eggplant parm

i could eat eggplant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  a lot of people THINK they don't like it, but when it's fried and smothered in sauce and cheese, i really don't see how anyone couldn't enjoy it.  here's my recipe, give it a try!

ingredients:
3 cups italian breadcrumbs
egg-wash made from 3 large eggs
flour for dredging
vegetable oil for frying
tomato sauce (use any kind you'd like, jarred or homemade!)
one bag grated mozzarella
one bag grated parmesan (you can grate it yourself if you'd like, but i bought mine in a bag)
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella (cut thinly)
1 big eggplant or 2 small ones


to prepare:
cut the eggplant into even slices about 1/2 in. thick
put it in a strainer and salt it (this will pull the moisture out of the eggplant so that it's not soggy when you fry it)
put flour (I add salt and pepper to my flour, that's totally optional), egg-wash, and bread crumbs  into 3 separate bowls
dredge eggplant slice into the flour (tap off excess), then the egg-wash (again, drip off excess), and finally into the bread crumbs.  Set aside on a plate or a cookie sheet.  repeat until all of the eggplant slices are breaded
cover the bottom of a big frying pan with oil and put on med-heat.  you want the pan to be hot enough that the eggplant will sizzle when you drop it in, but not so hot that it will burn.  for those with a kitchen thermometer, you want the oil to be about 385 degrees.
put a few eggplant slices in (don't crowd your pan)
fry on each side for a few minutes (until golden brown, if you peek under and you can still see dry breadcrumbs, let it sit for a little bit longer.  if you look and it's burnt, you've left it too long. i usually have to test one or two to get my timing right, good thing there are plenty!)
transfer the fried eggplant to a pan covered with paper towel

preheat oven to 300

cover the bottom of a casserole dish or a dutch oven with tomato sauce
lay eggplant slices over the sauce and then cover them with more sauce, grated mozzarella and parmesan
repeat this until you reach the top of your dish or until you've used all of your eggplant.  you should end by covering the top layer of eggplant with sauce and fresh mozzarella slices
bake about 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has been slightly browned

serve with pasta or eat it as is!