this was my first time cooking fresh eggplant... these were really great and were not a big production/intimidating as i had anticipated — super easy! my boyfriend loved it! we had it over angel hair pasta. i used one medium-sized eggplant and i sweated the slices as several suggested for 30 minutes and added parmesan and garlic to the breadcrumbs (contadina). i double-dipped/breaded the slices and baked them for 10 on each side; they weren't very crispy/browned after 5. and used barilla's basic marinara sauce which worked well. watch your cooking time for the whole casserole - mine only needed about 20 minutes. even though i only used 1 eggplant and my boyfriend had hearty seconds, we have a ton of leftovers and i set aside some of the slices for sandwiches - so good!

Reviewed On: Jan. 7, 2008

sounds really good but ends up watery and bland

Reviewed On: Dec. 29, 2007

as a disclaimer, i've never been one to count calories or shy away from lots of butter or cream... but this was pretty heavy and gross. my whole house reeked of an overwhelming smell of butter and i probably took off 5 years of my lifespan with this meal. it wasn't horrible, but i won't be making it again. if you decide to make it though, i left out the water chestnuts per several suggestions, but i think it would have helped the flavor/texture to leave them in. i used canned peas as listed, but i think using frozen peas would make it feel less like an institutional meal. also, i would cut the amount of butter in half (the ritz crackers will provide plenty) - don't use margarine - it's transfat!

Reviewed On: Dec. 29, 2007