begin to appear in the oil, remove the pan from the heat, and set aside (do not allow the garlic to begin to brown!) Let cool - the slow cooling process will infuse the oil with wonderful garlic flavor.

In a med bowl, mix goat cheese well with the minced basil, oregano, and parsley. Cover, and refrigerate.

About 30 min. before the marinating is done, fire up your charcoal grill. When it comes to grilling, I'm a 100% charcoal girl, so if you're using a gas grill, you'll have to adapt this part.

At the 2 hour marinating mark, remove the eggplant from the fridge, and allow to rest for about 20 min. Also remove your goat cheese mixture from the fridge at this time - its flavors will intensify as it comes to room temp. After the rest period, hopefully your coals will be nice and white/gray, completely ashed over. Arrange your hot coals in a single layer, and situate your grill grate about 2 in above the fire. Drain eggplant of marinade, arrange on platter, and brush top sides with your garlic infused oil.

Place eggplant slices on grill, oiled side down, and lightly brush oil on exposed side. A good fire will grill your slices quickly - it only takes about 2 min per side. You want the slices browned, but still soft. Remove your eggplants slices at that stage, to a clean platter.






As soon as the eggplant slices are cool enough to handle, spread each with a layer of goat cheese mixture (how much is your business - I use a bit of a heavy hand here, love that goat cheese!). Starting at the smallest end, roll up slices, pinwheel fashion.

I tend to roll my slices almost right off the grill, so the residual heat melts the goat cheese a bit. If you don't have my heatproof fingertips, lol, you can also pop your rolls into a preheated 375F oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese a bit, or not. Good goat cheese is good goat cheese, melted or unmelted. ;-) *Do not attempt to heat in the microwave! Microwaving cause the cheese to break down, leaving you with a grainy filling - not a good thing, take my word for it...

I can't give you the number of servings for this one - everyone's appetite is different, and it also depends on whether the rolls are being served as an appetizer, side dish, or even a main meal. You're on your own with that!

Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for another eggplant recipe, one that's been a favorite of my family for generations...

Foodbuzz Launch!

Foodbuzz is well on it's way to becoming the #1 Food and Drink site on the net, with all the features today's 'foodies' are looking for, in one convenient, user-friendly, and customizable place!

I have been a member of the Foodbuzz Publisher Community for several months, and the innovative features here have really impressed me. (impressing my cynical butt is not an easy task, lol)

Check it out - if you have even the smallest interest in food, in any aspect, you won't be disappointed!
-Chef





Contact: Allison Costello
Ketchum
allison.costello@ketchum.com

Doug Collister
Foodbuzz
doug@foodbuzz.com

LAUNCH OF GLOBAL FOODBUZZ BLOGGER COMMUNITY
LEVERAGES REAL-PEOPLE, REAL-TIME POWER OF FOOD PUBLISHING

San Francisco – October 13, 2008: Foodbuzz, Inc., officially inaugurates its food blogger community with more than 1,000 blog partners, a global food blogging event and an online platform that captures the real-people, real-time power of food publishing in every corner of the world. At launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.
“Food bloggers are at the forefront of reality publishing and the dramatic growth of new media has redefined how food enthusiasts access tasty content,” said Doug Collister, Executive Vice President of Foodbuzz, Inc. “Food bloggers are the new breed of local food experts and at any minute of the day, Foodbuzz is there to help capture the immediacy of their hands-on experiences, be it a memorable restaurant meal, a trip to the farmers market, or a special home-cooked meal.”
Foodbuzz is the only online community with content created exclusively by food bloggers and rated by foodies. The site offers more than 20,000 pieces of new food and dining content weekly, including recipes, photos, blog posts, videos and restaurant reviews. Members decide the “tastiness” of each piece of content by voting and “buzz” the most popular posts to the top of the daily menu of submissions. Foodbuzz currently logs over 13 million monthly page views and over three million monthly unique visitors.
“Our goal is to be the number-one online source of quality food and dining content by promoting the talent, enthusiasm and knowledge of food bloggers around the globe,” said Ben Dehan, founder and CEO of Foodbuzz, Inc.
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The Foodbuzz blogger community is growing at a rate of 40 percent per month driven by strong growth in existing partner blogs and the addition of over 100 new blogs per month. “The Foodbuzz.com Web site is like the stock of a great soup. The Web site provides the base or backbone for bloggers to interact as a community, contribute content, and have that content buzzed by their peers,” said Mr. Dehan.
Global Blogging Event
Demonstrating the talent and scope of the Foodbuzz community, 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs offered online food enthusiasts an international, virtual street festival of food and diversity. The new feature showcased blog posts from 24 Foodbuzz partner bloggers chronicling events occurring around the globe during a 24 hour period and included:
Mid-Autumn Festival Banquest (New York, NY)
The "Found on Foodbuzz" 24-Item Tasting Menu (San Francisco, CA)
Aussie BBQ Bonanza – Celebrating Diversity (Sydney, Australia)
The Four Corners of Carolina BBQ Road Trip (Charleston, SC)
Criminal Tastes – An Illegal Supper (Crested Butte, CO)
From Matambre to Empanadas: An Argentine Dinner (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
A Sweet Trompe l’oeil (Seattle, WA)

“24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs” captures the quality and unique local perspective of our food bloggers and shared it with the world,” said Ryan Stern, Director of the Foodbuzz Publisher Community. “It illustrates exactly what the future of food publishing is all about – real food, experienced by real people, shared real-time.”
About Foodbuzz, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, Foodbuzz, Inc., launched its beta Web site, foodbuzz.com, in 2007. In less than a year, Fooduzz.com and its community of over 1,000 exclusive partner food blogs have grown into an extended online property that reaches more than three million users.

# # #

Slow Cooker Honey-Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Today, I made the best, most tender, flavorful, and moist Pork Tenderloin that I've ever tasted, if I do say so myself! ;-)

I had a lovely-looking 2 lb pork tenderloin, (see pic) and wanted to try something different - I searched online, saw an interesting recipe on About.com, Southern Cooking, and adapted it to fit my own taste.

Slow Cooker Honey-Dijon Pork Tenderloin


* 2 lb pork tenderloin, or 2 1 lb pork tenderloins
* salt and pepper, to taste
* 1 medium garlic clove, minced
* 5 tablespoons high quality honey-dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 tablespoon cold water

Preparation:
Wash and trim the pork and pat dry; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place pork in the slow cooker. Combine garlic, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and thyme; pour over the pork. Turn pork to coat thoroughly. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, or on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Test for doneness with meat thermometer, center of tenderloin should be at least 160F, for safe eating.

Remove pork to a plate, cover with foil, and keep warm. Pour the juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until reduced by about one-third. I left the 'chunky bits' in my sauce for extra flavor, but you can easily strain the juices, for a smoother sauce. Combine the cornstarch and cold water; whisk into the reduced juices and cook for 1 minute longer. Serve pork sliced with the thickened juices.

I added some fresh Italian style green beans, and a simple salad, and had a meal fit for royalty!

Serves 6.

Thank You, Foodbuzz!

After a hard work day today, I arrived home to find a package from my friends at Foodbuzz, the Internet's most awesome foodie community.

I excitedly opened my package, to find that these wonderful folks had sent me yet more gifts to show their appreciation for my role as one of their Featured Publishers!

This time, I received a high-quality chef's apron, and a snazzy green spatula, both emblazoned with the Foodbuzz logo. You can see both in the picture above.

I'm especially impressed with the chef's apron - not only does it have an adjustable neck, (important to someone like me, who is 'vertically challenged', lol) but it also has 3 deep waist pockets, something that is only found in the best quality aprons.

I'm looking forward to using my new gifts at my public catering events, where I know the Foodbuzz logo will start a real 'buzz'! I intend to let any who ask know what a great community Foodbuzz is!

Be sure to check out the Foodbuzz site - you'll be glad you did!

Thanks again, Foodbuzz - you rock!

Blue Cheese Cream Toasts with Walnuts

Calabres Con Nuezes

Another tasty, yet super quick and easy, Tapas recipes!


Yield: 10-12 toasts

Ingredients

French baguette, cut in half inch slices
2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz Cabrales, or other bleu cheese (Cabrales really is the best!)
2 Tbl sour cream
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup English walnut halves, shelled

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Brush each slice of baguette with olive oil, and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.

In medium bowl, crumble Cabrales, add sour cream, and mix lightly with a fork. Do not overmix - mixture should not be smooth. Season with pepper to taste. Spread a tsp of cheese mixture on each slice of baguette, top with a walnut half.

That's all there is to it! Serve with cocktails, sparkling white wine, or as a finger food with other appetizers.

Tapas!

Lately, I've been having a great time discovering and creating 'Tapas', the wonderful snacks that magically appear beside your chosen drink at Spanish bars. Tapas are usually very simple, small morsels of food, often unique to local regions of Spain. Tapas are only one of the ways that the local gathering spots use to make everyone feel like 'family'.

Here is just one of the numerous Tapas you may find.
Try serving these at your next cocktail party, or game day - your guest will love them!

I will be posting more Tapa recipes soon!



Croquetas de Huevos (Egg Fritters)

Makes 36 fritters

Ingredients:

1/4 stick butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup of milk (very cold)
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tsp grated nutmeg
6 TBL bread crumbs, finely ground
2 large eggs, beaten
Oil (preferably EVOO) for frying

Melt butter in medium saucepan, and add flour, stirring constantly. Continiue stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add milk slowly, still stirring constantly, until it forms a thick sauce. Fold in hard boiled eggs, season to taste, and add nutmeg. Continue to cook 4-5 minutes, resulting in a thick sauce.
Let cool completely - this is very important! Cooling overnight is best.
Form a scan TBL of the mixture into a fritter, (1.5 to 2 inch cylinder). Roll fritter in bread crumbs, coat in beaten egg, and roll in bread crumbs again.
Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet until temp reaches 350F. Fry in batches (no more than 3-4 per batch) for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and serve immediately.

"Safe" Tomatoes

Will it be a tomato-less summer for some people?

I highly doubt that the current Salmonella scare will last all summer, although the FDA seems to be having an especially hard time locating the source of the contaminated tomatoes, compared with other recent outbreaks.

On a positive note, the FDA is clearing more states' growers every day, so if you can (reliably) find out the source of the tomatoes you wish to purchase, you can check to see if that state is on the "safe" list.

The most comprehensive information I've found for all aspects of this Salmonella outbreak, including a daily updating of states where the tomatoes have been deemed safe, is Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes

As for ourselves, we are blessed that this year's crop of container tomatoes is an abundant one, as evidenced by the pictures. With a little work to keep the squirrels at bay, we've been enjoying these homegrown delights every day!

I hope my readers are as lucky!