Baked Eggplant Rollatini

This was another find of SO's.  Turns out it isn't really so much a middle-of-the-week recipe, as it too me quite a while to cook and assemble.  I started shortly after 6pm and we ate at 7:30pm. Mind you I was stopping to help SSO with homework throughout, and being the first time I tried this, it wasn't the fastest process.  I'm sure I could cut down the time significantly next time.

Anyway, this is a traditional Italian dish even if the word Rollatini is not. A quick search reveals that the Italians call it Involtini di Melanzane. There are recipes everywhere for this, strange I've never come across this before. Maybe not so strange, I'm not the biggest eggplan fan, except for one huge exception: in Thai restaurants there is a dish with Asian eggplant that is to die for. OK maybe two exceptions - good Chinese restaurants will have a dish with eggplant and black bean sauce. Yum.

I think a few key things helped make this successful - the thinness of the eggplant slices, and the prociutto. I've seen some recipes calling for 1/2" slices - too thick in my opinion. I've seen all sorts of strange ways to combine cheese and egg, too complicated. Also suggested was pre-sprinkling with salt to rid excess moisture and bitterness.  Well maybe I would do this, but there are so many strong flavours going on here that I never noticed any bitterness.  I actually messed up the beginning part - you are supposed to dip, crumb, and fry the eggplant in that order. I was so tired and in a rush that I forgot to dip and crumb even though I had prepared it and the bowls were sitting in front of me. So after frying (and after it had cooled a bit) I dipped and crumbed, and re-fried for a minute. Turned out awesome.

Eggplant Rollatini - before baking

Next time I will use home-made spaghetti sauce, rather than stuff from a jar. Other than that, there wasn't much I didn't like about it. SO was very happy with it - it is just the sort of dish she really likes. Was sort of satisfying rolling the little bundles up too. It took time, but was just, well, easy. We ended up serving with Cappelini (meaning: thin hair), which (I had to look this up too) is one step up from angel hair pasta. I will also say that it is one of those dishes that isn't a 10/10 to look at, but certainly scores big in the taste department.

Eggplant Rollatini - after baking

Next Time: will use fresh/home-made spag sauce

Me: 8/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: n/a

Comfort Food, part 1 - Fried Pork Chops with Mushrooms

This has to be one of our all-time most popular go-to quick dinner picks. It has a lot going for it after all: juicy thick pork chops (from our local butcher), fried mushrooms are awesome, and left-overs for lunch the next day. It is never something I make, this is strictly one of SO's specialties; it was no different this time, except for slight differences in the ingredients and method.

Fried Pork Chop with Mushrooms

This time, instead of a good old can of Campbell's Mushroom soup, it was a couple big Portobello mushrooms chopped up. The other key to this is to use a "proper" browning pan, not a non-stick pan. It coaxes all the yummy browned meat flavour out like no other method. A scoup of rice is the base with which to gather the sauce, and of course mushy peas on the side.

Next Time: can't think of how to improve this

Me: 9/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10

Fish Tacos with Spicy Bean salad

Tacos seem all the rage these days, especially in small-plates restaurants. This is a regular-sized version of a fish taco - it is meaty, spicy, and just darn delicious. The bean salad is a nice accompaniment.  Along with a nice fresh Pico de Gallo for an appetizer, it makes for a nice end of summer meal.

Fish Taco with Spicy Bean salad

The salad ended up being too spicy, so I cut back the cayenne in the recipe. The sauce on the taco also carries its own heat, so tone it down if you're not a fan.

Next Time: SO didn't like the corn tortillas, so maybe try to find small wheat ones. I'm not a huge fan of chick peas unless it is in hummous, so I would put a few less.

Me: 9/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: n/a