Hmmmmm... While eggplant is quite a lovely color and an interesting-looking vegetable, I have not cooked with it more than once or twice. This dish is an appetizer. I sliced the eggplant, baked it and then immediately added garlic, dill, marjoram, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper, sprinkling all of these on the tops of the slices. Mollie says "...the ingredients will be in peak harmony" if it sits in refrigerator overnight. So that's what I did and the flavor harmony did happen. Unfortunately, this dish still did not make me an eggplant fan. It was just OK. I wondered if I would have been able to tell what I was eating if I were blindfolded. The texture is not firm, a bit soggy, and this diminished the appeal for me. Still, everyone has different tastes and it might appeal to some. It was much better eaten at room temperature than right from the refrigerator.
I suspect if one is writing a cookbook or is a chef and her main work is trying to creatively combine food ingredients, one has quite a different perspective on the issues of tastiness and successful recipes. How many tastings do they have on each recipe? How often have they made a particular dish? If they run a restaurant, how often is a recipe like Marinated Eggplant offered and what has been the feedback?
I am learning a lot about food combinations/preparations that I would never have tried were I not doing this. I am learning about fresh herbs and the utter importance of having at least one good KNIFE. I am learning about YEAST and kneading.
The timer is buzzing. My latest bread is about to come out of the oven and it smells damn good!
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