Recipe of the Week; Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

If you haven't run with us yet, you should!  We are pretty F'n awesome!  Today we had great weather and a great run.  In addition to Sheila, Eric and myself we finally got Oliver, Chris and Joe together to run yes even Joe.  This is very rare to have this group together at one time, the only missing link was Jen.  I hope your dinner was good tonight Jen because ours was awesome.  Tonight's run was 5.55 miles and we finished in 47:55 which works out to a 8:38 min/mile pace.  We were holding a steady 9:15 pace for the first part of our run but towards the end we all started to pick it up.  At the last mile Chris and I picked up the pace to about a 8:15 pace, that is slow for Chris but a decent speed for me.  Chris is running the Sehgahunda Marathon in Letchworth State Park this weekend so this was a good taper run for him.  Good Luck buddy!  Not only do we run but we definitely know how to eat too!

Recipe of the Week;  Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

This recipe was inspired by my Mother!  If anyone has inspired me to cook it was definitely her.  My mother cooked most of my childhood and she had to cook a lot.  I grew up the second last child of five, I have three brothers, one sister and we were a very hungry group.  Today I cooked like my Mother had to and it made me appreciate her just a little more than I already do.  Thank you Mom!

Appetizer for fun, Baguette with Fresh Mozzarella and Pesto;

First you must prepare the Sauce, then you must prepare the Eggplant.
Breading;
1.5 cups of breadcrumbs
2 Tblsp. of Pecorino Romano
1 Tsp. Kosher/Sea Salt
1 Tsp. Coarse Black Pepper
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
Egg mix;
4 Eggs
1 Tblsp. Lemon Juice

Slice eggplant about 1/4 inch thick and wash with egg mix, immediately move eggplant over to the bread crumbs and coat until you can no longer see the eggplant.  Place in to a medium heat pan with oil of choice and cook until golden brown.  Place on a plate with paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Ricotta Mix;
1 lbs. of Ricotta
1 egg
Crushed Red Pepper, Basil, Salt & Pepper to taste

Place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish and place a single layer of eggplant on top.  Spread thin layer of ricotta mix over top of the eggplant add sauce and then a thin layer of mozzarella.  Repeat until the casserole dish is filled.  Finish with mozzarella and bake at 425 for 30 - 45 minutes. 

Then for dessert we had Irish Coffee, I know an Italian meal along with an Irish coffee?  It was tasty! 

Let me know what you think!

Buon Appetito!