The Scottsdale reviews #1, PF Changs

The first night in Scottsdale, after traveling 1900 miles (and boy, were my arms tired), was a voyage to PF Changs . The chain's store that we visited was on the far west edge of the Kierland Commons. This particular store seems larger than the stores here in Columbus, Ohio, but the food was just as good.

Yeah, I kinda like Changs, especially the Ground Chicken and Eggplant. The online menu says it is "Stir-fried with scallions in a savory soy chili pepper sauce". It's pretty darn tasty, that soy chili pepper sauce...

We were 3 weary travelers for dinner, and after waiting a good half hour for a table on a Friday night (it was even after 9 PM!), we were quite ready to eat. We quickly decided on 2 of our 3 dishes. Jan chose the Eggplant Chicken and I chose the dish that Heather highly recommends, the Kung Pao Scallops. The third of our tired and hungry trio, Jeanne, had never been to Changs before, so she looked to our server, Misha, for a suggestion. He did not let Jeanne down, suggesting the Salt and Papper Prawns. After a delightfully short wait, our plates were served. We each had some of all 3 dishes ("Sharing is caring" as the server pointed out...), and overall, they did not dissapoint.

Although the Eggplant chicken didn't pack near the heat that it normally does at the Columbus (Tuttle) store does, it was warm and satisfying. The scallops were nice, too, though lacking the heat I would expect from something called "Kung Pao". They were cooked perfectly tender and moist, though, without a spec of toughness that has so easily ruined too many of these delicate bivalves. An' I do loves my scallops...

The last dish, the salt and pepper prawns were exactly as advertised and made for a nice balance to our meal. the "sweet mustard sauce" served with the prawns lent more heat than we expected and went well with the scallops, too.

I think Jeanne had the best result at Changs for the night, though. She was not a fan of "chinese food" when we walked into the restaurant, but decided that she could easily go into the Changs in her hometown in Wisconson and enjoy almost anything from the menu now. A very successful journey.

Moral of the story: P.F.Changs is a safe place to visit when you're in another city. The food isn't spectacular, but it is good, the prices were EXTREMELY reasonable for the Kierland Commons area, and staff friendly and helpful. If you like it hot, though, be sure to ask for it.


Oh, and one other thing that I noticed... The hostesses are quite pretty (and very young) at all of the PF Changs I've been to, but at the Kierland store in Scottsdale, ...well, I'll just say WOW and leave it at that...

Go, and enjoy,
Lorence

Dinner reviews coming...

I've been at a conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, staying at the beautiful Kierland Westin and enjoying many of he area's best restaurants. I'll be posing my take on each of the nights' meals in upcoming posts. So far the meals have been from:
P.F. Changs (ok, it's a chain, but it was our first night in town, very late and we were really hungry...)
Bobby's, A Mancuso Restuarant
Michael's at the Citadel (catered by them while we dined in the Pavillion at Teliesin West)
Zinc Bistro
The Old Town Tortilla Factory
and there are still 2 more wonderful meals left.

Tonight is the big conference party, the "Cherry Blossom Ball". Our music will be provided by the best rock and roll band in the entire feakin' universe, Rockola, and they're going to have their enire 10 piece group with them. We usually only have the 4 main guys (Bob Tedde, Doug booth, Mark DeCerbo and Larry Grano), and they always put on one hell of a show. Tonight should be spectacular. We're also hoping Doug Booth's son, Cody the Roadie is back... Check out their website. they've got oodles of fun pics from their many gigs.

The food has been fantastic and the company has been great. I'm here with hundred's of wonderful people from all over the US, Canada, UK and Europe, great people that I don't get to see very often. Great food, Great company - I'm a lucky guy this week. It almost makes up for missing my family. Almost, but not quite. I'll be home soon sweetheart. I love you and miss you.

Enjoy,
Lorence

Jones Soda - photo submission

I've submitteed a photo to Jones Soda to see if I can get it on one of their bottle labels. take a look, vote for it if you like, and tell me what you think!

You can see and vote on it by going directly to it:
Boogie on the Jones Soda Gallery .





You can also find it indirectly by going to http://www.jonessoda.com/gallery/index.php
then searching for 623253

Thanks & Wish us luck!
Lorence

Simple Paprika Roasted Chicken Breast

Tonight's dinner was a simple and quick dish that we make fairly frequently and we call it Paprika Chicken. The chicken, served with a simple fresh veggie, make for an easy night in the kitchen with easy cleanup as well. This recipe doesnt' really have any fixed amounts for the ingredients -you can make 1 breast or 8 using just your judgement as to how much seasoning to use. The only thing to measure (sort of) will be the chicken broth.
It is important to use the right size pan, though. I use an 8x8 pan for 1 or 2 breasts with 1/3 to 3/4 cup of broth, 9x13 for 3 to 6 with 1 to 2 cups of broth. Use a bigger pan and more broth as the number of breasts increases.

Simple Paprika Roasted Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless, trimmed of fat
Garlic powder
Salt
White pepper
Paprika
Chicken broth

Directions:
Turn the oven up to 425º F.
Line an appropriate sized pan with aluminum foil.
Spray the pan generoulsy with vegetable or Olive oil spray.
On a seperate plate, turn the trimmed chicken over (skin side down) to season the bottom.
Sprinkle the bottom of each chicken breast with some garlic powder, a bit of salt (be careful about the amount of salt if the borth is salted also), some white pepper (not too much!), and a generous amout of paprika.
Place the chicken in the pan seasoned side down (skin side up) and repeat the seasonings, omiting the salt if desired.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in the microwave.
Pour the broth slowly into the pan (pour it gently over the chicken).
Place the pan with the chicken in the preheated oven.
cook in the oven for 15 minutes or so. Baste the chicken every 5 minutes. The chicken is done when the internal temperature of the reaches 165º F.
At this point, even though the chicken is done, but I like to place it under the broiler for a minute or so, basting a couple of more times.
Transfer the checken to a serving plate along with a fresh simply cooked veggie, like steamed broccoli or green beans. Top the chicken with some of the pan juices.

The temperature link above and this one provide information on the proper and SAFE temperatures that meats should be cooked when using an essential kitchen tool, the instant read internal thermometer. If you don't have one, they're cheap! Get one!

Enjoy,
Lorence

Red White and Bean Salad

This is an old recipe that I had completely forgotten about. Our former next door neighbor (who now lives around the corner) reminded us about it tonight when we saw her walking her beatiful big furry dog, Charlie (I think he's a shepherd-collie mix - face and fur like a collie, body and legs like a german shepherd). We made it for a party at her house years ago (10 years ago, I think) and since then, she makes it for all of her parties, especially during the summer barbeque season. It is simple, healthy and very easy to make.

Red White and Bean Salad

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 med.\ium cucumber, peeled, seeded & chopped
1 16-oz can great northern beans, rinsed
1 15-oz can light red kidney beans, rinsed
2 Tablespoon dried parsley
2 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Combine and chill!

Enjoy,
Lorence

Chicken & Shrimp

We eat alot of shrimp and chicken, so I'm always looking for new ways to fix them.
This recipe combines the two in a nice simple and pretty quick dish that can be made in one pot (less mess - always a plus!). I like to serve it with basmati rice, lightly seasoned with rice chicken broth and either some cumin or a few cruch garlic cloves (ok, so it's two pots, but still not too much mess). It's also pretty good with this simmered white beans recipe.

Chicken & Shrimp
Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp (26-30 size)
1 10-ounce package large mushrooms
1 shallot
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
all-purpose flour
salt
olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons capers

Directions:
1. Shell the shrimp. Devein them if you like.
2. Slice mushrooms; mince shallot.
3. cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes.
4. Pound each cube to 1/8-inch thickness. (or a bit less than 0.5 cm)
5. On waxed paper, combine 2 tablespoons flour and ¾ teaspoon salt. Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture to coat.
6. In nonstick 12-inch skillet over
medium-high heat, in 1 tablespoon
hot olive oil, .cook mushrooms until golden. With slotted spoon, remove mushrooms to large bowl. :
7. In same skillet over medium-high heat, in 2 teaspoons additional hot olive oil, cook shrimp and shallot until shrimp turn opaque throughout. Remove to bowl with mushrooms.
8. In same skillet over medium-high heat, in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil, cook chicken cutlets, half at a time, 2 to 3 minutes until chicken loses its pink color throughout; remove to same bowl.
9. In same skillet over medium-high heat, into 1 tablespoon hot olive oil, stir in 1 tablespoons of flour and cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins to brown slightly, about 30 seconds.
10. Gradually stir in the wine, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 ¼ cups water.
11. Over high heat, boil the sauce unti it thickens slightly.
12. Return the contents of the bowl (chicken, shrimp, etc) to the skillet. Stir in the capers and heat through.

Enjoy,
Lorence

The blobs are coming! The blobs are coming! And they're really yummy.

Blobs. BLOBS. Bloooooobs....

Not the most attactive sounding food, but don't dismiss these blobs. They are FANTASTIC! I can only think of one thing better than these blobs, and, well, this is a family place, so I'm not going to mention it...
A coworker, Aimee McKinney, made these for a party last christmas,and my taste in sweets hasn't been the same since. These blobs are made chocolate, butterscotch, peanuts and powdered sugar with a simple instruction set, so you have NO EXCUSE for not trying them. But beware, they're almst as good as ...

Aimee’s Peanut Clusters (aka Blobs)
Ingredients:
1 small bag of Nestlé’s chocolate chips
1 small bag of Nestlé’s butterscotch chips
1 can of lightly salted peanuts
1 tsp. of powered sugar

Directions:
Empty chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and powered sugar into a large bowl. Melt in microwave, careful not to burn - Put it in for about a minute, stir and repeat if necessary. Stir in peanuts. Drop by rounded spoonful onto wax paper. Let sit at room temperature for about 24 hours or until hardened.

Enjoy,
Lorence

More Steak - the cheap cuts

In my last post, I talked about grilling a mariniated round tip steak - not the greatest cut of meat, but with the right pre-treatment (in this case, a good marinade), even a cheap cut can be good. And with the prices we're seeing these days, cheap steak that is good is a very good thing. Another method of preparing an inexpensicve cut of beef is pan searing. I've used the recipe below several times since seeing it on an episode of America's Test Kitchen called "Dinner on a Dime". The recipe is called "Pan-Seared Inexpensive Steak" and can be found here, on their web site. Warning, though, you will be asked to register... It's free and definately worth the minimal effort and time.

Pan-Seared Inexpensive Steak
Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 boneless shell sirloin steaks (top butt) or whole flap meat steaks, each about 1 pound and 1 1/4 inches thick
Table salt and ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Place steaks in skillet; cook, without moving steaks, until well browned, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip steaks; reduce heat to medium. Cook until well browned on second side and internal temperature registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer for medium-rare (about 5 minutes) or 130 degrees for medium (about 6 minutes).

2. Transfer steaks to large plate and tent loosely with foil; let rest until internal temperature registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 135 degrees for medium, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare pan sauce, if making.

3. Using sharp knife, slice steak about 1/4 inch thick against grain on bias, arrange on platter or on individual plates, and spoon sauce (if using) over steak; serve immediately.

There is also a Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes and a nice Mustard-Cream Pan Sauce on their site. Both go very well with this steak:
Mustard-Cream Pan Sauce
Makes 3/4 cup
1 medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
Table salt and ground black pepper

After transferring steaks to large plate, pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from now-empty skillet. Return skillet to low heat and add shallot; cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high; simmer rapidly, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom, until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 30 seconds; add broth and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Add cream and any meat juices; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over sliced steak.

Enjoy,
Lorence

Surf and Turf tonight

Steamed crab legs and grill marinated steak (with a side of steamed fresh green beans) - that was tonights supper and it was damn good. I found a really good price on wild caught Canadian snow crab legs today at Kroger ($4 a pound!), and I had already planned on the grilled steak, so it worked out perfectly. The steak was a pretty cheap cut, thin sliced top round tip steak, but I marinated it for about a half hour in Lawry's Italian Garlic Steak mariniade and threw it on my little gas grill for a few minutes on each side. The meat came out tasty and tender, the marinade making a definate impression and was well liked by the whole family. But the crab legs stole the show. We each had a nice sized cluster, and I've never seen my (almost) 6 year old tear into food the way he went after those crab legs! I was sure to keep my hands away from his plate for fear of losing a finger to his shell cracker!
Speaking of cheap cuts of meat, there's an interesting guide to cuts of meat and their tenderness at Barbecue'n on the Internet, along with a LOT of other stuff I haven't had time to read yet...

Enjoy,
Lorence

Blackberry Iced Tea - Summer's Here!

Ok, so summer isn't "officially" here yet - it's not even June - but the weather is telling me otherwise, topping out at 90°F today. And when it gets that hot, there's only one thing I like better than a big glass of ice cold water and that's a big glass of ice cold blackberry iced tea. I've made this for a few years now and I really like the flaver. It's not overpoweringly berryful, but just berried enough to have a light flavor. Since we drink quite a bit of it, usually 2 quarts each day, we make it with two teabags of decaf black tea and one bag of Lipton Blackberry Flavored Black Tea. I've also made it with their Raspberry Flavored Black Tea and it was good, but I really prefer the blackberry.

I'm always amazed at how so many people have trouble making a good pitcher of tea. I see ads for Iced tea makers like these from Mr. Coffee all the time and I can't beleive people actually spend $20, $30 or even $60 on one of these contraptions when good iced tea is so simple to make. Here's my "recipe" for making my refreshing Blackberry Iced Tea.

Blackberry Iced Tea

Put 2 cups (that's about 475 ml) of water in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and bring to a boil inthe microwave (for mine, it takes about 3 minutes).
While the water is boiling, tie 3 teabgs together - 2 decaf black teabags and one bag of Lipton Blackberry Flavored Black Tea.
When the water is boils, remove it (carefully!) from the microwave and place it on the counter.
Dunk the teabags in and out of the hot water slowly several times.
Leave the bags in the water and keep them at the botom of the measuring cup by holding them down with a teaspoon.
Let the teabags sit (steep) for awhile... I usually leave them in for 15-20 minutes or so. Longer won't hurt.
When ready, pour the contents of the measuring cup (remove the spoon!) into a 2 quart pitcher (about 1.9 liters).
Fill the pitcher with fresh cool water up to the 2 quart mark (I usually run the water over the teabags, too).
If you like your tea sweet (I do), add 1/2 cup sugar to the pitcher and stir well. Taste and add more if needed.
Pour the tea over ice and sip...

Enjoy,
Lorence

Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew

This is another recipe I took out of an issue of First Magazine way back when they had real recipe cards in them. This one actually wasn't on a card, but part of the "Hearty One-pot Dishes" section (October 3, 1994 issue, Vol 6, Issue 40, page 72). I haven't made it in a while, but it's definitely worth bringing back into the rotation.

I've made a few changes to the recipe, such as using frozen spinach and way more garlic than the original recipe called for (1 clove?!? Who uses only 1 clove of garlic in anything?). I like to use frozen chopped spinach because it make the preparation easier and I think it give a better "yield" of spinach - makes it a bit more "spinachy".

Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless (~1 lb)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 medium shallots, chopped (oh, I love shallots!)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or more...)
4 medium red potatoes, cut into quarters (~1 1/2 lbs)
2 cans Chicken broth (13 oz or so, preferably reduced sodium)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
10 oz package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Directions:
Cut each chicken breast halve lengthwise then crosswise into 1/2-inch thick strips.
In a large saucepot over medium heat, brown the chicken in the olive oil.
Remove the chicken and set aside.
In the drippings, add the shallots and cook until tender (a bit more oil won't hurt).
Stir in the garlic, add the potatoes, chicken broth and thyme.
Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Spoon 1/2 of the potato mixture into a blender or food processor, process on medium speed until smooth, then return to the saucepot.
Stir in the chicken, spinach and evaporated milk.
Heat through and serve with some nice crusty sourdough bread.

Here's the nutritional info (per serving) that accompanied this recipe:
Calories: 346 Protein: 35g Fat: 7g Sodium: 716mg
Carbohydrates: 33g Cholesterol: 72mg

Enjoy,
Lorence

Spicy Brown rice, Lentils and Shrimp

Yes, I love shrimp and tonight I tried something a bit different with it. This creation got mixed reviews, though. I liked it, my 5 year old loved it, but my wife, well, not so much. the inspiration for this cam from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook (1996). give it a try and tell me what you think.


Spicy Brown rice, Lentils and Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 cup dried lentils sorted & rinsed
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 pound raw sheeled shrimp (31-40 size)
1 can (10 1/2 ounce) condensed chicken broth
1/2 broth can water (~5 ounces)
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped (~1 cup)
a bit of finely shredded fresh parmesan

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat
2. Cook the onion and garlic unitl the onion is tender, stirring occcasionaly
3. Stir in the lentils, rice, broth, water, & Tabasco sauce
4. Heat the nixture until it boils, then turn the heat to low
Cover and simmer about 45 minutes adding an ounce of water or more if neccessary, until the rice is tender and the lquid is absorbed (don't add too much water!)
5. Mix in the shrimp and green pepper, add another ounce of water, cover and cook, stirring after a couple of minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through.
6. Serve with a light sprinkling of the parmesan.

Enjoy,
Lorence

Sing Artichoke Chicken - Our new favorite

We're big fans of artichokes and I've been looking for a good artichoke chicken recipe. I found a good starting point on RecipeSource. I made it and it was pretty good, but seemed to be missing something - it just wasn't quite "there". On my next visit to the grocery store, I bought a bag of frozen artichokes (not marinated, just fresh frozen), started to improvise...
This is what I came up with - Our new favorite.

Sing Artichoke Chicken
8 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
16 ounces Fresh frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
4 1/2 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
4 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup broth
1 cup dry white wine
cooked wide egg noodles
fresh parsley, chopped

In a stainless or ceramic bowl, combine the artichoke hearts, Olive oil, basil, oregano, red pepper, and lemon juice and mix it well. add the mushrooms and toss again. Let this sit for an hour or more, stirring it about occasionally.
In a skillet, brown the chicken in the butter.
Remove the chicken to an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Do not drain pan juices.
Arrange artichokes and mushrooms on top of chicken and it set aside.
Saute the onion in pan juices. Blend in the flour, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Add the chicken broth and wine and cook until thickened and bubbly.
Remove the sauce from the heat and spoon it over chicken.
Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Place noodles on a serving platter and top with the chicken and sauce.
Sprinkle with parsley to garnish.

I like to start the artichokes marinating the morning I plan to make this or even the day before.

Enjoy,
Lorence

Lemon Chicken With Olives

We've been eating this for years and it's become a dependable dish for us over the years. We found this recipe in "First for Women" magazine. During the first couple of years that "First" magazine was published, recipe cards were included as center inserts. There were four cards printed on stock that was not quite index card thickness, ready to be cut out of the magazine and put right into your recipe box. This recipe (and many others that are Sing Favorites) is one of those.

Lemon Chicken With Olives
4 servings
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 chicken hreats, about 2 ½ Ibs.
Salt and pepper
1 ½ cups black olives
1 lemon
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Remove. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds and remove from heat. Stir in ¼ cup water, ¼ tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook until the meat is no longer pink, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the chicken and keep warm. Pit and halve the olives. Grate ½ tsp. of the yellow zest from the lemon and squeeze 2 tsp. juice. Boil the remaining pan juices over high heat until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the zest, lemon juice and olives. Serve with wide egg noodles. Pour over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

I use the jumbo size olives split in two and I double the amount of water, lemon zest and juice, and of course, the garlic. That way I have enough "gravy" to put on top of the chicken and also on top of the noodles.

Enjoy,
Lorence

Eggplant Salad (Bonjan)

OK, so who else thinks of Afganistan when they think of good food? No, not me either, at least not until I tried this fantastic dish. I recevied this recipe on a calender from Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl. While researching this recipe further (after cooking & loving it), I discovered that an Afgani menu would indeed be quite flavorful. Check out the Afgan Cooking Channel for some more interesting Afgani menu items.
I also found a great site for eggplant recipes - Ashbury's Aubergines. They've got everything eggplant there, including a few dozen ways to make Baba Ghanoush, which is not just fun to say, it's delicious. If you like hummus, you'll love Baba Ghanoush.

Ah, but I'm getting off track...

I served this Bonjan Salat, or Spicy Eggplant Salad at room temperature with just some bread. It would be great with pita. I'm not really sure I made it toally correct, but it tasted great and I WILL DEFINATELY be making it again.

Bonjan Salat(as I made it):
1 Large eggplant
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup corn oil
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon hot red chili flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon crushed dried mint

Slice the eggplants crosswise into 3/4 inch thick pieces.
Sprinkle them with salt and let stand for 15 minutes (this is to draw out any bitterness).
Pat dry with paper towel (no they won't taste salty).
Heat a large skilet over medium to medium-high heat and put a thin coat of oil in the bottom.
Brush the eggplant slices generously with oil and place them oily side down in the pan in a single layer (you may have to do multiple batches).
Brush the tops of the slices generously with oil.
Brown both sides of the eggplant slices, about 5 minutes total.
Remove them to a serving bowl (I used a stainless steel bowl) to cool.
The slices broke up a bit and I helped break them up further.

In a small saucepan, combine the tomato sauce, pepper, chili flakes, cinnamon and mint and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the eggplant and rerigerate until ready to use. Serve cold or at room temperature.

The above recipe is bit different than those that I've found online, such as this one, but I'm really pleased at how it came out. I will probably use the commonly recommended 3 medium eggplants next time, though. (see this google search for more versions of Bonjan and decide on one for yourself.

Enjoy,
Lorence