Surprisingly Great Eggplant Parmesan

When I think of edible vegetables I think of Carrots, celery, broccoli, tomatoes or pretty much anything you could fit in one of those holiday veggie trays with the dip in the center. Something that I knew existed yet, is out there, is Eggplant. Where is it? I don't know where necessarily, I just know its never been here, in our fridge, in our life, or cooked on our stove or in our oven. So, you can imagine my surprise when Trisha walks up to me with two huge Eggplants in her hands. "Is this what they are supposed to feel like?" First, get the visuals out of your head, it really happened that way and isn't some fabricated story to get a laugh. But it is funny looking back. Anyway, I responded to Trisha's question how anyone who's ever known me would think I would respond. Well, anyone except my beautiful and intelligent wife of over 6 years and significant other of 11 years apparently. I said, "How would I know? What is that, Eggplant? And you wouldn't ask me that unless your planning something, but we don't eat Eggplant." 


Here is the spirit of this Blog. Trisha gets these wild ideas about food that she got from somewhere and I get to try out the idea she had, good or bad. I swore this would be one of the bad and never make it to the blog. There are not many that don't make the cut, but there are a few. I thought this would be bad because nothing what-so-ever about Eggplant seems edible or excitable to me. It looks horrible, feels horrible (Its supposed to be a little soft, by the way), and smells like a bunch of nothing. Having said all that, as you can tell from the title, the eggplant, to my delight, was absolutely delicious. I watched her skin it, cut it into slices, bread it and bake it, then build the dish of eggplant, cheese and sauce and during this process is when my mind started to turn. When she pulled the breaded and baked Eggplant from the oven it smelled amazing, looked amazing when placed in the same dish as heaping piles of gooey mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, as well as the bright, colorful, and flavorful tomato sauce. Just to reiterate, I didn't want any part of this dish, yet when it was time to dig in, I did what I always do; took a deep breath, inhaled the aroma, dug in and LOVED every bite I took. Trisha truly is an awesome cook, but don't take my word for it, go cook it! Enjoy!


Ingredients:


- 2 Eggplants peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups Italian seasoned Bread Crumbs
- 6 Cups of your favorite Tomato Sauce; divided
- 16oz Freshly shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
- 1/4 shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon basil




How to Cook It:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Dip Eggplant slices in Egg, then bread in crumbs. Place in single layer on baking sheet. Bake in oven for 5 minutes on each side.

3. In a 9X13 inch baking dish spread tomato sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and basil. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.


4. Bake in preheated oven for 35minutes, or until golden brown. ENJOY!