Eggplant Parmesan

First of all, I would like to apologize for my long gap in posting.  I've been going nonstop this week starting with a weekend up north (20 law students sharing a house = more frozen pizza than I've ever seen and little to no cooking) and a very hectic first week of classes.  Now that I have a four day weekend, I can get back to more enjoyable things like cooking, thinking about cooking, and blogging about cooking.  Now onto the food...

I love eggplant parmesan.  My first memory of eating it is at Cafe Luciano in Chicago.  Even if you're not a huge eggplant fan, I think you'll enjoy eggplant parmesan.  It's a great warm meal for a cold night (or Minneapolis day with a high of -5).  Plus, I always convince myself that I'm eating something healthy when I make it (eggplant!  tomato!), totally disregarding the massive amounts of cheese I pile on top.  And of course the frying of the eggplant, which I did for the first time with this batch.  

Start out by slicing your eggplant into about 1/4"-1/2" slices.  I used one medium-large sized eggplant which was perfect for a 9x13" baking dish.  I've used about the same size or a slightly smaller one to make it in a 9" round dish, too.  Anyway, once you have your slices sprinkle them with salt and let them drain on paper towels or in a colander for 30 minutes to an hour.  I say that, but I generally only let them sit for about 20 minutes.  I get antsy. 

When the time is up or you're sick of waiting, rinse off the slices and pat them dry.  Next comes the frying.  

Every time I've made this dish before I've just salted the eggplant and then started throwing everything in the pan.  There was no pre-frying the slices involved.  It always tasted just fine, but when my aunt Lisa made eggplant parmesan on Christmas I realized I really was skipping a crucial step.  She said she had actually baked the eggplant for a while instead of frying it, but I was pressed for time so I'll have to try her technique next time. 

I've never fried anything, so I didn't really know what I was doing.  I got out an egg, some flour, and some breadcrumbs, but then I realized I didn't know what to do with them.  That's kind of embarrassing, so please don't tell anyone.  I then got out Joy of Cooking, and their recipe for eggplant parmesan sent me to a recipe for fritter batter.  So I gave it a shot.  More or less.  

I mixed 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  In a separate bowl I whisked together 1 egg (JoC says 2 yolks) and a tablespoon of butter.  Then I dumped it into the bowl of dry ingredients and added 1/4 cup beer.  When I tried to whisk it and ended up with a crumbly, chunky mess that in no way resembled batter I went back to the recipe and realized it said 3/4 cup beer.  So I added another 1/2 cup.  

After dipping a few slices of eggplant in the batter I put them in a skillet with maybe a quarter inch of oil.  I really don't remember how much I put in there initially, but it was definitely not the 3 inches that I just realized the recipe said.  You might be wondering how I am just now realizing how much oil the recipe called for.  You know what?  So am I.  Regardless of how far off I was, it seemed to work pretty well.  

I cooked the slices for a few minutes on each side - basically until they were browned.  Then I set them on paper towels to drain and cool a little bit.  By the way, if you have any suggestions for battering/frying stuff, please let me know.  I could clearly use your help.  

The assembly is the fun, easy part.  Line the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce and top it with a layer of eggplant slices.  I just used whatever jar Matt bought when he went to the store.  Make sure you have plenty of sauce for this.  I think we had a 3lb. jar of sauce and used about half of it.  Or if you have more time you can make your own sauce.  

Spoon more sauce on top of the eggplant.  This recipe is very flexible, so you can add as much or as little of the ingredients as you like.  And if you run out of something, it is still going to taste ok.  Even if you run out of cheese (!!), it will still be edible.  

On top of the sauce goes cheese.  I used mozzarella.  And I also sprinkled on some oregano and garlic powder.  Repeat the layers until you're out of eggplant.  I got two full layers out of my one eggplant.  

After I put on even more cheese, Matt said, "I thought this was called eggplant parmesan."  He's so smart.  And sometimes he actually is right!  In order to give him a real taste of eggplant parmesan I got out the old shakable cheese from the fridge and sprinkled some over the top.  Had I been thinking ahead more I would have picked up the real thing, but whatever.  

Once the layering is completed and you've piled on as much cheese as you want, throw it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or so.  You'll know it's ready when the cheese is melted and bubbly.  

If you're looking for a something to do once your eggplant is in the oven, I would suggest making a little garlic cheese bread.  Or cheese bread.  Or garlic bread.  Ok, or salad.  Just butter some bread, sprinkle on some garlic, and top it off with some cheese.  

Put the bread in the oven with the eggplant until it gets all bubbly and looks like this.  If my mom were here, I would save her the end piece.  That's just the kind of daughter I am.  

Don't let the cheese bread distract you for too long, or you might miss out on this:

Does this make you hungry?  In case you still have not figured it out, I am not lactose intolerant.  My brother's girlfriend is lactose intolerant, and I really don't understand how she can enjoy food so much when cheese is not a part of her diet.  Or how she puts up with my smelly brother.  I think when I made this it was on or really close to her birthday, so Happy Birthday, Jess!