I love a good homemade broth or a consommé.  But what’s the difference?  According to wikianswers, consomme is crystal clear while broth will almost always have some suspended materials in it.

Broth is made by simmering vegetables or meat and bones for some time, until the flavor of the simmered food has infused the water. The stock or broth is then usually poured through a strainer to remove most of the particles, bones, skin, and the meat. It’s used this way, with no further processing.

Consomme is cleared by adding a step: after sieving as above, egg whites are added to the hot broth or stock. As the egg whites cook, they precipitate into the stock, and begin to bind with some of the particles in the broth. They then rise to the top, appearing as scum or foam. Once the foam cap has formed, pouring off the broth from below, while leaving the cap undisturbed will produce consomme – a broth as clear of suspended particles as water.

I’ve been buying cans of beef consommé at Publix and it looks like I’m the only one.  I can see where the stockpeople haven’t filled in the spaces where I grabbed two cans the day before! Funny, I guess, at least funny from my perspective.  Do people even buy beef consommé anymore? Campbell’s must have had a great market with this product back in the day.  I love the savory taste in combination with the tomatoes and herbs. This is the kind of food I like.

That’s why I love revisiting and making Julia Child’s recipes.  People for the most part don’t cook like this anymore.  Ingredients we as *foodies* would perhaps find lame or questionable to use today are ingredients she used liberally.  They were new back then – perhaps that was a part of the appeal.

Anyway….I’ll stop boring you about broth and consommé.

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And – ha!  I stopped in our Chop Shop the other day and look what I found – in a can!

 
Thank you for stopping by!!

Drizzling the eggplant and mozzarella halves with extra virgin olive oil is a wonderful flavor enhancer.  I discovered a new olive oil source this past weekend at my local farmer’s market - Olio Mazzone and I purchased a couple of their flavor infused oils including the basil one used in this recipe.

Eggplant & Mozzarella Melt

2 large eggs

1 – 1 1/2  cups panko breadcrumbs (coarse dried Japanese breadcrumbs)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

I medium eggplant (1 – 1 1/4  pounds), sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds

1 loaf (12 ounces) French or Italian bread, ends sliced off, cut in half horizontally

2 cups good quality pizza or marinara sauce

16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into rounds (I buy the sliced and ready to serve by Bel Gioioso)

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling (I use a basil infused oil by Olio Mazzone)

4-6 fresh basil leaves, rolled like a cigar, and thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet and coat it lightly with cooking spray.
2. Beat the eggs in one shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Place the panko breadcrumbs in another shallow dish.  Dip the eggplant rounds into the egg, and then lightly press into the panko breadcrumbs.  Place on the prepared baking sheet.  You should end up with 10 – 12 eggplant rounds.  Bake for 17-18 minutes until nicely browned and tender.  Do not turn the oven off.
   
3. Prepare another sheet pan with foil.  Slice the bread halves in half lengthwise so that you have two tops and two bottoms.  Place crust down on the baking sheet and lightly press the soft bread down to form a well.  Spoon the pizza or marinara sauce along each bread half.  Reserve some sauce for the eggplant layer.
4. Layer the eggplant rounds on each bread half and spoon the reserved sauce over the eggplant.  Top with the mozzarella slices, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle the basil over all.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.
5. Bake at 450 degrees F for about 12 minutes.  Turn the oven to broil, and broil just until the cheese has started to brown.
6. Add another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the top, cut into portions, and serve.

*If you’re feeling particularly decadent, you may also add a bit of shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese.

Serves 6

© Kitchen Serendipity 2011

There will be a bio section up shortly which offers a look into my food journey over the years if you should be interested in why I’m here at this particular place with a new food blog.  It’s really okay if you don’t want to spend time reading it.  Honestly.     I am also a professional photographer and spend several months of the year capturing memories for families on the beach – but would like to improve my food photography skills.  Quite different from people, LOL.   This will be a great place in which to do that.

I don’t have a special theme or anything – no low-carb cooking, no “what to make with three ingredients,” and no particular ethnic cuisine.  Rather, I’m pretty dedicated to trying to use good, healthy ingredients in new and creative ways that ultimately keeps us away from fast food, processed food, and just plain ole’ “bad-for-you-food.”  There will be vegetarian choices, some vegan dishes, plenty of recipes to satisfy the meat and potatoes fans, and I’m going to get really creative with my slow-cooker.  I am not against decadent, glorious, slightly sinful food, either, so you will see that on a regular basis {yay!}.   I also hope to have a few contributors who will submit their recipes for desserts, kid’s lunches, and holiday fare.  If this is something you might be interested in, please use the Contact form on this blog.

Most importantly of all – I am SO not a chef and don’t even feel that I am a really good cook.  Yes, I have had some professional training, but I was never able to just “whip” up a meal.  I would be a failure on Top Chef or Next Food Network Star (my two favorite shows in the world!).   I love recipes.  I NEED recipes.  If I can create recipes that you and I can love and that our families can love, then I will be forever happy.  xo

I have to have a post with photos and I also wanted to get a post up to check my settings, so it’s a perfect excuse to share this past Monday’s ” Faculty Snack”.  Parent volunteers bring a snack for the middle school teachers to enjoy during their faculty staff meetings  – it is greatly appreciated by them and I know the parents love doing it as well.  It was my turn this past Monday…….

And the “evil” potato chips that many of the teachers were raving about were from……

Wal-Mart.  It’s a brand called “New World” and it was the Yukon Gold Mashed variety.  Yes, I’m with the teachers…..sinful, evil, etc. etc.  They are to die for!!  I almost never shop at Wal-Mart – there are too many times when I’ve come close to getting injured in their parking lot -  but I ended up there and came across things that I didn’t expect to, including the amazing little Cuban bread mini hogie rolls that I used to make the Caprese sandwiches.

Caprese Sandwich

Making Caprese sandwiches is super easy.  Buy fresh mozzarella cheese, a tub of pesto, crusty rolls (or baguette), a pound or so of Roma tomatoes (depending on the number of sandwiches),  and add some fresh basil that’s been rolled up like a cigar and sliced (chiffonade).   In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of fruity, extra-virgin olive oil with a hefty pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Build your sandwich:

Spread a layer of pesto of both sides of the roll or baguette.   Add fresh mozzarella slices (cut to fit).  Brush some of the oil  on the cheese.  Add three slices of tomato, and brush again with the seasoned oil.    Add a bit of the basil, and add the top of the roll or baguette.  Total yum.

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Are you on Pinterest?  It’s a site that’s like a virtual pinboard where the members collect their favorite things in any number of categories.  It’s like going through dozens of magazines and ripping out all the pages of the things you like!  I find many recipes on there (and hope some of mine will find there way on there, too, as soon as I get some up!  The following recipe was found there, and it comes from shugarysweets.com.

Another recipe on my snack menu also came from a hunt on Pinterest – the recipe is Jalapeno Cream Cheese Crescent Poppers and it comes from tastykitchen.com.

Last but not least – to go with the evil, evil, chips, was the classic Lipton Onion Soup mix with a container of sour cream.  Was oh so perfect with those amazing chips!

Enjoy and I hope you’ll be back!  If anyone is interested in an invite to Pinterest, please let me know.