Eggplant can be very tasty. Usually if I am using the classic purple kind I always remove the skin. I find it makes it bitter.

I have a great recipe a friend gave me to make an eggplant stuffing. Its also a great basic starting point and can be tweaked easily to your liking. In all honesty when I make it I have never measured anything I put into it but the butter and just eyed the amounts. Just taste as you go... there is nothing in here to worry about not being cooked properly that you shouldn't be eating. I just go off the thought process of I know what stuffing should look like and added accordingly to get the taste I want.

Ingredients
1 eggplant
2 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup seasoned italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh italian seasonings (mix of parsley, oregano and basil)
Dash pepper
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

Peel eggplant and chop pulp into small cubes. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes if colander isnt sitting in the sink then put a plate under it. Blot moisture with a paper towel.

In a skillet, saute eggplant and onion in butter and oil until tender. When the eggplant and onion looks almost done add the mushroom. Once everything is tender then mix in bread crumbs, parmesan, herbs and pepper.

Place in a lightly greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until stuffing reaches the texture your looking for (whether you like a more moist or dry stuffing is up to you and time depends on the shape and size of your baking dish. My dish I usually use is one of my oval stone bakeware)

Two years ago we grew some eggplant in our garden, classic purple I guess, and it tasted great. Had kind of a smoky-chipotle kind of flavor that went very well in several dishes.

Last year we planted them again and they tasted like an old ashtray. Not sure what went wrong but they were horrible. Maybe we let them get too big or something, I don't know. Do the different varieties of eggplant have radically different flavors or are there just subtle flavor or texture differences? Is there a right way and a wrong way to pick one out in the store?

Im not sure about that. I know that if I cook eggplant of the grill it gets that smokey taste but Im not sure what ones you grew that might have a natual smokey chipotle flavor. If anyone does I would love to know to try them.

As for the flavors it will varry depending on the variety. Mostly the more seeds it has in it and thicker skinned ones makes an eggplant more bitter. Which is why I peel classic american eggplants but never white. White also has very few seeds in it giving it a lite mild taste.

To me someone saying "I dont like eggplant" becuase they dont like the taste of a classic purple american eggplant is the same as someone saying "I dont like apples" just becuase they dont like the taste of a granny smith.

I have some friends that dont like eggplant that I have gotten to eat white eggplant without knowing they were trying an eggplant dish. They then tell me that its really good and then ask what it is. They're shocked when they find out its eggplant since they 'dont like eggplant.' A few still didnt love it but they didnt hate it either which I take as a plus. When in reality most of the time I find they really just dont natual bitter taste of the classic eggplant they are familiar with. Which 9 times out of 10 is what is used.

This link has a useful basic break down of some of the different types and difference in flavors.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Eggplants.html

When it comes to picking them out (across the board) I usually look for a nice firm shiny eggplants with no breaks in the skin. They have a short shelf life so I buy them no more then a day or so before I plan on using them.

People seem to like this veggie so I'm giving it another go. I've got a Rosa Bianca eggplant just starting to flower in the garden. I figured maybe its like tomatoes - homegrown makes a world of difference? I have never liked tomatoes, but homegrown are not bad at all

Home grown tomatos are the best. From what I have heard and read a lot of times the ones in the stores are picked still green and not quite rip which is why they have no real flavor to them. They are gassed with methane to get them to turn red. My husband use to hate tomatos until he had some fresh ones from our garden. Now he only likes homegrown ones. I think I have 17 tomato plants right now in like 6 or 7 different varieties growing in our garden.

Hopefully you like your rosa biancas they have a nice sweet mild flavor comared to a classic purple.