Great Mascarpone Dessert & Excellent Eggplant Side Dish

On Sunday night, I prepared an Italian-style meal for good friends. Two of the dishes were really tasty, two were nice, and one was forgettable. The five dishes were:
- Pecorino Fonduta - nice
- Stracciatella - forgettable
- Saltimbocca alla Romana - nice
- Parmigiana di Melanzane - delicious
- Strawberry, Mascarpone, and Marsala Budini


I think that the Pecorino dish might have been better if I'd toasted the crostini a little more. In the case of the Saltimbocca, I think I cooked the veal too long. I will probably try it again, but won't provide a recipe unless I get great results.


Pecorino Fonduta


This recipe is very easy. It's a Donatella Arpaia recipe obtained from http://www.yumsugar.com/node/13002470/print/noimg


INGREDIENTS

8 ounces young soft pecorino cheese (it should be less than 3 years of age), diced into cubes
3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Honey, for drizzling
Toasted bread, crostini, or crackers for serving


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, toss the cheese with the nuts, red pepper flakes, and thyme leaves. Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe serving dish.
3. Bake for 12-15 minute until the cheese is melted and bubbling and just starting to brown.
4. Remove from the oven and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of honey. Serve with the bread, crostini, or crackers immediately.

Serves 8.


Strawberry, Mascarpone,  and Marsala Budini

This recipe is great and easy to prepare. It's from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-Mascarpone-and-Marsala-Budini-107890

1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese*
6 tablespoons sweet Marsala (preferably imported)
3 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups sliced hulled strawberries (about 15 ounces)
2 1/4 cups coarsely crumbled amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons; about 4 1/2 ounces)*

Preparation


Combine mascarpone, 3 tablespoons Marsala, cream, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Stir gently until well blended. Combine strawberries, remaining 3 tablespoons Marsala, and 1 tablespoon sugar in another medium bowl; toss to blend. Cover mascarpone and berry mixtures; refrigerate 30 minutes.


Place 2 tablespoons crumbled cookies in each of 6 goblets. Divide strawberry mixture with juices among goblets. Top berries with mascarpone mixture, then remaining cookies. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.


*Mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) and amaretti cookies are available at Italian markets and many supermarkets.

Parmigiana di Melanzane


This delicious recipe is from page 131 of Beautiful Italy. While the taste was terrific, it did require a lot of olive oil to fry the eggplant. I probably used about 3 cups.


Although the word Parmigiana refers to something from Parma, this dish is actually from southern Italy - Campania and Sicily.


Ingredients


- 2 lbs eggplant
- salt
- oil for frying the eggplant
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for making the tomato and garlic sauce
- 2 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- freshly ground pepper
- 10 oz. mozzarella sliced (I bought 10 slices of mozzarella.)
- 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed


Directions

- Wash the eggplants and cut off their tops. (I also peeled them.) Slice the crosswise. Sprinkle with salt and arrange the slices on a plate. Top with a weight and prop the plate at an angle so that mose of the eggplant juices will drain out. Let drain for about 2 hours. (I used a different and easier approach to draining the juices. It was suggested by my wife. I took a cookie baking sheet and placed a cooling rack on top of it. Then I placed the eggplant slices on the cooling rack. I place another cookie sheet on top of the eggplan slices and weight on top of the second cookie sheet. That way, I did not have to put the plate at a slant, and the eggplant juices would drain into the lower cookie sheet.)
- Dry the eggplant and fry in 1/2 inch of smoking-hot oil until golden. Drain eggplant on paper towels.
- Meanwhile, heat the garlic in olive oil, add the peeled tomatoes, and some salt and pepper, and cook this sauce for about 30 minutes to reduce it.
- Spread a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Add a layer of the eggplant slices and a few slices of mozzarella. Scatter some basil on top. Continue layering ingredients until all are used, finishing with a sprinkle of basil leaves. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for over 20 minutes. Serve hot.


The recipe serves 6.