This past weekend was a bit of a whirlwind as I made the trip to Grafton, MA from NYC. Being the night owl that I am, I went to bed past midnight and expected to be able to get up for a 7 a.m. train (keep in mind I live a good distance away from the train station). As my alarm went off at 5:30, I got up, turned it off, and promptly went back to sleep. Come 6:50, I jumped out of bed muttering a few choice words to myself as I scrambled for my phone to change the reservation. Though it did cost a little extra than I had paid, I lucked out and was able to grab an Acela that got me into Boston just a few minutes later than my first train.
The Acela was even nicer than the regular Amtrak trains, considering all seating is Business Class. The food was exactly the same though. Given my early morning issue, I didn't have time to get breakfast (I could've stopped at my usual bagel place, but didn't want to risk missing another train), I went to the dining car to get a bagel. Amtrak clearly doesn't understand New York bagels. The bagel itself was ok, though it wasn't the same as the boiled type, it was the cream cheese that was the problem. The attendant gave me one measly cup of cream cheese, and when I asked for an extra, he wasn't able to give me one since Amtrak hadn't provided him with extras. Lame.
It was nice to check out a different train route as I got to see parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island that I probably wouldn't travel to on my own (though I am interested in seeing Providence sometime). After about three and a half hours, I was in South Station ordering food at Cosi. I've heard people rave about this chain, and it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about. I should've opted for a sandwich from Cheeseboy.
I took the T out to Grafton where I was met by my best friend Rae. The point of the trip was a) to see her and b) to attend an event thrown by her college. Both aspects were fantastic. The day after the event we went to a restaurant called the Celtic Tavern, which had the best french fries ever (think thicker Arby's fries that are well done and not curly) and served me a burger on garlicky, toasted, sourdough bread. I love when bar food isn't basic.
With Monday off, I came back on President's Day and did pretty much nothing. The next night however, I cooked this:
I had left over eggplant from a failed attempt at veggie tacos (I forgot to buy salsa, sour cream, seasoning...and tortillas) that turned into a pretty delicious pasta dish, and so it was necessary to make Eggplant Parmesan.
My go to move whenever I make an eggplant dish is to slice it, then sprinkle salt on both sides. I then let it sit for however long it takes me to do whatever side task necessary. I then pat down the eggplant to get the moisture out of it. It just helps it cook quicker and better. So I did this, then set up my batter station of flour, eggs, and seasoned bread crumbs. After heating some olive oil in a pan, I placed three battered eggplant slices in at a time, and cooked each side 'til golden brown.
Meanwhile, I heated some marinara sauce in a pot (love that sauce can be frozen forever). I had about a container and a half left in the freezer and thought that just the half container would do it for tonight, so that was the only one I had defrosted. It wasn't enough. After literally chipping away at the frozen sauce in the full container, I decided that holding it over the pot of sauce could help dislodge it from the Tupperware better, then dumped the frozen brick into the pot. This was by far the longest way of going about this process...well, longer than it should've been.
After all the eggplant slices had been sauteed, I began my assembly. I have these awesome Rachael Ray mini dishes that are great for making baked dishes in individual servings (see above). I covered the bottom of two dishes with sauce, then placed two pieces of eggplant on top. Next came more sauce, topped with a layer of cheese. I repeated this one more time, then put the dishes in the oven for half an hour at 400.
As the eggplant baked, I boiled water and cooked some angel hair. Once cooked and strained, I melted a pat of butter in the pasta, then tossed it with the sauce. I can't help but go for a slight Chef's Spaghetti Parm taste.
Once the eggplant was done, I put the dish on top of a plate and added the spaghetti on the side. For my first attempt at Eggplant Parm (aside from my endeavor in Eggplant Rollatini back in the day), I must say I'm impressed. My decision in slicing the eggplant about a centimeter thick was good since the cooked through completely. I do wish I had thought to use the immersion blender on my sauce when I had made it so it wasn't so chunky, but it was still fantastic nonetheless. I was really happy with the browning on the cheese, because everyone knows that's delicious.
What's even better? The second dish of Eggplant Parm - and the rest of the pasta - provided me with two days of leftovers for lunch. Success.
In other news, I've started playing the PS3 Zumba game, which makes me realize I have lost all sense of rhythm that I once had. Or I'm bad at following split-second directions that aren't actually verbalized. Either way I've found a way around not being able to run before or after work while the sun works on rising earlier and setting later.
Until next time...
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