Dinner: Eggplant Parm

I don't normally like to brag.

Fine, if you know me, you know I brag.

And this dish is worth bragging about: Eggplant Parm from the America's Test Kitchen Cooking for 2 2009 magazine.

It was perfect for me and FD. A perfect serving for two.

And it rivaled any restaurant Eggplant Parm.

Who knew I was so awesome? ;)

I firmly believe the tricks to this recipe are:

a.) Follow the instructions on how to make your own sauce. It's perfect for the dish!

b.) Make your own bread crumbs as the recipe instructs.

c.) Layer the eggplant as the recipe directs you to do.

d.) Invest in some good non-stick oven ready cookware. Our Le Creuset is the best cookware investment I have made--ever. And the thought that it will last long enough for my one-day grandchildren to inherit makes me tear up.

For a side we had fresh organic broccoli from our local farmer. I followed her advice to steam the leave of the head of broccoli. (Yes, our broccoli looks like "real" broccoli; I didn't believe it at first either.) The greens were a bit bitter, which I enjoyed but FD did not.

I love how pretty it all looked on the china, though.

Yes, I'm going to brag.

Damn, this meal I made was the bomb. I will make it again when I need an ego boost.