i have never cooked eggplant before---what does it mean by paring, do i have to peel it first? Thanks

Yes - peel your eggplant. Some don't peel them - but I always do - but the skins can taste bitter (the bitterness is just under the skin). The little Japanese eggplants I don't peel - I love those!!

Also many recipes call for salting the eggplant to leach out the water and bitterness - but I don't do that. When frying eggplant (even breaded) it will soak up the oil. For this reason I dip my eggplant slices in egg white to prevent that much oil from being absorbed. Then I dip in my coating. After coating you can place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to "dry" and prevent excess oil from being absorbed also.

If your recipe is for baking a whole eggplant, be sure to puncture the skin in several places so that is does not burst!

I like to salt the eggplant slices just a little, then allow them to dry for about 20 minutes. This helps draw out some the water, which in turn helps the eggplant to fry up crisper. Soggy eggplant=blah.

I have seen a recipe that calls for deep frying eggplant with cheese. Any recommendations for what type of cheese to use? The recipe I have did not specify.

Can we see the recipe please. That would help us give you an answer.