Eggplant Experiments

It's getting really hot here. And really humid.  And I hate it.  The only plus side is using the grill. Then again, I can do that when it's not 90 degrees at 80 percent humidity.  Regardless of all that, lets get to the cooking.  My grill go to is burgers and some grilled veggies or potato packet.  So I decided to change it up a bit.  A while ago I tore out a recipe from Martha Stewart Living for Charred-Eggplant and Beef Burgers and bought some Italian eggplants this weekend that needed to be used.  Of course I totally botched it.  I mean I completely ignored it on accident.  

The go to: yummy burger with grill zucchini and potatoes.

Let me explain, my massive screw up.  I skimmed the recipe way back when and I knew I had to dice up the eggplant.  What I didn't know was that I was suppose to grill it for 30 minutes, let it set, peal it, and then dice it up and mix it with the hamburger meat.  I just started dicing up the eggplant raw.  Opps. The lesson here is always read your recipes through completely first!

Normally I am very good about this rule.  However, had I read this I would not made it because it takes 3 hours and I do not have 3 hours on Wednesday night to make dinner and in the end my mess up really wasn't bad at all.  I actually really enjoyed it and would recommend it.  I sort of mixed up the sauce that is in the original recipe and I  may have to mix it up for other burgers, it was pretty good.  I only used half of the eggplant and I sliced the other half, coated them in olive oil and grilled them with a bit of salt and pepper.  Also very good, but I have decided that while I like eggplant the flavor, I am not a a fan of its texture.  In the burger it was fine, grilled, I couldn't eat too many pieces, but I would still recommend trying it out.

Eggplant Burger  (one serving)
Please note that I kind of threw this together, so the measurements are approximate. 

• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup diced eggplant
• 1 slice of Munster cheese
• 1 tsp ketchup
• 1 tbps chopped dill pickle
• 1 tsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
• 1 burger bun

1. Heat grill to high. Mix the ground beef and eggplant together and make into a patty and grill for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through. If you want to grill some eggplant, I put them on the grill about half way through cooking, when I flipped the burger.
2. Mix the ketchup, yogurt, dill pickle, and mustard together.    
3. Place the cheese on the burger and the bun, cut side down on the grill.  Cook for one minute.  Spread the sauce on your bun, place your burger on the bun and 

Eggplant burger and grilled eggplant slices

Enjoy!

Experimenting with Eggplant

Since moving out of my parents house, my real meal (all food groups accounted for) intake has decreased.  Mostly because I was a stressed out architecture student with no time or money and a bowl of pasta with a bit of salt is fast and cheap.  I was a bit better about making (having) complete meals and mixing it up when I had someone making them for me.  I was being kinda lazy about it again once I moved to New York, especially with all the take out so close by.  I moved a bit farther south and my favorite take out spots are no longer call-when-you-get-off-the-subway-and-pick-up-on-the-way-to-the-apartment, therefore forcing some needed diversity in my cooking again.  That said, I still like my quick, one pan meals.

from http://notahippie.wordpress.com/

This one skillet meal was appealing because it was fast, easy, and it had eggplant. This was my first cooking experience with eggplant.  Since moving to New York I have had eggplant in pastas and on pizzas and enjoyed it.  I started collecting recipes with it, but have been too scared to try cooking with one.  Not sure why, but I was, it's an intimidating vegetable.  I found this recipe for Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers  and finally decided to give it a try.

I am normally a follow-the-recipe type of girl, but I could only find 10 or 14 oz bags of tortellini and had used a bit of my peppers earlier in the week, and my bullion cubes make 2 cups each. So I added a bit of vidalia onion, extra cup of vegetable broth, and 24 oz of tortellini.  Since I like my spices I also added a tiny bit of my brother dried chili mix. It turned out really well. I was afraid I would have a issue with the vegetable cause they would be soft, but it's still really great. The only problem was that the broth didn't soak in as well as I think I should have, which was a bit of a surprise since I added more pasta that broth proportionally.  I thought the broth would be soaked up quicker.

From Real Simple (my picture didn't look as yummy)

The decision to make it again will all hinge on how it does as a leftover for lunch tomorrow. I am afraid the texture of the veggies is gonna gross me out, but I am going to try not to think about it.