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Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe

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+ This Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe brought to you by the folks at Pompeian +

Roasted-Eggplant-Dip

Last fall I went on a trip of a lifetime… I joined a handful of bloggers as we traveled to Israel for an amazing food tour called the Taste of Israel.  I shared a little of my experience in my post about zucchini hummus, you should check it out.

Today, I have another recipe that came from my Israel travels, Roasted Eggplant Dip.

If you are an eggplant fan, this dip is amazing! We learned all about it while spending the afternoon at the Dan Gourmet School of Kosher Culinary Arts. We had the pleasure to learn a few little tips and tricks from the director of the school Chef Amir Ilan.

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I wish I could spend an entire week shadowing Chef Ilan. This man is amazing and his passion for teaching the culinary arts comes through in his work. When we first arrived in his kitchen he placed several eggplants directing on the gas burner and we just sat and watched them char as he taught us about the school.

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Once the eggplants were fully charred, he removed them from the flame and then we, or shall I say, Kevin from Closet Cooking removed the charred skin. Then Chef Ilan cut the eggplant down the middle opening up the soft flesh, he salted it lightly, and added some prepared tahini, drizzled with a nice full bodied olive oil and that was it!

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There’s Kevin and Ally from Ally’s Kitchen in the background snapping photos.

That was it! Just a simple eggplant some seasoning and a flavorful olive oil! Our hosts told us that this is an appetizer that is on almost every Israeli table when they entertain or have family over. Mainly because of the ease of  the dish, but the flavors are divine as well.

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You serve it with bread or pita and it’s lovely!

I thought with the Holidays upon us and the season of entertaining, this would be a great addition to your family table as well.

All you need is an eggplant or two. I don’t have a gas stove at my house (so sad, I know) and it’s to cold to grill right now here in Lincoln, I thought I would just roast my eggplant in the oven.

First, I washed and pierced my eggplant a couple of times and then just placed them in a 425˚ oven on a baking sheet…

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After about 25-30 remove your eggplant and let cool for a few minutes.  They come out looking rather sad, but trust me, they taste amazing when you are finished!

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Now because the skin isn’t charred, you can skip the step of removing the skin. I just cut it into quarters, leaving the top intact.

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Fan it out like so. Next, lightly salt the flesh of the eggplant. I then lightly drizzled some tahini sauce onto the eggplant. Tahini is a sesame paste that is made out of pressed sesame seeds. It’s well known for it’s role in Hummus, but’s it’s fantastic in all kinds of applications.

I then drizzled the eggplant with a lovely full-bodied Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Pompeian.

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In the Middle East and Mediterranean countries, olive oil is way more than an oil to cook with. It’s more of a comment as well. When you are using it as a dip or dressing, you want to make sure you are using a GOOD olive oil that is rich and flavorful like the robust flavor of the Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I drizzle it right only my eggplant, add some pita chips and serve. Your guest scoop the dip right out of the eggplant, it couldn’t be simpler than that!

The flavors of the soft eggplant, the tahini & the olive oil are amazing! If you are an eggplant lover you should give this a try.

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pompeian. I received product and payment for my recipe development.

Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

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+ This Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes post brought to you by the folks at Pompeian +

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Several years ago, when my sweetheart and I were first married, I decided to try and learn how to cook a really great meal for him. I did a bunch of research and found a menu from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Tyler Florence. It was a bit ambitious for my early culinary skills, but I decided that I wanted to give it a go. It was a fun Fontina and Prosciutto Pork Chops with Grilled Polenta Squares and Roasted Grapes.

I followed the recipe to a “T” and I learned two things…

1. Those 30 minute cooking shows don’t equal 30 minutes in the kitchen for the real home cook. UGH!

2. With an amazing recipe, following each step precisely you can look like a total ROCK STAR in the kitchen!

It was one of my kitchen “ah ha” moments. I could cook, I just needed some direction. The meal was aaaamazing! We felt like we were eating at a restaurant. From that point forward, my approach to cooking was totally transformed. I took the time to learn, not just execute.  I tasted things along the way, really TASTING what I was doing. I explored as much as possible so that I developed a palette that was educated and refined. I fell in love with the art of cooking!

My husband just celebrated a birthday and when I asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he basically said surprise me! I decided to recreate elements of that special meal from so many years ago. Of course… This time I put my own spin on the menu!

We had Pork Chops with Roasted Grapes along with Twice Baked Potatoes, my husband’s favorite!!

I made both of these dishes with some of my new favorite cooking oils… Pompeian Avocado and Grape Seed Oil Sprays.

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Pompeian Avocado & Grapeseed Oil Spray is an innovative, unique and eco-friendly cooking spray that utilizes a powerful pouch system without the use of propellants or other artificial additives, so not a single drop is wasted and the oil is never mixed with any chemicals.

The unique spray can and pouch system also help to protect the oil from sunlight and oxygen, keeping the product fresher for longer.  Pompeian Grapeseed & Avocado Oil Spray has triple action use—drop, stream, or spray—to allow for flexibility and total portion control when cooking. And it’s FANTASTIC for high heat cooking! I’ve used it two different ways. To brown my chops before I put them in the oven and I used it to crisp my potato skins for my twice baked potatoes. Here’s how you make them…

Pork Chops with Roasted Grapes + Recipe

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1.0 from 1 reviews
Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
 
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You will never eat porks chops the same... This brine along with the sweet grapes makes for the best pork chops ever!
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4-6 thick cut pork chops
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons whole all-spice
  • 1 tablespoon whole cloves
  • 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1-2 cups of ice
  • Pompeian Avocado Spray
  • 1 large bunch of red grapes
Instructions
  1. You need to start your pork chops the day before you plan to serve them. The secret to these amazing chops is the brining process. You'll need a large bowl, add all of your spices.Then your salt and brown sugar.
  2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and the pour over your salt, sugar and spice mixture. Stir to help the salt and sugar dissolve.
  3. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved into the water, add a cup or two of ice to bring down the temperature of the brine. Then slide your pork chops into the brine mixture. Add more water if needed to make sure all of the meat is totally covered.
  4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Once you are ready to cook, remove the pork chops from the brine and dry with paper towels.
  5. Prepare your oven safe pan (I like to use cast iron) with a generous spray of Pompeian's new Avocado Oil Spray. Also, Preheat your oven to 400˚.
  6. I take the dry pork chops and season with salt & pepper and add them to a hot pan over high heat and then turn down the temp to medium high. Brown one side of the pork chops and then turn after 2 minutes or so.
  7. Add your washed grapes to the pan.
  8. Spray with the Pompeian Grapeseed Oil and place in the 400˚ oven for 10 minutes or until your pork chops are fully cooked and sitting at 145˚.
  9. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

 You need to start your pork chops the day before you plan to serve them. The secret to these amazing chops is the brining process. You’ll need a large bowl, add all of your spices.

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Then your salt and brown sugar.

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Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and the pour over your salt, sugar and spice mixture. Stir to help the salt and sugar dissolve.

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Once the salt and sugar have dissolved into the water, add a cup or two of ice to bring down the temperature of the brine.

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Then slide your pork chops into the brine mixture. Add more water if needed to make sure all of the meat is totally covered.

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Cover and refrigerate overnight. Once you are ready to cook, remove the pork chops from the brine and dry with paper towels.

Prepare your oven safe pan (I like to use cast iron) with a generous spray of Pompeian’s new Avocado Oil Spray. Also, Preheat your oven to 400˚.

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Then I take the dry pork chops and season with salt & pepper and add them to a hot pan over high heat and then turn down the temp to medium high.

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Brown one side of the pork chops and then turn after 2 minutes or so.

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Add your washed grapes to the pan.

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Spray with the Pompeian Grapeseed Oil and place in the 400˚ oven for 10 minutes or until your pork chops are fully cooked and sitting at 145˚. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatoes + Recipe

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1.0 from 1 reviews
Twice Baked Potatoes
 
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These are my husbands all-time favorites. We have them every year for his birthday... YES, they are totally worth the extra time!
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 large baking potatoes
  • Pompeian Avocado Oil Spray
  • 1 cup chive flavored cream cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup bacon bits
  • fresh chives
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt & Pepper
Instructions
  1. Wash and poke your potatoes with a knife and bake at 350˚ for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit. Cut potatoes in half, remove the flesh of the potato into a large bowl.
  2. Spray your potato skins with Pompeian Avocado Spray.
  3. Place in a 400˚ oven for 10 minutes to crisp the potato skins.
  4. In the mean time add your other ingredients the cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheese salt & pepper and fresh chives to the potatoes.
  5. Using a potato masher, mix well, but don't over mix.
  6. I prefer my twice baked potatoes to still have the look and feel of potato rather than a smooth mashed potato consistency.
  7. Spoon your potato mixture back into the crisp potato skins and place in a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes.
  8. Remove from oven and top with more shredded cheddar cheese and place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted. Remove and garnish with fresh chives.
  9. Serve along side the pork chops and roasted grapes. You'll be surprised... if you like apples with pork chops, you're going to LOVE roasted grapes with your favorite meat! Give it a go and let me know what you think!

 Wash and poke your potatoes with a knife and bake at 350˚ for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit. Cut potatoes in half…

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Remove the flesh of the potato into a large bowl.

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Spray your potato skins with Pompeian Avocado Spray.

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Place in a 400˚ oven for 10 minutes to crisp the potato skins. In the mean time add your other ingredients the cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheese salt & pepper and fresh chives to the potatoes.

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Using a potato masher, mix well, but don’t over mix.

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I prefer my twice baked potatoes to still have the look and feel of potato rather than a smooth mashed potato consistency.

Spoon your potato mixture back into the crisp potato skins and place in a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes.

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Remove from oven and top with more shredded cheddar cheese and place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted. Remove and garnish with fresh chives.

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Serve along side the pork chops and roasted grapes. You’ll be surprised… if you like apples with pork chops, you’re going to LOVE roasted grapes with your favorite meat! Give it a go and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer + This post is brought to you by Pompeian. I have received product and compensation for my time and recipe development. Please know, that I will only post about products that I truly love and use in my everyday life!

Roasted Pork White Chili Recipe

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Roasted Pork White Chili Recipe sponsored by Pompeian OlivExtra Premium

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Oh my stars… this is by far my favorite time of the year, SOUP season!! We finally had a super chilly weekend this weekend and it was a perfect time to ramp up my soup, stew & chili making skills.  We have chili cook-off coming up here in Lincoln, so I thought I would start working on a fantastic white chili recipe. One of my favorite recipes is a White Chicken Chili that I crave year round. This time I used a scrumptious roast pork that I browned in Pompeian OlivExtra® Premium Mediterranean Blend.

Pompeian OlivExtra® Premium Mediterranean Blend is a unique, healthy blend of canola, extra virgin and grapeseed oil, representing key components of the Mediterranean Diet. This innovative blended oil provides the robust taste of extra virgin olive oil and the high smoke point of grape seed oil, making this the perfect oil to brown my pork roast. 

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Doesn’t that look scrumptious?! Because of the oil blend it’s perfect for the higher temperatures required for browning and frying.

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This recipe is perfect for using left-over roast pork. Make up this same pork recipe and use it for tacos one night and chili the next, it’s perfect!!

Roasted Pork White Chili Recipe

Roasted Pork White Chili
 
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This hearty white chili full of all kinds of rich flavors will make you want to say red chili, who?
Author:
Recipe type: Chili
Cuisine: Southwest
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 lb. pork roast
  • salt
  • 5 tablespoons Pompeian OlivExtra® Premium Mediterranean Blend
  • Pepper
  • ¼ cup minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 chipoltle pepper + adobo
  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of Mexican oregano
  • 48 oz. low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 small can of white navy beans
  • 1 small can of Cannellini beans
  • 1 small can of hominy
  • 1 small can of green chili
  • 2 cups shredded pork
  • 2 cans of evaporated milk
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large, heavy bottom dutch oven, heat Pompeian OlivExtra® Premium blend over high heat until hot. Salt your pork roast generously and place in the dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium and brown on all side of the roast turning every two minutes until nice and brown.
  2. Once roast is nice and brown, remove from heat and cover with cumin, garlic and adobo sauce. Add the chipoltle pepper to the pot. Cover and slow-roast in a 300˚ oven for 4 hours.
  3. After four hours, remove from oven and place roasted pork on a separate plate to rest.
  4. Reserve any pan drippings in a small container. Use a fat-separator to remove fat from the pan drippings.
  5. Using the same dutch oven which is packed full of good flavor, add 2 tablespoons of OlivExtra® over medium high heat. Add chopped onions and cook until tender for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add minced garlic, additional cumin and oregano and cook for an additional minute.
  7. Add chicken broth, beans, hominy. Place over high heat and bring to a low simmer.
  8. Shred pork and place two cups of shredded pork to the pot along with the pan drippings
  9. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove from heat and add your evaporated milk. At this point taste and see if you need to add anymore salt & pepper.
  11. Garnish with lime, tortilla strips and either a queso fresco or shredded pepper jack cheese.

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Disclaimer // This post sponsored by Pompeian OlivExtra® Premium Mediterranean Oil Blend. I am a member of the 2014 Pompeian team and have been compensated for my recipe creation. All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

Smashed Potatoes

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This post brought to you by Pompeian Olive Oil  //  There are perfect pairings in the world, cheese & crackers,  peanut butter & jelly,  potatoes & butter…  Well, in my world I like to stretch the bounds of reason and try new things. I’m not afraid, and I’m always on the lookout for a new perfect pairing. My new discovery… Swapping my butter for olive oil when serving potatoes. Yes, I know it’s not a new thing, but for some it might be. You know who you are… Those of you who are stuck in your meat and potato rut. I’m here to save the day and give you a little heart healthy advice. Swap your butter for olive oil when it comes to roasted smashed potatoes… You’ll thank me!!

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This recipe is one of my family favorites! It’s such a simple side dish, and yet it packs a good punch when served with your favorite grilled meat. I like to use either fingerling potatoes or small red potatoes for this dish. Their flesh is thin and the golden potato center is buttery and smooth. Paired with a good flavorful Extra Virgin Olive Oil like Pompeian’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil  and some fresh chopped chives, the taste is divine.

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5.0 from 1 reviews
Smashed Potatoes
 
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This simple side dish is perfect with any type of grilled meat, or even on their own!
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 20 small red or fingerling potatoes
  • Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 2 table spoons of chopped chives
Instructions
  1. In a medium sauce pot, place your potatoes in cool water and place over high heat to partially boil the potatoes. Cook over high heat for 10-15 until you can pierce the potato with a knife. Make sure you don't over cook the potatoes.
  2. Remove potatoes from the heat and drain.
  3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place your baking sheet with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into the oven to preheat.
  4. Once the oven and pan are up to temperature, remove from the oven and immediately place your potatoes onto the hot pan.
  5. Using a potato masher, gently smash the potatoes.
  6. Drizzle with more olive oil and season generously with salt & pepper.
  7. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the potatoes start to crisp.
  8. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Now all your family and friends are going to fall in love with your potato prowess! The crispy edges of these smashed potatoes will invite them in and the flavor of the olive oil with the chives will remind them of home.  Serve with your favorite grilled meat and you will for sure be a hit!!

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Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pompeian Olive Oil. I did receive product and payment for this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own. Rest assured, I will never promote a company or product that I don’t use or believe in!