Eggplant Neopolitan

I got the idea for this meal after buying a yummy deep purple eggplant at the grocery store over the weekend. I recalled a recipe I saw in a magazine, but I couldn’t find it when I went to look for it. Uh, oh... no recipe to follow? Well even without a recipe it came out really great! I have to give Tony credit- I had the vision but he executed the production! It took a bit longer than we expected for it to bake in the oven, but otherwise this is a great, different, weeknight dinner for two.

Ingredients

1 small thick eggplant
1 package of mozzarella
1 can roasted whole tomatoes
basil
garlic
pasta (flat shape like Lasagna)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions

Boil water and cook one serving of pasta until al dente. While the water is boiling mix ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ of balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Slice eggplant in think round circles. Slice mozzarella the same. Fill the bottom of a medium size baking dish with the juices from the can of roasted whole tomatoes. Dip eggplant slices into oil and vinegar mixture piece by piece. Start laying eggplant, mozzarella, tomato, basil and pasta until you create two to four stacks. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes- until eggplant is soft and the cheese is melted (but not burned!). Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

I made this soup wanting an easy, tasty, warm-you-up meal for dinner. It was great. However, although the recipe says to use both the white and green parts of the leeks, I think I used too much of the green part. The soup tasted great, but was VERY green... I felt like Bridget Jones with her "blue" string soup... Aside from the color, accompanied with some warm bread and side salad, this is the perfect weeknight winter meal!


Recipe to follow.....

Some of My Favorite Things

I know this isn't a recipe, but I put this spread together and just had to take a picture of it.


It includes some of my favorite things- bread, cheese and figs! I discovered this wonderful fig spread that goes well with just about anything (cheese, bread, waffles, yogurt, with a spoon...). I also got some soft brie and a crusty loaf of bread to go with it. The brie and the fig spread are a great combination and a perfect appetizer. I truly believe I could eat cheese, grapes and bread as meal every day if I could! This with a nice glass of wine, US Weekly magazine, perched on a stool at my kitchen counter is my favorite way to wind down the week on a Friday after work!