Page 261 - A Literary Holiday Cookbook

2 Cut the top from the eggplant and discard. Cut the eggplant in half

lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeded portion. Trim the
sides so that each half lays mostly flat. Use the cookie cutters to cut

out 8 spades and 8 clubs. Transfer these to the large bowl with the

diamonds and hearts (there should be 32 shapes total).

3 Add oil, salt, and pepper to the bowl and stir gently until combined.

4 Place the shapes skin-side up in a single layer on a lightly greased
baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

5 While you wait, rinse and dry the cookie cutters. Cut the chunk of
feta in half and cut each half into ¼-inch-thick planks (cutting it in half

first helps prevent crumbling as you slice the planks). Cut 4 spades

and 4 clubs from the feta, using a toothpick to loosen the edges from
the cutter to avoid crumbling if necessary. Cut the mozzarella into ¼-

inch-thick slices and cut 4 diamonds and 4 hearts from it.

6 Using an offset metal spatula, gently transfer the shapes to a
cutting board.

7 Stack the cheese and vegetable pieces so that each piece of feta
is between 2 pieces of eggplant and each piece of mozzarella is

between 2 pieces of red pepper. Use a toothpick to skewer a hole

through the middle of each stack.

8 Strip all but the top leaves from the sprigs of rosemary (the leaves

will be visible when sticking out the top). Stick a sprig of rosemary in
the hole of each eggplant stack and a sprig of thyme in the hole of

each pepper stack.

Serve to the Red Queen’s gardeners after a long day of painting roses!

Sometimes dull cookie cutters have trouble cutting through the

skin of vegetables. To deal with this, you can place the vegetable