Wednesday, October 17, 2012

I'm Just Mad about Saffron

"I'm just mad about saffron?"

You must really be wondering if I'm a total fruitcake.  But really those are words to that Donovan song "They Call me Mello Yellow."  I heard that song the other day and decided it's been awhile since I did a food post and it would go quite nicely as a lyric title for this dish I recently made.

BTW, for you ladies out there it is rumored (based on wiki as always) that this song, "Mello Yellow," may be about vibrators ("electrical banana").

Oh, and to follow up on my post from Monday about Shannon and style.  Last night I was driving home with my daughter and she wanted to play a song for me on her IPod.  Apperently she is now into Girls Generation, a nine-member all girl South Korean pop group.  Apparently Korean pop is the big thing now ever sense Katie Perry tweeted about Gangnam Style about 2 months ago.  At least that is what Shannon says citing an article she read in the New Yorker.  Anyway, my girls have had the neighborhood in Gangnam Style for over a month now.  But what do I know, I'm quoting lyrics from a burnt out 60's Folk singer!  Too bad Shannon's Oppa has no Gangnam Style!    :)

Anyway, this dish below would be a great side item or even a center of the plate entree if you are one of those vegetarian types.  For me, I'd prefer this along side of some nice Flank Steak that I marinated in Italian dressing and Peperoncini over-night and then threw on the grill.

Let's call it Ryan's Eggplant Casserole Surprise with Saffron Rice!

As always my intent is to do it with ease!

Ingredients:

*     2 Eggplants
*     1.5 Cups of Heavy Cream
*     1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
*     1 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
*     1 Cup of Shredded Asiago Cheese
*     1 Cup of Diced Roma Tomatoes
*     2 Tbs Minced Garlic
*     2 Tbs Chopped Fresh Basil
*     Salt and Pepper

The Casserole:

*     Peel and slice the Eggplant into thin pieces (less than 1/4" thick)
*     Layer in shingles half of the eggplant into a baking pan
*     Pour half of heavy cream over the eggplant
*     Sprinkle half of each cheese (Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Asiago) over eggplant
*     Sprinkle 1 Tbs of minced garlic over eggplant
*     Sprinkle half of diced tomatoes over eggplant
*     Sprinkle half of fresh basil over eggplant
*     Salt and pepper to taste
*     Place the remaining eggplant in a layer over the first
*     Repeat process of pouring heavy cream and sprinkling cheese, tomatoes and spices over eggplant
*     Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until cheese and cream thickens, browns, and bubbles

The Rice:

*     Bring about 2.25 cups of water to boil and slowly wisk in 1 cup of Basmati Rice.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Add about 1 Tbs of Citrus infused salt and a tsp of black pepper.  As the rice is almost finished add 1 Tbs of butter and a pinch of Saffron.  Remember to be judicious with the saffron as you may have to take out a second mortgage on your house for a second pinch of Saffron (it can be real 'spensive).


"oh so yellow, oh so mellow"


Hey, that little shuffle Psy does in the Gangnam style video kind of looks like the steps I do when I grab a hot casserole dish by mistake!   :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a first... a recipe this genre of blogging! I love cooking, not that I am a cook. I will have to try it sometime!

Gertie said...

This looks yummy and sounds amazing with flank steak!