Mid Week Mediterranean

I have a new found love for baba ghanoush! The first time I tried this dip was at the Kona Bistro in Oxford about a year ago. We have gone several times for happy hour and we always order the mediterranean munchies which is: hummus, baba ghanouj, feta, olives, tomato & fresh (warm) pita wedges. I fell hard for this dip. So, in an attempt to recreate the dish myself I scoured the internet and cook books looking for a suitable recipe. Eggplants were on sale last week at Kroger. I figured it was a sign and I finally made the dip using the Cook’s Illustrated recipe. I halved the recipe because I only had one eggplant. The recipe also called for parsley leaves but I only had cilantro so I subbed that in instead.

Modified Cook’s Illustrated Baba Ghanoush, Oven Method

Ingredients:

1lb eggplant poke uniformly over surface with for to prevent bursting

½ tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving

1 tsp fresh cilantro for serving

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1.    Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil, set eggplant on baking sheet and roast, turning every 15 minutes, until eggplants are uniformly soft when pressed with tongs, about 60 minutes for large globe eggplants, 50 minutes for Italian eggplants, and 40 minutes for Japanese eggplants. Cool eggplant on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
 

2.    Set a small colander over bowl or in sink. Trim top and bottom off each eggplant. Slit eggplants lengthwise and use spoon to scoop hot pulp from skins and place pulp in colander (you should have about 1 cup of packed pulp); discard skins. Let pulp drain 3 minutes. 

3.    Transfer pulp to workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Add lemon juice, oil, garlic, tahini, 1/8 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper; process until mixture has coarse choppy texture, about 8 1-second pulses. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; transfer to serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap flush with surface of dip and refrigerate 45 to 60 minutes. To serve, use spoon to make trough in center of dip and spoon olive oil into it; sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

I thought this dip turned out great!! It’s necessary to let the flavors meld together in the refrigerator before serving. I would have liked the serve my baba ghanoush with fresh pita, but time did not allow so, I used store bought naan. D liked it but he prefers hummus. I have tried the Cook’s Illustrated hummus recipe and it didn’t turn out how I’d hoped. Next time I’m going to make them at the same time for comparison. Enjoy! 

Anniversary Appetizer

  On Saturday D and I celebrated our one-year anniversary at Jean Robert’s Table in Cincinnati. One of our friends is a server there and has been recommending that we dine there for years! She was certainly right about the quality of the food and the pleasant atmosphere. 
 

   We started the night off with a bottle of Andre Tissot “Jr Table,” Cremant Du Jura, N/V, a sparkling wine which was delightfully delicious. The appetizer selection was remarkable; we had difficulty choosing just one. We finally decided to split the sweetbread. As we were waiting for our sweetbread to arrive we were given an adorable little basket of French bread, which was so yummy (I love bread!!). Our friend surprised us with additional appetizer ("anniversary appetizer") that was on special that evening, a tomato salad with whipped goat cheese topping. It was simple yet delicious. The whipped goat cheese really complimented the fresh tomatoes.

  Shortly after we finished the tomato salad we received our sweetbread appetizer. The sweetbread is a cow thyroid gland seared in duck fat with mushroom, leak and blue cheese quiche, served with grape compote. This was probably to most unique dish I have tried! The flavors blended together so well and I loved the egg flavor of the quiche.
  Once we finished our second appetizer our entrees arrived. D had the three little cochon (three little pigs) which was a mountain of pork belly, ribs and tenderloin. The meat was so tender and juicy. The pork was served with a medley of beans, country potatoes and blue cheese.

  For my entrée I chose the Sole. Sole is a mild white fish it was served with a white truffle sauce, carrots, asparagus and thinly sliced potatoes. My dish was excellent! D and I usually choose a "dinner winner" (who had the better dish) but everything was so delectable we couldn't choose just one!

 We finished the night with 2 desserts: the honey lime crème brulee and the milk chocolate macadamia nut tart. The crème brulee was phenomenal; it tasted like a rich key lime pie! The macadamia nut tart was also scrumptious it had a sweet chocolaty flavor with macadamia nuts scattered throughout, topped with a macadamia cream.

   Our dinning experience at Jean Robert's Table was by far the best we have ever had! The food was superb from the appetizers to the dessert! The service was excellent; every one we encounter was friendly and personable. Our server spaced out each dish perfectly, the evening flowed so well. This was by far the most D and I have ever spent on a dinner but since it was our anniversary we felt the need to splurge a little. We would recommend this restaurant to friends and would return for another special occasion. I could not think of a better place to celebrate our one-year anniversary!!