Eggplant Parmigiana

STILL NO PHOTO - BLASTED CAMERA!

2 cups Italian tomato sauce
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 small unpeeled eggplants (about 1 pound each), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Mix egg and water. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip eggplant slices into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
3. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook half of the eggplant at a time in oil about 5 minutes, turning once, until light brown. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding 1 or 2 tbsp oil, if necessary.
4. Place half of the eggplant in ungreased rectangular baking dish (11 X 7 X 1 1/2 inches), overlapping slices slightly. Spoon half of the sauceover the eggplant. Sprinkle with one cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining veal, sauce, and cheese.
5. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is light brown.

Recipe from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook, 1996 version.

CHANGE I MADE:

• I don't have a pan of that size, so I used my 9 X 9 square baker.
• The recipe calls for you to make the sauce yourself; I have neither the time nor the inclination for that, so I used jarred spaghetti sauce.

THINGS I LEARNED:

• This was a lot of work.
• No one in my family likes eggplant.
• I have no idea when an eggplant is ripe.
• Making a second dinner is easier when the oven is already warm.

OVERALL OPINIONS:

Bill: Hated it. Took two or three bites.

Me: Hated it. It was just plain weird. I would like to think that I just let the eggplant overripen, but I'm not sure that's the case. I've had eggplant before (years ago in Italy), and I enjoyed it then, but this was dreadful.

Georgia: Wouldn't try it. We didn't make her.

Emma: Bless our little trooper. She just kept eating it, saying things like, "Well, it's not going to be my favorite, that's for sure." When Bill and I realized how bad it was, we told her she didn't have to keep eating it. Her response? "Oh, good. I don't really like it much."