Valentine's Day

Since Valentine's day fell on a Meatless Monday, I decided to stick with the plan and go meatless. We had an Eggplant Gratin with Lemon Escarole Salad. It was from my Cuisine for Two cookbook and usually we love everything from this book. This was okay - we both finished it, but it will definitely not be one that we will make again.

The dinner started by slicing an eggplant into 1/2" thick rounds and brushing the slices with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. The seasoned slices went under the broiler along with some sliced shallots that were also oiled and seasoned. The cooked eggplant was layered along with a mixture of ricotta cheese, skim milk, Parmesan cheese and tomato paste that was pureed in the food processor. The layered casserole was topped with more Parmesan and popped in a 400 degree over for about 25 minutes until the cheese was browned.

The side dish to this was chopped escarole, sprinkled with salt, drizzled with fresh lemon juice and olive oil and garnished with shavings of Parmesan.

The texture of the gratin was a little strange and the salad was a little too tart.

Hopefully, next year's valentine menu will work out better!