Eggplant Parmigiano and Shrimp Scampi over Cacio e Pepe

I took myself to the movies yesterday to see 'The Butler'.  Though it is a great story, I did not think the movie was very good.  Before I left, I made the boys dinner so they wouldn't starve while I was gone.  They wouldn't actually starve if I didn't cook for them but they would eat junk.  All I had was 1 eggplant and not much else so this is what I made.

First, I crushed up a bunch of ritz crackers then mixed them with a bit of flour and S&P.

I sauteed some diced garlic in a bit of butter with S&P.

I boiled 1 pound of spaghetti and mixed it with 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 C. of pasta water, S&P and fresh parsley. Make sure you use a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Toss it around to coat the pasta.

Set it aside and toss it again a few times.

Slice the eggplant into thick slices and dip them in a beaten egg and then into the cracker crumb mixture.

Then back in the egg again.

And back in the crumbs.

Coat both sides.

Fry them in a deep pot in about 1/4 inch of oil.  If you use a deep pot it will catch the splatters.

Drain them on paper towels and place a slice of provolone cheese on each slice.

Heat the garlic butter and throw a couple handfuls of shrimp in it.

Place some of the spaghetti on a plate and top it with the eggplant.  Drizzle some spaghetti sauce over the top.  I had sauce that I had just made for the shelter so I used some of it.

Throw some fresh parsley on the shrimp and toss them until they turn pink.

Place the garlicky shrimp over the tomato sauce and top with a dab of pesto and more fresh parsley.