12. Lamb and Eggplant Bake

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by yinzerella

The good? This dinner. This was actually a very yummy dinner.

The bad? This dinner.

Why? Becausee this was the last DiS! dinner that I had with Leah and Todd.

No, nothing bad happened–actually a lot of good happened–they relocated to their beloved Columbus, Ohio to go be adult, married people and eventually have babies and shit.

But before they went (well, Leah went first back in May), I had to make one last dinner. And I chose this one because I could do a lot of it ahead of time. So we could hang out more and stuff.

DSCN0590[1]DSCN0589[1]Look at all the *May be prepared early in the day and refrigerated.

Let’s get to everything I did earlier that day…

First I made the “lamb” mixture. I say “lamb” because I used a pork/beef/veal meatball & meatloaf mix.

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I also was able to fry up the eggplant (which I practically dry-fried so it wasn’t terribly soggy and oil-laden).

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I layered the eggplant and “lamb’ in the casserole dish.
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And right before the Ohioans arrived, I whipped up a cream sauce.

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Poured the cream sauce over the layered meat and eggplant.

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So basically, I did everything before Todd and Leah showed up. I just threw it in the oven right as they arrived.

End product:026This was delicious! I would totally make this again. It was like a moussaka. Or at least what I imagine a moussaka would be because I’ve never had moussaka.

But this was a keeper. Why wouldn’t it be? Meat and cheesy goodness? This was like a meatloaf on extra-special tasty steroids. Loved it.

I am so happy that the last DiS! we all did together was a good one. But I’m sad. I miss the Ohioans.

And, who am I going to feed now? Who am I going to do Football Sunday dinners with? 🙁

OK! Applications for new dining partners are currently being accepted. Potential diners must be in the Baltimore area, like football, be willing to bring wine/beer/booze, and are not vegetarian 😉

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yinzerella

13 thoughts on “12. Lamb and Eggplant Bake”

  1. I would love to apply but I’m sadly nowhere near Baltimore. Also, I hate football (although I if I could spend the game eating that it wouldn’t be a total deal-breaker).

    1. Also, I looked everywhere for a meatloaf mix like the one you used for use in a vintage recipe. I finally asked the butcher and he said selling mixed meat was illegal in Kansas. Perhaps I should move to Baltimore…

      2. I’ve worked with the Missouri Dept of Agriculture and I think that this is a store policy or they are misinterpreting the rules. I know, Kansas vs. Missouri, but most states have similar standards. I would think that if you, as the customer, knows that you are purchasing mixed meat and you knew what temperature to cook it to, you’re good to go. They can’t mix meat and not inform the consumer. They also can’t mix old, spoiled meat with new meat. FYI, we catch grocery stores here doing this a lot…they just mix in some spices and call it “fajita meat”. I could be wrong but I’d guess that your butcher is being overly cautious. You could always just order the separate meats and then mix them yourself at home.

        2. Interesting! I bet you’re right about it being store policy.

          I’m not at all surprised about the fajita meat. I worked for a restaurant in my younger days where I was regularly assigned to change the expiration stickers on food. That job didn’t last long!

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