July 13th--Egglplant Sandwiches with Vodka Sauce and J.A. Fudge Ice Cream

Dave: Sometimes you make a recipe so many times that you think it's second nature. You take it for granted that you can just "whip it up" with a quarter of your brain engaged while you think about every detail of your trip to Canada tomorrow. Sometimes that's true and sometimes you end up with a disaster on your hands. Tonight it just led to somewhat mixed results.

Lauren: Granted, everything tasted fine; there were just a number of those, "Crap, how on Earth did I forget that?" moments. The eggplant was a little well-done on one side, I forgot to add salt to the vodka sauce, one of the sandwiches completely fell apart on the grill, and the ice cream did not firm up at all in the mixing bowl (maybe because I was mixing fairly warm liquid in blazing-hot kitchen right next to an actively cooking gas stove. We've also been having some problems with the freezer).

Dave: I may be being a bit hard on our dinner. It was certainly more than adequate. This is one of our signature recipes. We made a version of these for the DreamLogic Theatreworks gala we catered a month ago and they were very popular.

Lauren: The bite-size format makes them little bit easier to manage eating-wise, I think, although tonight's sandwich left us with some nice breakfast left-overs.

The ice cream recipe needs a little introduction. My mom can't eat dairy, and for the most part, (I think) she's been able to find adequate alternatives for everything - everything, that is, except Baskin Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream. While we weren't able to duplicate the fudge ribbon, I think we came pretty close flavor-wise. Mom, come over to our house after we get back from Canada and let us know!

Dave: To be totally honest, the consistency on this batch did leave something to be desired, as it did most of its freezing in the freezer. Unfortunately, the freezer just doesn't work as well as the ice cream maker.

Vodka Sauce

1/4 cup butter (we used Earth Balance)

1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

parsley

5 tablespoons silken tofu, pureed

1/4 cup vodka

Salt and pepper to taste

Eggplant Cutlets

1 Large Eggplant, peeled and cut into slices

1 Cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Egg White

1 Tsp water

Mix egg white and water in small bowl. Brush each eggplant slice with egg wash and bread with the panko. Place the cutlets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Sandwiches filling:

1 Zucchini, diced

Eggplant scraps (not skin) diced

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 Tsp Balsamic vinegar

1/2 Tsp Olive Oil

Cook vegetables in olive oil and add balsamic vinegar. Cover and cook another 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Sandwich composition:

Place a cutlet on your griddle. Next, put two slices of tomato on the cutlet. Shave Parmesan directly on tomato. Cover tomatoes in vodka sauce. Put filling on top of vodka sauce. Shave Parmesan onto filling. Top with another cutlet and press lightly.

J.A. Fudge Ice Cream

3 cups coconut milk (a little less than 2 cans. Do not skimp on this one - go for the full fat and highest quality of milk available)

4 1/2-5 tablespoons Turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(Note: If you stop here and add another 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - and maybe a vanilla bean, if you're feeling really fancy - you can make a rich, creamy vanilla ice cream.)

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons espresso powder

1/2 cup cocoa nibs

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Let sit in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and mix for 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of this time, add cocoa nibs and almonds. Remove to container and place in freezer (ice cream will probably not be totally solid at this point). Freeze for another 2-3 hours until solid.