Eggplant Pizzas

These little guys are great for an alternative to carbs - they are quick and easy to make, and healthy too!

Eggplant Pizzas

Ingredients
1 large purple eggplant
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots
1/3-1/2 cup Pom Diced Tomatoes (no salt added)
1 tablespoon Fresh Oregano
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
2 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced (it is low in sodium, but check the brand to make sure it has no more than 50mg of sodium listed)
Gruyere Cheese for shredding (this can be low in sodium cheese - check the packaging before you buy)

First preheat your oven to 350F. Then slice your eggplant so that you get large even rounds about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. On a cookie sheet, drizzle enough olive oil so that all of the eggplant rounds will have some oil under them. Place all rounds on your cookie sheet in a single layer and put in the oven for 10 minutes.

While your eggplants cook, julienne slice your shallots and saute in a small saucepan using a little bit of olive oil. After the shallots sizzle for a few minutes, add the Pom Diced Tomatoes and let simmer uncovered on a lower stove setting. Take your oregano leaves and rip them, and throw them into the pot. This should simmer about 6 minutes or so. If you are drinking red wine or happen to have an open bottle around, a few tablespoons in the sauce will add nice flavor. Remove your eggplants after 10 minutes, and spoon the tomato sauce onto each round.

Spoon Your Sauce On

Add a dollop of Ricotta Cheese to the center of each round, and arrange a few pieces of your diced mozz cheese. Grate a very small amount of Gruyere on the top, add some fresh black pepper if you wish, and toss 'em back in the oven for another 10 minutes. When you pull them out the cheese should be melted and the eggplant tender. Enjoy!

Buen Provecho!

Smoked Steaks with Porcini Slather

I cook everything I eat without salt - amending recipes, substituting ingredients and making foods from scratch are my specialty! My fiance brought home some lovely New York Strip Steaks from the Market and so I decided to make Smoked Steaks with Porcini Mushroom Slather for an early gourmet dinner :)

For this recipe you will need a charcoal grill, wood chips for smoke flavor, as well as a spice grinder (I use my coffee grinder).


Ingredients

For Steak:
2 New York Strip Steaks
Worcestershire Sauce
Balsamic Vinager
Chinese 5 Spice
Spices, Inc Salt Free Steak Rub

For Slather:
1-2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms (or a mushroom mixture)
6 garlic cloves
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 sprinkle of sugar

Steaks
First, soak a handful of wood chips in a bowl of water - chips need to soak for at least a half hour so that they do not burn up in the grill. Get your coals started in your coal starter. We use natural lump charcoal, which burns clean and does not leave any weird starter fluid residue on our foods :)

Next, you will want to take your steaks out of the fridge so that they can come to room temperature. We will be adding a little bit of a marinade to the steaks, as well. First, sprinkle a small amount of Worcestershire and Balsamic on the steaks - be sure to turn them over a few times so that the liquids evenly coat both sides of the meat. Then apply the tiniest amount of Chinese 5 spice powder - just a few specks on each side. It is important not to put too much Chinese 5 spice on the steaks or the flavor will outshine your porcini slather, which would be silly. Next take your Salt Free Steak Rub and rub a generous portion into each side of the steak. Applying pressure helps the rub penetrate into the meats and stay on during cooking. Now you can let your steaks hang out while you get your charcoals poured into your grill. Once your charcoals are nice and hot, go ahead and brown each side of your steaks for 1-1/2 minutes. The grill should be very hot for this step. Once your steaks are browned on all sides, let them rest, uncovered, and prepare your slather while your grill cools slightly. Temperature for smoking should be around 400F.

Browned Steaks

For the Slather
Grind the dried mushrooms in your spice or coffee grinder and add to a small bowl. Peel and mince garlic into same bowl. Add 1 sprinkle of sugar (more if desired), and enough olive oil to make a mushroomy sludge (see picture).

Porcini Mushroom Sauce

Now that your Grill is ready to smoke, spread your soaked wood chips evenly across the coals and place your steaks on the rack, closing the lid quickly to keep the smoke inside. You will want to keep your grill's vents open enough to keep the fire going, but only slightly cracked to retain the smoke inside the grill. Cook the steaks on 1 side first before adding the slather, for about 5 minutes. Then flip the steaks and add the slather to the top of each steak, and quickly close the lid to retain smoke. Cook for about 5 minutes longer for medium-rare.

Grilling Steaks

These little guys are gourmet with no need for salt!

Finished Steaks

For Reference, here is the salt free steak seasoning, which can be purchased at
http://www.spicesinc.com/p-460-salt-free-steak-rub.aspx

Buen Provecho!