Miso Glazed Baked Eggplant

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It was 9 am on Sunday when I took a call from a out of town friend inquiring if I wanted to go out with a small (and highly unruly) band of NY glamazons, who had all decided the mission of their visit was to show some West coast boys what it means to go wild NYC-style. The only trouble was that their Big Apple rules just don't apply here in LA-LA-Wood, where most restaurants stop serving at 10, last call is at 2, and the next stop is never walking (or cabbing) distance away. So after I explained all that, they said no problem, just go get ready.

Next thing I know, a retro-fab, brown limo slows down outside my door, at the serious hour of 11:30 am, and without even coming to a full stop, an arm emerges and I was yanked into their debauchery. I can't go into many details, since my knowledge of what constitutes a misdemeanor and what is just girls being mischievous is vague, but I will say, at one point, in a very loud and crazy-crowded sushi joint, we (well, more like they) managed (with outrageously overt flirting) to have fourteen orders of miso-glazed eggplant sent to us by seven different tables of mush-eyed men in the course of, oh, eleven minutes.

I'm not sure if the consumption of this dish can raise you to rock-star status, but if those fine ladies are living on it, well, I suspect there must be some star-dust in the thick and salty, umami rich appetizer we could all use a sprinkling of. Try it, and enjoy!

1 large globe eggplant, sliced thick
3 tablespoons white miso
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
sesame seeds and scallions for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350F

In a small bowl, combine the miso, yolk, sesame oil and vegetable oil. Stir vigorously with a fork.

Generously oil a sheet pan with sides.

Spoon a medium-thick layer of the sauce onto one side of each eggplant slice. Top with some sesame seeds and place in a single layer on the sheet pan.

Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and pour 1/2 cup of water onto the sheet pan (this is why you need it to have sides. Dig?) return the pan to the oven and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and let the eggplant cool to room temp. Garnish wish sliced scallions and more sesame seeds. Serve.

Makes 4- 6 servings

Perfect as an appetizer or as a vegetarian main course

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In addition to the four main taste components (sweet, sour, salty and bitter), there is the additional taste characteristic called "umami" or savory.

Check out the amazing, beautiful and earth-friendly bamboo cutting boards at Totally Bamboo

When you really want to get your groove on, no band says good times like Les Sans Culottes

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