speaking of gastroporn...

[bronze_ribbons]

....here's Nigella Lawson on involtini (eggplant-wrapped stuffing):

...it's the best possible use of an eggplant. Each slice provides a firm-enough wrapper, but the buff-colored flesh, when tiger-striped on the griddle, softens so that it merges cosily into the filling inside and the sauce that covers it. This delectable melting texture is best savored when the involtini are what can only be described as lukewarm. I think most food is best neither hot nor cold but at that flavor-intensifying temperature which hovers around blood heat, and involtini stand as the sovereign example of this rule.

And later she talks about chopping up mozzarella: "I use my mezzaluna for this, which is a strange feeling, the sharp blade biting into the ludicrously soft, damp flesh of the cheese..."