Expanding Horizons, Part II

       I had never cut into an eggplant before and didn’t know what I would discover inside. I vaguely remembered my mother using eggplant -- possibly in front of me -- but I had no recollection whether there be seeds I had to remove, or liquid spilling out, or what. So, I simply cut in, and learned there was nothing to it.
       I diced the eggplants  quickly and started following the rest of the eggplant caponata recipe. 
       I followed the recipe closely, in fact, except that I used perhaps a bit more cinnamon and currants than it called for. I even made a quick version of the tomato sauce called for in the recipe, while cooking the eggplant.
       Things moved incredibly quickly, and about half an hour after starting, I already had a saute pan full of eggplant caponata. When it was at room temperature, I transferred it to a pretty bowl. 

       I didn't taste it though. 

       I could see that, in theory, it would be good. Certainly it smelled good. But it was eggplant, after all. So I simply cleaned up the kitchen, and waited.
       When Tom got home, I asked if he wanted to taste what I had cooked. He agreed readily, but must have been distracted, since he didn’t even ask what it was. Or maybe it was simply that before he could make any inquiries, I shoved a spoonful of it in his mouth. 

       His first reaction was that it was delicious. I waited for him to chew it a bit more, and then asked cautiously, “Do you still like it?” He said that he did.

       Then I told him it was eggplant, which perhaps was a mistake.  

       He immediately seemed to like it less -- a lot less. He looked a little accusatory, maybe even a little bit mad. He said he didn't like eggplant. He said that I had put it in his mouth so quickly that he hadn’t been able to see it – which was, I admit, pretty much true.  
       In any case, I served it with dinner. I reminded Tom that he had claimed to like it earlier, but he didn't respond. We both went a few minutes without touching the caponata. But eventually we gave it a try, and agreed that it was great. 
       It was even pretty fabulous – sweet and spicy with backnotes of the cocoa. It didn’t taste traditionally Italian, but seemed more like an exotic North African dish. We ate more and more, and Tom used the word "great" several times.  And we still had plenty left over to enjoy the next day.
       I would highly recommend the recipe, even (or especially) for people who think they don’t like eggplant. The trick is simply to get it in their mouth somehow for that first glorious taste.