Dans Gourmet Restoration

Made this tonight after trying for about three weeks.  Events kept coming up, didn't have the time,,,, yada yada yada.  This is my favorite dish at a local restaurant, and I wanted to try and reproduce it.  It is very simple in theory, but a little more complicated in practice.  I don't often fry things, so I am not so good at oil temps and breading per se.  That said, this is pretty much a fool proof recipe.  I used a mandolin to slice the egg plant, though I suppose it is possible to do with a good knife and a steady hand ( I have plenty of the first, and none of the second....lol)  So, here it goes:  (Please keep in mind ALL measurements are approximate - season to taste) Pre heat oven to 375 Combine 2/3 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs with: 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp each salt pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne 1/4 cup parm cheese beat 2 eggs, put on a flat plate put about 1/3 cup flour on a flat plate. One eggplant Slice eggplant on mandolin to about ...

Thai Beef and Basil - a recipe given to me by Victoria, that I .... tweaked.... a little.  Really yummy.  Plus, I got to use my new fancy cutter - essentially a cutter that spiral slices, or cuts long noodle cuts - paid $40 for it - and it's gonna be worth it!  Here is the recipe: 1 lb ground beef 3/4 cup loose chopped basil 1/2 cup beef broth 1 cup frozen tri color peppers 2 tbs lime, 2 tbs soy, 2 tbs fish sauce Carrot Basil Slaw: 4 carrots, spiral sliced - or julienned 1/4 cup basil, chiffonaded - ( rolled like a cigar and sliced thin) zest from 2 limes Dressing 3 tbs lime juice ( from 2 fresh limes) 2 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar Instructions: Press beef down into a thin pancake, and cook till crispy on one side, then flip.  Cook till crispy on second side, drain fat.  Chop up into pieces, add basil, broth and lime juice, soy, and fish sauce.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add peppers, and simmer till warm - and sauce is reduced. Mi...

Made this tonight - a nice cold late fall day - fire going, perfect comfort food  night.  Had some chicken thighs in the freezer - and looked for recipes.  Came across this one on allrecipes.com.  Followed it pretty much to the letter - although I cooked the thighs in a 1.5 qt Le Creuset braiser - covered, for about 20 minutes.  Served it over risotto - REALLY tasty.  My first Indian food experiment, and I was very pleased with it! Original recipe makes 4 servings  1 tablespoon peanut oil  1 shallot, finely chopped  1/4 white onion, chopped  2 tablespoons butter  2 teaspoons lemon juice  1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste  1 teaspoon garam masala  1 teaspoon chili powder  1 teaspoon ground cumin  1 bay leaf  1/4 cup plain yogurt  1 cup half-and-half  1 cup tomato puree  1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste  1 pinch salt  1 pinch black pepper  1 tablespoon peanut oil ...

Ok, I have been TERRIBLE about posting new recipes for the last year - new job, bunch of life going on - what can I say.  But we are getting into cooking season - and this year I am going to be focusing on more healthy recipes. Simply awesome! So, today was the first really chilly day of the year - cold, rainy - just kind of nasty.  Can you spell SOUP????  Threw together an amazingly simple cauliflower soup - it was awesome, and GARLICKY - you might want to cut back on the roasted garlic if you want to talk to anyone for about three days.  If you love garlic - then go with it! This recipe is so simple - I used frozen chicken broth that I make from scratch every year - but store bought is fine.   There it is: Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower, broken up into chunks 5 cups chicken broth 1 whole head of garlic 2 tsp fresh thyme - separated olive oil salt, pepper Instructions: Roasted Veggies Place cauliflower on cookie sheet, and coat with extra virgin olive oil. ...

This was a totally easy, and REALLY tasty vegetarian midweek entree.  Total prep time was about 20 minutes, plus another 15 to cook.  Very simple to make, but amazingly good.  Here it is: Ingredients: 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes 3 tsp chili powder 1 lg onion, chopped 3 tbs light olive oil salt and pepper to taste 1 15.5 oz can black beans rinsed 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and shredded 3 cloves garlic diced fine 2 tsp dried oregano 3 tsp dried celantro 2 tsp hot sauce 1/2 lb shredded cheddar 6 flour tortillas 3 scallions, sliced thin, whites/ greens separated 2 cups frozen corn Instructions: 1 - pre heat oven to 450.  In food processor, puree the tomatoes, dash of hot sauce, 2 tsp chili powder, half the onion 1 tbs oil, salt and pepper to taste until smooth. 2  Heat 1 tbs oil in large skillet, add remaining onion, half the garlic, and saute till soft - 2 to 3 minutes.  Add sweet potatoes, and saute for 5 minutes till potatoes start to reduce.  ...

Potato Leek Soup, with Pan Roasted Garlic, Wine, and Bacon So Lynne and I went to a totally cool winter Farmers Market, at the old Velvet Mill in Stonington, Connecticut. ( I HIGHLY recommend this if you live here – everything from fresh local meat, eggs, produce, sauces, jellies, jams, artwork….. a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.)  We picked up some fresh, organic sweet leeks, and a loaf of fresh sour dough bread…. And I thought…. Well – what else besides potato leek soup?  We also picked up a bottle of green curry pineapple satay hot sauce from Dragon’s Blood Elixir hot sauce – dragonsbloodelixir.com.  This guy had awesome hot sauces – I really liked the sweet potato hot sauce!  I had Lynne try some – forgetting that her tolerance for heat is infinitely lower than mine…… oops)  We had the grand daughter with us – no I didn’t have her try any!  It was a nice morning for sure!  Anyway… the soup. Most tater soup recipes are pretty similar – pota...

Just made this again tonight - was really good!  I made a few changes to the following recipe: I used baby bok choy instead of spinach.  I chopped the leaves, and added to the broth, and I pre roasted the stems, after quartering them.  I also added a can of coconut milk to it.....  I used fresh made chicken broth, made from the bones, wings and thighs of a roasted chicken we made the night before last.  Great recipe - kind of a kitchen sink thing - you can add whatever you want to it and it still tastes good! Thai Lime Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 1 sm pkg Shitaki mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 2 tsp fresh ground ginger root ( to taste - a little goes a long way) 3 tbs fish sauce ( to taste - again, a little goes a long way) 1/4 tsp yellow curry powder 1 tsp Thai seasoning (totally optional - I keep this around normally) zest and juice from 2 limes 2 tbs fresh rough chopped cilantro 3 tbs fresh rough chopped basil 3 cloves ga...