THINGS I LIKE: Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

Those who read my blog know the " THINGS I LIKE" posts present recipes for dishes  that I, personally,  like to prepare and eat. Some recipes I have developed myself while others have been given to me by family members, friends or were from recipes I found in cookbooks, food magazines or on line. In each case where I have presented a recipe not my own, have credited the source of the recipe. The recipe for the following  delicious stuffed eggplant dish came from Cooks.com recipe search, under the heading of "Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant". Go there to see the original recipe. What I present below, began with that recipe but contains all the "tweaks" that I have added to the original, to make the the dish  mine in terms of the flavor profiles that suit my taste.

INGREDIENTS   (ITALIAN FLAVOR)
2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise
2 lb ground beef
8 sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
1 onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste concentrate*
1/2 C ,each,  bread crumbs (I use Panko - Japanese bread crumbs) and Romano or Parmesan cheese.
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  
Scoop out some of the eggplant from the center of each half and finely dice. Mix all ingredients except crumbs and cheese and mound, evenly, onto the eggplant halves. Mix bread crumbs and cheese and sprinkle over filling.

Place eggplant halves on an oiled sheet pan and bake , uncovered, in a 350 F oven for 1 hour.

Serve as is or with store bought or home made tomato sauce.

(GREEK OR MIDDLE EASTERN FLAVOR)

The  recipe above can be made to reflect Greek or Middle Eastern flavors, as well, with the following
Substitutions:

 Lamb for beef
4 tsp tomato paste* for sun dried tomatoes
omit pine nuts
 1/2 tsp, each, cinnamon. nutmeg, ground cumin and coriander for oregano
1 Tbsp mint for parsley
grated feta cheese for Romano/Parmesan

Prepare and serve. as above.

*Concentrated tomato paste comes in tubes similar to toothpaste.It is very convenient and easyn to use, While many brands are available, I have found the Amore brand to be excellent.

FOOD HISTORY: Port Wine

While grapes have been grown in Portugal over 2000 years ago - the Romans who arrived in Portugal in the 2nd century and remained over 500 years, grew vines and made wine along the Douro river, where Port is made today - wine only became an important export when the Kingdom of Portugal was established in 1143. However, Port wine, as we know it today, occurred much later - in the second half of the 17th Century. In 1386, a close tie was formed between Portugal and England (The Treaty of Windsor) which allowed active trading links between the two countries and many English merchants settled in Portugal. Several became wine makers. In the 1550's, significant amounts of Portugese wines were exported to England in exchange for salted cod. ( bacalhau, in Portugese - where it eventually became the national dish of that country). In 1654, special privileges and preferential customs duties were allowed for the English and Scottish merchants in Portugal to import wool and cotton from England and to export a number of Portugese products, including what was called. "Red Portugal", a light, crisp red Vinho Verde produced in the Menho region of Portugal,  The "Red Portugese" wine was not as popular in England as wines from France. In 1678, however,  England and France were at war and the English fleet blockaded French ports creating a wine shortage in England. In 1703 the English and Portugese signed the Methuen Treaty which, among other things, brought about the trade of English cloth for Portugese wines. The increased demand for Portugese wine, with its potential for higher profits, caused the English wine producers to explore and grow grapes further inland in Portugal. By doing this, they found that wines made from grapes grown in the area of the Douro River, with the town of Oporto at it's mouth, were richer and more palatable. These wines took the name of the city of Oporto, from which they were shipped, becoming known, in Portugese, as "Vinho de Porto", meaning wine from Oporto, and, in English, as Port". However, these wines were not the  fortified, rich, sweet. dessert wines that we know as Port  today. These evolved by accident. The evolution began when a small amounts of brandy were added to the wine as a preservative for shipment.The addition of the brandy stopped the continued  fermentative transformation of the sugars in the wine to alcohol. In 1820, a vintage occurred with a very high sugar content. The addition of brandy to this wine vintage stopped the fermentation process leaving a brandy "fortified" wine higher in sugar content with a semi - sweet taste that was embraced, immediately, by the British. Because of the popularity of this "new" kind of port wine in  England, the expatriate, British wine  makers (and a few others) in Portugal cultivated their wine grapes to contain higher amounts of sugar to continue to make their sweet, brandy - fortified Port wines.  From England, Port found it's way around the world. While "Port" type wines are produced in countries other than Portugal today, the only "true" Port comes from Portugal and many of the world's most famous Port wine houses remain British.

FOOD TRIVIA: Weisswurst

Tradition says that Weisswurst, a white sausage speciality of Munich, Germany served at Octoberfest, should not be allowed to hear the church bell's noon chimes. This is because the sausage is not smoked but made fresh every day. Hence, it is not suitabe for storage and in the summertime would go bad before nightfall.

COOKING TIP: Creamy Viniagrettes

To make any viniagrette into a creamy dressing, add a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise to it and shake vigorously..

THINGS I LIKE: The Foodie's Companion's All Purpose Spice Mixture

I have put together a very simple, basic combination  of dried spices that I use as a general seasoning mixture for many different things; meats, chicken, fish,and even vegetable dishes. While I feel that most everything we cook should be seasoned with salt ( I use kosher) and freshly ground pepper, these are NOT included in my mixture. I believe saltiness is an individual taste preference and some people must avoid salt, altogether. Also, many people do not like pepper in their food although I can't understand why if it is freshly ground, since it  adds an additional depth of flavor to whatever is being cooked. These are the reasons why I avoided the addition of  fixed amounts of these ingredients in my base spice mixture. I do, however, suggest that you season with these two items, to your own taste, in addition to using my spice mixture. Further, you can add other seasonings to my base mixture to give the dish you are preparing the flavor profile you desire, eg, tarragon for fish, oregano and thyme for Greek flavor, cinnamon, cumin and coriander for Middle Eastern dishes, etc.

SPICE MIXTURE*

3 Tbsp, each:
garlic powder
onion powder
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp cayenne powder

You can double, triple, etc. these amounts. The mixture is stable for a long time.

* To use as a rub for ribs:
 Add 2 Tbsp. brown sugar plus 1 tsp chili powder to 2 Tbsp of above mix. Again, you can        double, triple, etc the amounts to give you enough mix  for the quantity of ribs you are cooking. Rub mixture into meat and let "sit", for at least one hour before cooking.

FOOD HISTORY: Nutella

In 1920, Pietro Ferrero was a pastry Chef in the city of Turin in Piedmont, Italy who would watch workers eating cheese, tomatoes and bread for lunch. It would be nice for them, he thought, to be able to eat something sweet on their bread, as well. He knew that in  Piedmont, a chocolate treat made with cocoa and chopped Hazelnuts called Giaduja, was already available. Since Hazelnuts wermmer of 1949. According to one story, in that  hot summer, the loaves in stores melted and the shopkeepers began to sell it as a spread. Another story is that the product melted in a warehouse in Alba and so it had to be scooped into jars, rather that be sold as solid loaves. Whatever the truth of these stories, the idea of a spreadable product was very appealing to Michele.  Therefore,  he worked to alter the formulation to make a more spreadable product which he then called, "Supercrema". However, in 1962 Italy's consumer agency banned superlatives, such as,"Super", "Ultra", etc. from being used in product names. Thus, Michele had to find a new brand name for his spread.  He came up with a name by  merging the English word "nut" for the products  principle ingredient Hazelnuts with the  positive sounding Italian suffix, "ella" and, in 1964, the first jar of  the newly named Nutella appeared. Now, Italians consume at least 60 million jars of Nutella a year, spreading it on bread or just eating it out of the jar. In the 1970's Nutella emigrated from Italy and is  now enjoyed by children, both young and old, around the world.e very abundant in Piedmont, this was one way that was found to use them up. In 1925, Ferrero experimented with and perfected a "pastone" (paste) of chocolate and hazelnuts that he found good to eat with bread.The "pastone" was hardened into loaves,wrapped in foil and sold so it could be sliced, placed on a piece of bread and eaten. He named his new product "Pasta Gianduja"; pasta meaning paste and Gianduja, the name of a carnival character famous in the Piedmont area. While it was eaten by some workmen, its appeal was mostly to children who, in many cases, threw away their bread and only ate the Gianduja. In 1946, just after WW II ended, Pietro Ferrero died and was replaced by his son Michele. The transition of Pasta Gianduja from a solid loaf  to a spreadable product occurred during the su

FOOD TRIVIA: Candy

The word candy comes from the Sanskrit word "Khanda" meaning Lump sugar.