Italy: Eggplant Parmesan

I just realized it's my one year anniversary of ethnic food blogging! In honor, I'm posting twice tonight. No, I'm not eating two dinners (although I wouldn't put it past me); the eggplant is for lunch tomorrow.

I live in an area heavy with the decedents of Italian immigrants, and therefore, heavy on Italian restaurants. Every time I order eggplant parmesan out, the eggplant is sliced so thin and is so heavily breaded that I can hardly taste it. I like my eggplant sliced nice and thick. In short, I'm not sure if this is the Italian way to do it, but sometimes I find myself sitting around craving a thick slice of eggplant and mozzarella. For this exact reason, I make this eggplant parmesan quite a lot.

What you'll need:
1 large eggplant, in 1/2 inch slices
.5 cup Italian bread crumbs
.25 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
Olive oil for sautéing
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (at least 12 oz.)
.5 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2: Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg.
Step 3: Dip eggplant slices in the beaten egg to coat, and then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
Step 4: Sauté eggplant slices in a large pan with olive oil, until browned (3-4 minutes on each side)
Step 5: Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.
Step 6: Place as many eggplant slices as you can in the casserole dish in a single layer. Place one slice of mozzarella on each slice of eggplant, and cover with more sauce. Repeat this step until all eggplant slices have been used.
Step 7: If you have any extra mozzarella cheese, grate it and sprinkle over the top.
Step 8: Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is melted and begins to brown around the edges).

Serve with your choice of pasta on the side.