Eggplant Parmesan

Our weekend plans got turned upside down a bit, but it all worked out okay. We ended up at my mom's last night, so tonight is going to be eggplant parmesan night! The husand and I finally got to see the new Batman movie. Third try's the charm I guess. Even that was almost thwarted--the husband locked his keys in our car, and of course I hadn't taken mine since he had his. And of course neither of us had our cell phones. Sheesh. It all worked out though.

I've been dying to make this eggplant parmesan recipe ever since I got my message board's cookbook. I just hadn't seen eggplant anywhere at a decent price. Then I was at Trader Joe's last week, and they had a package of two eggplant for $3. That seemed reasonable to me! Everyone who has tried this recipe says it's awesome. I can't wait for dinner!! I'm even making my own tomato sauce for it. The recipe for the sauce is from the same person. I'll post both for y'all.

Eggplant Parmesan
2 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick round slices
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Flour for dredging
6 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp whole milk
Olive oil, as needed
Tomato sauce
Parmesan cheese
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Place the flour in a plate or bowl. Add oregano and thyme. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Dredge an eggplant slice in the flour then dip it in the egg mixture. Shake off any excess egg and start frying. Turn the eggplant once, cooking until golden brown. It cooks very quickly so keep your eye on them. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and season with salt to taste. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. Preheat oven to 400. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with some tomato sauce and arrange the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with more sauce and scatter half of the parmesan and mozzarella over the sauced eggplant. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce
3 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Fresh basil

Mince the garlic and onion. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add cans of crushed tomatoes plus half a can of water and bring to a boil. When it's boiling, turn the heat way down and let it simmer. The longer you let it simmer, the better it will taste. For three cans, let simmer about 90 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. At the very end chop up some basil and stir it in (dried basil would work too).

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Wouldn't a nice bottle of red wine be oh-so-awesome with this? Yes, it's 7:30 in the morning and I'm wishing for red wine. Tells you what kind of a start my day is off to, huh.

Anyway. Doesn't this sound so yummy? I asked the person who submitted the recipe a couple questions, and she said she usually preps it all in the morning then sticks it in the fridge and bakes it for closer to 45 minutes since it can take awhile to do the eggplant frying. The boy and I are going to the store after Sesame Street this morning, then I'll throw the stuff together for the sauce when we get home. I figure I can do the eggplant during naptime, get it all assembled and in the fridge so we can eat at a reasonable time. I'm horrible at timing things to be done at a certain time.

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I took pictures! I was going to put them in the review and then thought that was silly.

My two beautiful eggplants:


Sliced eggplant, ready and waiting for flour and eggwash (I got to use my new camera lens for some of the pics...exciting!!):


Eggplant in its oil hot tub (and my Le Creuset buffet casserole pan!):


Eggplant after being fried:


Oh yeah, and here's my pot of tomato sauce:


First layer of eggplant:


Second layer of eggplant:


Finished product...lordy mama, don't you want to grab a fork and dig right in?!