Eggplant Parmesan

My family likes to cook....a lot. Growing up, my grandmother lived in the kitchen. It seems like she was always stirring something on the stove. To this day I am still puzzled by what took so long and required so much attention. In the end, she served me and my brother the best soup the best eggs the best of whatever it was she was making.

It would be nearly impossible to come from my family and not be enchanted with cooking. It seems like every family member has some sort of specialty. Uncle Tom is famous for his homemade pizza, Aunt Susie makes the best chocolate chip cookies, Aunt Pat make homemade wine that will knock you off of your feet, my mom makes the best sliders (details on that another time).

While my brother is an excellent cook, it seems that Eggplant Parmesan is becoming one of his specialities. So when I picked up my farm fresh veggies from our CSA last week, I was excited to see a bag full of eggplant. Excited because I knew I could coerce my brother into making my family dinner!



**don't you love Jared's apron?**

Ellery is always an eager helper in the kitchen and this night was no different. She
helped her uncle every step of the way.

So, if you happen upon some eggplant and an eager kitchen assistant, try out this recipe. It won't disappoint. The original recipe is from long time family friends who are Italian and know how to do this right. Jared makes his sauce from scratch - but if you are short on time you can always use sauce from a jar.

Enjoy!

Marina
Jared's marinara sauce has no onion.

• Garlic & Olive Oil
• Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
• Some Oregano
• Fresh Basil
• Salt & Pepper
• Small can of paste
• 2 or 3 28oz cans of tomatoes

Saute (in a pot) about 3 cloves of garlic, minced, with olive oil (enough to cover bottom of pot). Saute until garlic is just golden brown. DO NOT BURN GARLIC. Add paste, stirring, then add other ingredients. After adding tomatoes (you can squeeze them as you add them in or let them break up on their own. It is up to you.) Bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Eggplant Parmesan

• Mozzarella
• Eggs
• Basil
• Eggplant
• Sauce
• Parmesan (or pecorino romano...something like that....a hard cheese)

Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. This next step is optional and depends on time available (Put cut eggplant in a colander and salt. Let it sit for at least 30-45 minutes. This gets rid of some of the water in the eggplant. Once it it done sitting, you need to rinse it really well so it is not too salty.)

To fry the eggplant, cook in vegetable or olive oil (veg often is easier as it smokes at a higher temp). Dip the eggplant in egg wash then into the oil. Cook until light brown as it will still cook in the oven. I used two eggplants when we cooked. Place eggplant on paper towel to absorb grease.

Assemble in casserole dish by putting tablespoon or so of sauce on bottom. Then layer of eggplant. Add layer of sauce, top with chopped basil, then add mozzarella and some parmesan or similar type Italian cheese. Add next layer until done.

Cook in the oven at 350-400 for about 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and the dish is bubbling.

Who's That Guyrl?

These are Ellery's Godfathers - Dirk on the left and Dehan on the right. They are two of Alan's closest friends and they have all grown up together and have known each other for ages (literally - ahem, but who is counting?) I love these guys and luckily so does Ellery. She was in my office on Monday (because she wants to "help me work.") when she spotted a picture of these two and started an entire dialogue about who they are. Of course, not all that she said was accurate but it was certainly indicative of her connection to them both.

This issue of who's that girl is a little different from previous versions in two main ways; (1) these are GUYS not girls (2) they didn't actually answer the questions. I sent the questions to Alan and he offered up his interpretation of how they would/or should answer.

Dirk and Dehan recently traveled to Pamplona, hence the attire. Here is some scoop on Dehan., who is also a Commodore!

Where are you from? Houston, TX by way of Albuquerque, NM

Where do you live now? Denver, CO

What are your parents' names? Carol and George

What do you do? I don’t know; you tell me. Supposedly I work for a family office making “private investments”, but you would be hard pressed to ever find me in the office or even in the state of Colorado. Catch me if you can…

What do you do for fun? I am a big dancer. I have a disco light that I break out on occasion, and when confronted, I will noodle at a Panic show. I also enjoy wearing biking shorts – sometimes for biking and sometimes for fun. More than anything, I like to commune with nature.

What is your favorite book? Atlas Shrugged or any other Ayn Rand book found in the St. Francis Episcopal School Library.

What is our favorite song right now? Arpeggi - Radiohead

When are you coming to visit me (Ellery)? I am a consistent visitor to the McKnight household, unlike my compatriot Mr. Eller. I would also like it if the girls came to Colorado, so I could teach little Elle to ski.

Who is your favorite goddaughter? Ellery is the ONE and ONLY!!!

Here we have Dirk. I have to admit, I have no idea who the other guy in the picture is. Dirk? Want to chime in here?

Introducing Mr. Dirk Eller...

Where are you from? I am originally from Houston, TX, but I now summer in Sweden and winter in San Antonio.

What is your middle name? Gustaf

That is an odd name....where did it come from? My mom was born and raised in Sweden where it is quite common. It is certainly less odd than my uncle’s name which is roughly translated to “Thunder Bear”.

What do you do? I take care of business. That includes at my job at Clear Channel Communications and in my personal life. I think the genesis of my TCB can be related to four key events:

• My flushing of another child’s lunch box down a toilet at the St. Francis Episcopal School, (Go Wolves!)


• My daily, childhood “meetings” with the principals, Mr. Bransteder and Mrs. Woolridge, of the St. Francis School,


• Breaking my arm on the opening kick-off of the opening game of my senior season in football where I was set to be an all-conference guard (yes you read that right), and


• My friendship with Russell Crowe.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I would live in Gotland, Sweden in the summer and Mexia in the winter.

Any advice on how to make tough decisions? Two words – decision tree.

Who is your favorite goddaughter - who lives in Atlanta? ELLERY. I pretend to have another favorite who lives in Dallas and shall remain nameless, but no one can hold a candle to Ellery.

One final question from Ellery...When are you coming to visit? I hope to visit Atlanta in the next couple of weeks.

The Godfathers

Things that make you go hmmm....
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, I think this picture needs some additional explaining. Tune in tomorrow for details -- this is worth the wait.

Archives from the beach

Last night we booked our flights back to Southampton. We are all anxious to head back to the beach to squeeze out some more summer before school starts back up in September.

If you wondered why I hadn't posted any pictures from our last trip, it was because I didn't bring my camera. Boo! Luckily, Danielle did and what a treat. She is a professional photographer and that is evident in the pictures she sent me last night.

The beach in Southampton is serene. It is unlike beaches in so many cities that are littered with huge hotels and other commercial buildings. The downside is that the water is COLD. Icy cold, especially early in the summer. I have to say, I rarely venture in and most definitely I only get in up to my waist.

Our trip in June was wet. It rained for much of our first week. And, while the weather was somewhat disappointing the girls didn't really seem to mind. They were excited to be in a new house exploring new things.

Every June in Southampton, there is a carnival. It is an old school carnival -- with hawkers shouting to come play their game. We took the kids last year and it was a hit. One evening, it had finally cleared up and so as a special treat we ventured down to the carnival. Ellery was tall enough to ride a "roller coaster." After decending the first hill, her fearful look turned into shear elation. She loved it!

Both kids rode the carousel -- multiple times.

We capped off the evening with a game and, lucky for us, we won a goldfish - quickly named Grape. Sadly, Grape lived a short life - just over a week.

When the weather isn't quite right for the beach, the kids also love going to the farm to visit the animals. There were piglets this year. Rather smelly but enchanting at the same time.

Most days wind down with some poolside dining. It is so nice to be able to eat outside in the summer while wearing a sweatshirt.

I can't wait to get back....

Let the man rest

In an effort to let Alan rest and recuperate from his back surgery, I loaded the girls in the car and headed to Athens to visit my friend Laura. Laura and I have been friends for over 17 years. We have ventured to similar places and had many similar experiences. We went to Vanderbilt together and got our MBAs at Texas together. We both got jobs with consulting companies and even traveled to similar places where we could meet up and hang out while working on the road.

Lucky for me, Laura landed in Athens about a year ago. She teaches at the business school at UGA. She has two boys who are roughly the sames ages as our girls. They are great friends.


Let's not kids ourselves, it is July in Georgia and it was HOT. We went to Memorial Park and saw some animals native to the area - bob cats, owls, hawks, alligators, bears. We picnicked and then headed home to cool off. The kids took to the sprinklers.



And eventually had some ice cream sandwiches. Can you tell Bo liked his?

We spotted this rather menacing spider. Have you ever seen anything like this? I wonder what kind of spider it is? Check out that zig zag web!

We ended the night with tubs, pizza and a movie. All were a hit. I knew the girls had a great time when on the way home Ellery asked if Mac and Bo could be her brothers. She even suggested that we (our entire family) just move in with them. Laura, is there room?

Who's that Girl???

Introducing JennA (that is pronounced "Jenn - AY" - like Jenn and the letter A, rather than Jenna. We are definitely not introducing a Jenna.) Shall we carry on?

Are you wondering if JennA is "imaginary" - after all she does look a bit cartoonish.

This is the real JennA - though that is a cartoon depiction of her -- pretty good, right? JennA is married to Ronnie, a watermelon man. He grows delicious watermelons (JennA's Favorite) in the valley (in Texas that is.)  That is their logo above.

This is Ronnie. See his watermelons? This photo makes the valley look enticing - sort of like there might be a nice cool breeze. Don't worry it's an optical illusion.

For more on his operation click here. It's worthy of a gander.  And so without further adue....

What is your full name? Jennifer Anderson Skloss - aka 'JennA'

Where were you born? Houston, TX

Where did you get married? Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria, Austin, TX

Favorite place to travel? Yucatan, Mexico

Where would you like to travel but haven't been yet? Bali, Indonesia

Favorite meal? This is a very tough question. Pizza has always been my favorite craving, but as for a meal I'd have to say (embarrassingly) Tex-Mex - anything with a good meat, beans, avocado, cheese and great salsa (Hula Hut salsa is my favorite).

What did you have for breakfast? steel cut oatmeal with honey and microwaved blueberries in it (makes sort of a blueberry sauce) and decaf coffee. Why didn't I ever think to microwave blueberries?

What are you going to be doing tonight? attending my 'happy hour' baby shower - at least the guests can drink! JennA and Ronnie will be welcoming TWO precious babies into this world this fall!

One word to describe yourself. sensible (well, at least most of the time)

Sensible....interesting choice.  I was thinking sweaty, but that is another story for another time. No really, I was thinking something more along the lines of vivacious.  But then I thought - what does vivacious even mean?  No matter, what I want to say is that JennA LIVES life, loves to travel and is always up for an adventure.  She is an excellent friend and I count myself lucky to know her.

When JennA is not preparing herself for motherhood - she is a graphic designer.  I sure could use some help on this blog (hint hint.)

Cinnamon...amon...amon...AMEN

I had a roommate in college, Jessica, who obsessed over cinnamon. She loved red hots (the hardish, cheweyish tiny red candies) and she loved hot tamales (sticky pellets that burned your tongue and stuck in your molars). I liked red hots and hot tamales too - after all these were the days when I had a bag of gummy bears for lunch and frozen yogurt for dinner. But Jessica, she loved cinnamon. In a not weird way, she sort of smelled like cinnamon.

Now as much as Jessica liked cinnamon, she obsessed over cinnamon ice cream. Obsessed. I don't remember where she had it, I only remember her talking about it non stop - on end. Her obsession was noted and then duly ignored. I never had the cinnamon ice cream she adored.

But, I also never forgot about the cinnamon ice cream. So, when Alan was gifted with an ice cream maker for Father's Day (thanks Gagi and Pop Pop), I immediately wanted to make cinnamon ice cream.

Believe me, you need to make this. If you don't have an ice cream maker - let me know, I will make some for you. We have made the ice cream twice in the last week - YIKES, this could become a problem.

This recipe is based on a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. We added mini chocolate chips - they add a nice crunch!

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

• 
  

  Add the sugar and half and half to a saucepan and melt together. When the mixture starts to simmer, add half into the beaten eggs. Whisk briskly so that the eggs don't scramble (I think this is called tempering). Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Add the the heavy cream and continue cooking, while stirring, over medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and add the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Allow to cool and add to the ice cream maker. Follow the directions for your ice cream maker.

  
  

  5-10 minutes before the ice cream is complete in the ice cream maker, add the mini chocolate chips.

  
  

  Enjoy!

Post Edit:

Don't forget to check in tomorrow for "Who's that girl." It will be a good one!