Parm three ways: Meatball, chicken, eggplant

>>> this morning in "today's" kitchen, what's for dinner? three delicious ways to say cheese. heating up the dining scene here in new york with their restaurants, italian specialties. good morning, guys. setting the cooking world on fire , literally, in a good way. "new york times" is raving about you. how did you do it so quickly?

>> we started really, really young.

>> 10 years old will do, right?

>> little baby chefs.

>> we were young and we were at it.

>> you're taking traditional italian, putting your spin on t we're using parm today. you want to start over here?

>> yes.

>> battle stations.

>> mario, we're starting out with --

>> this is kind of -- it's the base of all great soups, stews. it's kind of like -- it could be trinity. it's not an exact --

>> okay.

>> onions, garlic, chopped parsley.

>> right. and that's our base.

>> that's your base. you cook it real slow and gentle. add it to your meat mixture. your meat mixture is 50% beef, 25% ground veal , 25% pork sausage .

>> why do you like that blend?

>> it adds a certain italian-americanness to it.

>> very nice.

>> instead of dried bread crumbs use soaked fresh bread. instead of extracting moisture it adds moisture.

>> add eggs.

>> which is great, too. add the eggs, cheese.

>> why do you love parm so much? i love it.

>> the restaurant.

>> add that.

>> and form it into pattis instead of balls.

>> why?

>> we're going to make a sauce here. it's a comep ochpote, right?

>> crushed tomato right here. this is olive oil , garlic and parsley.

>> add that, too. that looks great.

>> for ten minutes. you're going to cook this really quick.

>> right.

>> we want it light and fresh, not a deep tomato sauce .

>> we'll put the oil in?

>> yes, little bit.

>> just a little bit, not the whole thing? little bit more? be liberal? okay.

>> that's good.

>> you're going to show and tell, assemble it back here. the sauce is cooking here.

>> i'm back at the tasting section. i jumped ahead. what do we do here?

>> little mozzarella. little basil.

>> real quick what it looks like on the other end.

>> come on, mario.

>> at this point --

>> we've seassembled it into a little bun, put the basil on top?

>> we're running through the steps because we're running out of time , gentlemen. egg plant parm, right? that looks amazing.

>> next kathie lee and hoda