{"id":1231,"date":"2018-10-23T15:32:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T15:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trialbyfryer.com\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2018-10-23T16:23:06","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T16:23:06","slug":"moussaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trialbyfryer.com\/2018\/10\/moussaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Moussaka"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week<\/a>, I mentioned that I was on a family holiday with the in-laws, frolicking among fluffy sheep on the fields of England. Here are some nice pictures of us with baby animals and baby humans:<\/p>\n

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The other thing that happened was that we went to the Dartmoor Diner<\/a> in Plymouth, a cozy, quaint little restaurant by the side of the road that leads into Dartmoor National Park, a windswept expanse of rolling hills, heather, and grazing farm animals. The Dartmoor Diner is amazing. It has big windows overlooking the moors, wooden tables and chairs, and, like all diners worth their muster, a counter full of desserts as big as your head by the entrance. Their desserts are no joke, and if anything are even bigger, more decadent versions of classic dinner sweet fare. As we walked past, I ogled a sky-high lemon meringue tart, a dark, thick wedge of fudgy chocolate cake, and a Maltesers<\/a> pavlova brimming with candy, chocolate, and caramel. As good as the desserts looked, however, nobody even managed to get one, as we were stuffed after our meal. The Dartmoor Diner food is hearty, filling, comfort British food – full of casseroles, pies, and roast meats. Being near the ocean, there was also a substantial seafood section with fish cakes and fried shrimp. <\/p>\n

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I went for the classic fish and chips. There are foods that I absolutely must get when in certain countries, and fish and chips in Britain is one such example. This past trip, I had fish and chips twice! Now – you are thinking – the title and the pictures of this post are for moussaka. Why is this crazy lady babbling on about fish and chips?! Well, the answer is that while I was very happy with my meal, and very delicious and fresh that it was, I nevertheless suffer hopelessly from food envy, and my mother-in-law’s moussaka was singing a siren song. As good as fresh fried fish is, it is nevertheless not an ooey, gooey meat casserole. There is something endlessly comforting about a casserole in any form, with its bubbling, oozing cheese and its layers of hot, steaming, multifaceted goodness, its browned top crust and squishy interiors. It may sound crazy, but the way that my mind works is that I could not stop thinking about that moussaka! And so, as soon as I got home, as soon as I could, I made one all for myself.<\/p>\n

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Moussaka is fairly labor intensive, and requires a lot of prep and simmering. I would definitely save it for a lazy Sunday! But you can also make an incredible amount of it to eat through the week. In all my obsession about moussaka, I might have gone overboard – I made enough for four (FOUR!) meals for both James and me, and we ate it for dinner straight through from Monday to Thursday. I may have gotten my moussaka fix for the next six months. Anyway, I’m not sure that this moussaka is the most authentic, but it is a flavorful, comforting, warm blend of meat, spices, eggplant, and potato that comes out of the oven with bubbling juices and crisp, cheesy edges.<\/p>\n

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Some Notes:<\/p>\n