where's the dish?

 I can't wait until this holiday shopping season is over! I find I'm unable to focus during the day because I'm doing chores around the house, trying to squeeze in a gym visit and then make sure supper is ready for husband and I. Therefore, for the past week or so, I haven't  been able to "daily dish."

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Today, I'm going to do a round-up of what I've been eating or cooking. This holiday season, my husband likes to dine out on a Sunday night, a change from looking at the four walls in his office. We opted for Seagrass in Ocean Grove. I was craving a piece of beef and on Sunday nights they offer a queen cut of prime rib, soup or salad (I had their New England Clam Chowdah), mash potato, vegetable and dessert for $20! Oh my gosh, it was heavenly. I requested my prime rib the way the chef would recommend serving it and it arrived medium rare, perfect. The portion size was nice and filling. I forgot about the dessert that was part of the special, next time. ​Seagrass has specials on Wednesday and Thursday evenings too.

I had to work the closing shift one night last week, so I planned ahead and purchased an eggplant. Eggplant Parmesan is a good do ahead dish. I peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4" slices. I line a colander with the slices and lightly salt them so as to draw out the moisture. I do this to have crispier eggplant. I let it sit for approximately 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I take a paper towel and pat the slices dry. I preheated my oven to 375° degrees using the convection setting . First I take the eggplant and dredged it in seasoned flour, next dip in egg wash and, lastly, I dredge in breadcrumbs (I use unseasoned). I use old baking sheets and spray them with vegetable oil. I place the slices on the baking sheets and spray the tops of the eggplant. I bake it at a high temperature for approximatley 15-20 minutes and turn midway through. Remove from the oven once the slices are a nice golden brown. Cool the eggplant. 

Using a shallow baking dish, lightly spray the bottom of the dish. Add a small amount of marinara sauce on the bottom of the dish. I used Victoria Marinara Sauce. It was a good product and I thought my fresh tomato sauce would be too thin to hold up to the eggplant. Season the eggplant layer with salt, pepper and oregano (grated cheese optional) and top with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella. Continue this until all the eggplant is used. Make sure you use a sufficient amount of marinara so the eggplant doesn't dry out during baking. Bake at 350° for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the eggplant Parmesan is bubbling. 

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