Week 10- Results

Okay, I was so thrilled with this weeks recipes!!!!!! I am so glad I went out of my comfort zone with the Eggplant pasta because as Adam from one of my favorite shows "Man Vs. Food" would say "Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness!" Yes, it was THAT good! The Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree was pretty easy to make, but with all new recipes, it was a little time consuming. From start to finish (including eating & clean-up) it took a little over an hour & a half. I think once I make it more, it will be faster because it's not a really hard recipe. What takes up the time is the roasting of the eggplant for 35 minutes first. If you cut & roast ahead of time, it would cut the rest of the time down when it gets to dinner time. The rest was easy & the only tool needed was my food processor. I like to clean my dishes as I go, so those of you who can leave them dirty to later may have a faster time with this recipe. The taste was not overwhelming eggplant. It has a little surprise kick from the red pepper flakes (which I love) & it calls for pine nuts (which I REALLY LOVE!) My oldest child loved it along with my husband (of course.) And the best part, it tastes even BETTER the next day. Important for my followers who take lunches to work to know! This was a winner & I will make this VERY often.

The Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Pancetta was also very good. The 2 recipes complimented one another, but for time sake, I am not sure that I will make them both together all the time. This was not a very hard recipe. I did do a short cut by using frozen cauliflower. I am not a huge pancetta (or any kind of bacon for that matter), but it was actually quite good in the dish. The Parmesan was a wonderful compliment to the cauliflower. I used Panko breadcrumbs instead of regular for more of a crunch factor to the topping. This too was even better the next day! This was a great side dish that can be used with many other main dishes. Please, please try these recipes! They are worth it! Bon Appetit!