spicy eggplant parmesan

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this is a guest blog post from meagan kessler.

being a teacher this time of year, i find myself with a whole lot of nothing to do. i've been doing my very best to distract myself from texting my roommates at work all day, but trying to be productive at the same time. day after day the girls come home to a spic and span, ant-free house because of all my efforts. i find myself secretly expecting a “wow, meag, this place looks great…thanks for folding all my laundry! it’s so nice opening up the cheez-its and not finding them covered in ants. by the way jillian’s 30 day shred has really been paying off! your arms look great!”….HOWEVER, that is simply not the case. most days i listen to them complain about 2-hour commutes, bosses that have no bathroom etiquette, or how hungry they are. i decided it was about time i drown this out, even if for just one night, and make them notice me (who by the way has usually been waiting anxiously for the past 3 hours for them to finally come home so she can have someone to talk to).

i’m not a cook. don’t get me wrong, i like food and i appreciate all sis’s home cooked meals, but i usually don’t have the patience to cook myself.  i decided on my go-to, eggplant parmesan recipe. i was worried because this is usually a good cold weather meal, but the rain we had here in arlington last night really helped make it acceptable.  the meal, as expected, was a success. i could say it's easy but then i wouldn't be doing myself any justice. it definitely takes the skills of a skilled master chef, but i think you could pull it off. 

to duplicate my version exactly, follow tyler florence's recipe and instructions to a t, leaving out the olives and maybe accidently mistaking 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes.  ;) i served it with garlic bread and a simple salad with a red wine vinaigrette dressing.

sis' input (because i couldn't resist):

first off the sauce was to die for. i'm definitely going to use this as my go-to recipe next time i make any pasta dish. it was perfect combination of spicy, garlicy, and sweet. next let's talk about the eggplant. meagan cooked it to a perfect crisp so you could still taste the fried bites after it was baked. the warm, gooey mozzarella cheese was the ultimate topping, making you go back for seconds. seriously try this one. good job, meggy. i think i have some new competition in the house.