Arlene and Loretta Cook Eggplant Parmesan Together 🇮🇹

Well, hello family. We’re so glad you could drop by today. It’s always good when the family comes and looks for something to eat, right? You know, when your kids come home, they’re always raiding the refrigerator. Today I wanna talk to you about friends. Scripture says, “A friend loveth at all times.” All the time, good times, bad times. Any time that you need a friend, if they’re truly a friend, you have their ear. And you know life, we use the term so loosely, oh, he’s a good friend, oh, she’s a good friend, but really a friend will love you no matter what. No matter, if they agree with you or if they don’t, if they think you’re crazy and they might tell you, but they will back you up on whatever you’re doing, because they’re a friend and they really, truly care about you. My dad used to say, if you get two good friends, if you have two good friends in your whole life, you are a rich person. Well, you know what? My special guest today is a very good friend. We may not talk for a long time, but then we get on the phone, it’s just like we’ve been around each other. You don’t have to go back and start at ground zero. You can pick right up where you last talked and you know that whatever you say, she’s not gonna be appalled at, she’s gonna be there as a help for you and as a strength for you. And I wore my special earrings today because this friend of mine gave me these earrings about 12 to 15 years ago. And you know, I don’t see her very often, but every time I wear them and they jingle, I think about her because this signifies what she is. She’s full of fun, she’s vibrant, she loves God with all her heart, and she is a very, very special person. When we come back from the hint, I will introduce you to that special friend, Loretta Scott. She’s here today. We’ll be right back. Here’s today’s At Home Hint. Eggplants are available all year long. They should have smooth, glossy, purple black skin, free of scars and must be firm. Never eat raw eggplant since it contains the toxin sol amine. Sol amine is destroyed by cooking. If you’ve got a helpful hint, we wanna hear from you. Send your hint to At Home Hints, Cornerstone Television, Wall, Pennsylvania 15148-1499. Well, Loretta, I’m so glad you’re in the kitchen with me.

And I am so happy to be here, Arlene.

You look great.

As usual, I feel so honored whenever I’m asked. I really, I really… Although you know what? I have to start learning, like, some other things to make.

That’s right. Start beefing up on your dishes, right?

That’s right. And I do have very good taste in earrings.

Yes, doesn’t she, though? Don’t you love these?

I can’t imagine why I didn’t get myself a pair.

Well, you know, you walked in here today and I wore them purposefully and she goes, “Oh, I love your earrings.”

I forgot.

I said, “Do you know where I got these?” She said, “No.” I said, “You gave them to me.” Okay. So anyway, but thank you.

Oh honey, you’re welcome.

It’s always fun to be with you. And I’m so glad you brought Cindy, your friend, with you today.

Yes, my girlfriend, Cindy. She knows the Lord, too. She’s from Steubenville.

Great old Stu… Who else comes from Steubenville?

Dean Martin.

Dean Martin. That’s who I was thinking of, yeah. Okay, so he’s the second best known beside you.

Well, actually, it’s known for me and Cindy Oliver.

Oh, is that what it is?

We are the claim to fame in Steubenville.

You’re the Golden Girls of Steubenville.

There you go. Well, just about.

Okay. What are we gonna make today?

Okay, today we’re going to make eggplant Parmesan. And you have to start with your marinara sauce, which we have the heat going here. We have a fourth of a cup of olive oil. And now, we’re going to put in some garlic cloves. I always crush mine.

And you always mince them, huh?

Yeah, you know, some people don’t. Some people… I always do that.

[Arlene] It squirts all over the place, right?

That’s all right.

[Arlene] Yeah, and we don’t want… Let me I’m have pull that…

I’m gonna have to pull it to the side so it doesn’t… Because it’s a little hot.

Nothing worse than burnt garlic, too, and I don’t like that.

I know, it tastes horrible. Now I’m putting in, like, three small…

Yeah, they’re not big cloves, huh?

No. I mean, you know, you can put in as much as you want. If you want four or five or two big ones, whatever.

[Arlene] You know sometimes people…

I like garlic.

Yeah, but sometimes people overdo it with the garlic and then that’s all you taste.

Well that’s, you’re right.

You don’t taste the tomato or anything else and we don’t wanna do that.

It’s so strong.

Right.

So we’re just going to do it this way. And this is gonna be so good, you guys. Oh, well.

Okay, that one went over to the other pot, but that’s okay.

There’s enough.

Family all doing well?

Yes. Everybody’s fine. I have a new grandson.

Oh, how great.

I’m keeping this off because it’s too hot.

Want me to add a little oil to start it to cool down a little bit so it doesn’t burn?

Yeah, please.

Sorry about that.

That’s all right, and you should be.

I know ’cause I told her to get the pot nice and hot so it would get going. Okay.

Oh, it’s not a problem. Okay, so we have the oil in there, the garlic, and now we’re gonna put the tomatoes.

Crushed tomatoes?

Yes, this is a 28 ounce can, like you can use six and one. I’ve talked about that before.

Yeah you have, that’s was, it’s good.

I love six and one.

[Arlene] You can’t always find it though.

I know. Well, you can use Contadina.

[Arlene] Sure.

You can also use Delfreti’s, if I’m saying it correctly.

[Arlene] I don’t know.

Here, you can put that away.

I’ll put that right under here. Watch your pants.

Okay, so now we have the garlic, the oil, the tomatoes. We need some salt.

[Arlene] Okay.

And I don’t measure, I just do this.

[Arlene] It’s the best way.

Well, I think it’s fun to do.

Makes you look like you are important, huh?

Oui!

Okay. There goes our blood pressure. Now what?

Yeah. Really. A little bit of pepper.

Okay

That’s enough.

Okay. You don’t do, like, fresh peppers and stuff like that, but you could, right?

Yeah, I guess you could.

Yeah, you could.

Okay. Now, is this high up? Yes, it is. Okay. Now this, you stir it up really well and now I need some basil leaves.

[Arlene] Okay. Fresh out of my garden.

I know, you grew those, huh?

I was so, I mean, this was a great year for basil.

I love basil and I just tear mine up.

Tear ’em up, huh?

Yeah. Just tear ’em up and dump them in there. I think basils… I love, they should make perfume that smells like basil.

[Arlene] You got that right.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Now, how many of these would you do and what if you didn’t have fresh?

I use eight to 10 large leaves.

Okay.

So these guys are kinda, ’cause these aren’t real large.

No, they’re not huge. I like the tender ones, you know? I keep pinching mine back so that they don’t get real big.

Oh right.

[Arlene] And it doesn’t blossom or bloom.

I know what you mean. Yeah.

[Arlene] Think that’s enough or a little bit more?

That’s it.

[Arlene] That’s enough right there.

That’s perfect.

[Arlene] So now that’s just gonna go ahead.

Okay. So now this, you simmer for at least a half an hour.

For 20 minutes, half hour.

Well, 20 minutes, half an hour. You can taste it.

[Arlene] Sure.

You can always get a piece of bread and stick it in there and eat it.

But not too many or you won’t have much sauce.

I know. Yeah.

Well that’s nice because that’s a small amount of sauce. Usually people are making them in these big gallon vets, you know? And it’s nice if there’s just a couple people.

I don’t know if you know about, well you’ve heard some people, like say, in the Philadelphia area or New York City, call what we call tomato sauce, like, they call gravy.

[Arlene] Gravy. Yeah, I never understood that one.

I found out why?

[Arlene] Why?

Okay. It does make sense.

Okay.

If you make the sauce or say you make the marinara sauce, but you have meatballs in there or pork or sausage, that’s meat.

[Arlene] It would be a gravy.

They considered that a gravy. If you have no meat, it’s marinara.

Get out. It’s good to know.

See, I teach you something every time I’m here.

You are such a learned woman.

I know.

Okay. Tell us what you do now. Walk us through this.

Okay. Now this is a, this is the eggplant.

Okay. Which is one of these puppies.

Aren’t they pretty?

Yeah. They’re beautiful. I love the color

I do too.

And you cut this off of course.

Yeah, you wash it first and you have to remember to wash it.

And you don’t peel yours.

I do not peel mine. Now, some people may be in disagreement with me, but that’s okay.

That’s your preference, that’s all.

I like the skin. I just think it’s so good. So you cut it at least, what, that’s about…

[Arlene] A quarter of an inch.

[Loretta] A quarter of an inch.

[Arlene] And you salt.

And then I salt each side.

[Arlene] On both sides.

This side and then this side.

[Arlene] Okay. And then you put them.

And then I put them in a colander like this and I just let them set for 30 minutes.

Now that draws moisture out.

That draws moisture up. And then whenever the 30 minutes are up, then you rinse these out in the sink, each piece.

To get the salt off.

To get all the salt off. Put it on a paper towel.

To absorb the water.

And then you’re ready for the next step.

Let me ask you something and you might not have the answer. Why do you wanna draw all the moisture out of this?

[Loretta] Why do I want to?

Yes.

Oh, you know I hate when you ask me stuff like that.

I’m only asking. You’re a learned woman, you just told me.

Okay. I’ll take a guess.

Go ahead.

I don’t know why really.

Makes something up.

Okay. I think it’s because if it was all wet and you put it in hot oil, it would go bzzz and splash all over the place, and also, also water down the oil.

Okay.

Okay, we’re…

Yeah, it could. But I’m thinking, ’cause you, I would think you wouldn’t want something to be real dry. So if you take the water out of it, but if you, if it splashes when it gets in the oil, that would be a good…

Well, when you put the tomatoes on… Arlene, don’t ask questions.

I’m sorry.

Just taste it.

I apologize. We will at the very end of the program.

We are friends.

We’re coming right back in just a minute. We’re gonna start frying this puppy up and we’ll stay with us. We’ll be right back. Well, if you just joined us, we’re in the kitchen with a good friend, Loretta Scott, and you’ve just shown us how to make the marinara. And now what we’ve done, as she said, you know, we salted and then we’ve rinsed this off, patted it dry.

Yeah. You salt it. Put it in a colander for at least 30 minutes. It takes the acidity out and the… Sometimes if you don’t do that, eggplant tastes real strong, it’s bitter, so you leave it like that for 30 minutes, rinse it in cold water and then pat it dry and put them on here. Now these are all patted dry. Now, we are going to put them in the olive oil.

You’re not breading it or anything. A lot of people bread.

No. Just like this.

[Arlene] Okay. Turn it up a little bit, you think?

[Loretta] Yeah.

Okay. I will be the control here because everybody’s oven’s different, you know?

I know. Yeah, you do that.

I hate that. Maybe I’ll put this one on, so we’ll have another pan too, huh?

Okay. Now this is one eggplant’s worth.

Wow.

So, but you know, like, if you’re gonna have company and this is gonna be, like, one of your main dishes, then you should, you could do two. Actually, the recipe that’s gonna be in your newsletter, that is for two, which comes to a pound.

Oh, okay.

So that’s how you can tell.

Well, because they’re smaller. These, this one that we cut up was pretty big, so.

Okay, now, this has to brown. While this is browning, are there any more questions you want me to answer?

Well, did we come up with another answer to…?

Oh yeah. You mean about why you draw, pat the water off? Yeah, I do know.

Okay.

My grandmother did it that way.

There’s a good, that’s the best answer. You don’t have to say another word.

That’s the answer.

Well, my goodness. If you’d have said that before, there’d been no question, ’cause we could never question grandma.

[Loretta] No.

We know that what she did is always right, okay? Okay, I better get some heat on this ’cause this one isn’t…

Yeah. This one’s taking a while to, it takes a while to brown this.

But when they get going, I bet they really get going, huh?

Yeah, they really do. Yeah. You know, I’m to even cooking now, even though Stanley’s gone. A lot of my girlfriends that are, perhaps, divorced, or widowed, they find it difficult, but I just have to eat home-cooked food.

Well, you do. And you know what? When you’re used to that…

I’m so used to it.

You can’t go out. You can, maybe, go for lunch or something, but you don’t want that every night.

Not for dinner. No. No. And then occasionally I do. I’ll go get Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is really tasty, but not too often.

Not every day. That’s right. That’s right.

So anyways.

You know, I tell you, we talked about Stan. When we were doing the…

Maybe you can put this up a little higher, honey. Doesn’t seem to be browning.

There we go.

Okay. When we were doing Getting Together and he would come in with that Bible, that was the most precious treasure in his life.

I know. The way he held onto it.

He, there, he could be bringing clothes or anything, but he held that Bible, you knew he thought of it as a treasure.

Yeah.

And he had its, I mean he had his notes in there and he, ’cause you know that lived by that book.

Oh yeah. And you know what? I just keep… So many times during the day, I just, like, wish the Lord would let him come back, like, just to whisper in my ear.

Just for two minutes, huh?

To tell… No, just to tell me what heaven is like.

Ah. Well.

I mean, he’s gone, but, and I, I understand that we all will die.

Yep.

Different ages, different reasons, whatever. It’s, we’re gonna die.

And we’re all going either one place or the other, right?

Right. And well, and it’s great to know you’re going to heaven, people.

Absolutely.

And so those of you that are watching this and you’re wondering why we’re so sure that we’re going to heaven, it’s because of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And you know, Arlene, so many people are religious and going to church is a great thing, but if you don’t have a personal relationship, it’s like, I know George Bush, but I don’t know him.

Personally, that’s right.

I know him if I see his picture.

That’s right.

So the same thing with Christ. You gotta know him personally. Ask him to come into your heart, forgive you of your sins and then you have a good light. Absolutely. Okay.

Many times, well, let me… Okay. They’re not brown enough yet, right?

Well, they’re getting there.

Yeah.

This does take time.

I remember one time on Getting Together, there was a cute little girl from Red Lobster who was gonna do a demonstration.

Yes.

And Stan opened the program.

Right.

And Stan was telling about Jesus and, and Loretta was standing next to this little girl, ’cause we were gonna come to them next on another set. And she turned that little girl and she said, “You don’t have a clue what he’s talking about, do you?”

I could tell.

Yeah, you could see it in her eyes. She’s like, “What?”

Well she was in wonderment.

Yeah, and she was like, you could tell, she wanted to know. And when you said that, she said no, and she said, “Well, let me tell you.” She led the girl to the Lord right there, before we even came. I mean…

I mean, you know, you…

One thing about Loretta, that’s her passion. Her passion is to let other people know about a relationship with God.

Oh, oh my goodness, how could you not share it? How could you not share it?

It’s like having a treasurer and much, and not letting anybody else have anything.

Yeah, it’s like making a homemade apple pie.

Eating it all.

And saying, this is so good, and not offering anybody else. Okay. See now they’re brown.

Oh, yeah. Okay.

Here we go, Charlie. Woo.

Should I turn it down a little bit or is that good?

No. I like it.

[Arlene] Leave it up there. Okay.

Yeah. Okay, now, see this one’s brown enough. I dunno if people can see it, but it’s brown enough. So then what you have to do is put it on a paper towel to get the excess oil out and don’t ask me why, I don’t know.

I know why, but I’m not gonna ask her, and I know she knows why you drain the oil, so it isn’t greasy when you eat it.

Exactly.

Okay.

Okay. Now I’ve got a couple of empty spaces here, so I wanna put in mine.

Mine’s getting brown too.

Okay. Are you ready to put yours on there too?

I’m gonna ask you. Are they ready or should I go little longer?

No, that’s ready.

Is that ready?

Oh yeah.

Okay.

Gee, we should, we should open a restaurant.

I’m telling you. We could, huh?

Yeah.

Now let me ask you this.

[Loretta] What?

We only have a couple minutes here. Walk us through how you’re gonna mount, you’re gonna make that into the casserole and I’ll watch these. Take the ones you have and just show us.

Now, what we’re gonna do is… I can use this.

Okay.

Here’s the sauce. It’s already made, okay? And then you just take some sauce, very simple, and you put it in the bottom of the pan.

Okay.

And this is the sauce, the marinara we made. And just push it all around so it covers the bottom of the pan.

You have to check you have a nice layer on the bottom, right?

Yeah. Well, because you don’t want it to burn or sticks, you know? Oh, this is so good, you guys. I can’t wait for people to make this and then call Arlene and tell them what a blessing it was.

And they will. They’ll enjoy it.

Okay. And then you put your eggplant on top.

[Arlene] Single layer?

Single layer. You can, you can, they can run over each other.

[Arlene] Yeah. Overlap a little bit.

[Loretta] Yeah, they can. Absolutely. It’s not gonna hurt anything.

[Arlene] Watch ’cause some of these are hot, I’m taking out, so.

[Loretta] I know. I was using my fingers and I’m gonna burn them to death.

I forgot to tell you that little silly little thing, didn’t I? Sorry.

Okay. So now there. Now, we have just about a layer to go. One more piece to go.

[Arlene] Okay.

And it will be a layer.

Then what do we do?

Okay. Then you put your mozzarella cheese on top.

Mozzarella, not provolone. Mozzarella.

Mozzarella not provolone. Mozzarella. And try to get it sliced thinly because if it’s too thick, well, it’s just too much cheese, really. I got…

[Arlene] And that’s all you taste, huh?

Yeah. I had this, um, sliced thin like that. And here we go.

Watch yourself here. See, so make, it just makes it so much easier when you have help in the kitchen.

[Loretta] It does.

[Arlene] Doesn’t it?

[Loretta] Yeah. And then put some more sauce on that.

[Arlene] So you just keep layering, layering. That’s all you do.

Yeah. And next thing I’m gonna put on is the grated cheese.

Okay. So, you do use some grated cheese too.

Oh yeah. You have to use the grated cheese. And you know this tomato marinara, it spreads itself out as it bakes too.

Oh yeah. Well, when the heat really gets to it, it…

Okay. And then the grated cheese.

Okay.

Like so.

[Arlene] I bet you’ve made this a zillion times, huh?

Yeah. I’ll tell you, I made this in Boston. I went to visit my, our son and his wife, Joanna. They loved it.

Did they?

Yeah. Dino’s doing well too in Texas?

Oh, my Dino’s wonderful.

Yeah. And how old is his daughter?

He’s loving. He’s so sweet. My Dana, my granddaughter, she is 22.

[Arlene] I can’t believe that.

[Loretta] I know.

[Arlene] I remember when she was four, three, maybe even.

Remember when she was four and we put her on TV? She took her shoes off. She was hiding under a table.

She was a little bit like her grandmother, maybe.

Yeah. A lot like her grandmother.

One thing out you, Loretta, you’re real. What you see is what you get. You don’t put on any airs. That’s what I like most about you. You are is what you are, huh?

Oh listen, alongside of Dana, you know, I have to mention all my grandchildren.

Okay, go ahead.

I have a new grandson and his name is Ethan, Ethan George. He is so pretty. And then his brother, who is five, that’s Jackson, and he received a healing from the Lord. We’re praising God for that.

Praise the Lord.

So they’re all doing well.

That’s good. Okay. How long are you baking with him?

Okay. You have to pre-heat your oven to 350, and then put this in the oven for 45 minutes. And if the cheese does not look like it’s melted enough, then go another five or 10 minutes.

Okay.

Just have to kind of… 45 minutes usually will do it.

When we come back, we’re gonna be in the dining room and we’re gonna serve it up good and hot. Eggplant Parmesan, Loretta’s special. We’ll be right back. Well, here we are at the table. We’ve added Loretta’s good friend, Cindy. We’re so glad you were here with us today.

Yes, Cindy. It’s so nice.

And you know what? Yeah, we’re gonna hurry up and take a walk around the table. There’s the eggplant Parmesan down there and she has dished this out to us. Oh, look at this.

[Loretta] Doesn’t that look beautiful?

I have never seen anything that looks so incredibly delicious. We’ve just added some Italian sausage. We made a nice Caesar salad and…

[Loretta] And bread.

Yeah, we did some bread with some oil and Italian herbs in it, and a little bit of cheese. And then you just dip your bread instead of a bread and butter. Something a little different. We added some sparkling apple juice and you know what? This is a meal fit for a king.

[Loretta] Absolutely.

Loretta, I’m so glad you’re here.

And I’m so glad I’m here too.

It’s always a pleasure, always to meet another new friend. And we’re always glad when you’re here, so be sure to join us the next time because it wouldn’t be the same without you here At Home. Come back, okay?

I will.

All right.

I will.

All right. We’ll see you next.

[Announcer] Furnishings provided by Levin Furniture, featuring Lane’s Country Living Collection. Food provided by Jordan Banana Company, wholesalers of fresh food and vegetables in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.