Saturday, March 27, 2010

Kitchen Sink Frittata

I'm not sure what I would do if I was forced to give up eggs. Scrambled with a side of toast and bacon. Scrambled with green chiles in a breakfast burrito. Boiled just right for egg salad. Soft boiled with lots of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Fried hard for a quick sandwich, with cheese and a slice of tomato. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

And in this tough economy, at about a dime each, eggs are the most cost-effective way of getting protein. A dozen of large are just north of a buck at our grocer, and as high as $3 for the hippie eggs. That's still just a quarter an egg, or $2 for all the eggs you need for this frittata that serves four easy.

Throw in two bucks worth of veggies and this meal is a dollar per serving. So take that, you drive-thru, dollar menu clowns.

So here you go. Read the entire thing, then go back to the beginning and pick your ingredients. You have five minutes of prep, then just watch it cook. 30 minutes start to finish.






Everyone's selling frittata pans these days, but any oven-proof pan will work by starting it on the stove and finishing in the oven.

The Base:
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or cream (preferably not skim, but skim will work if that's all you have)
1 Tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste



In a very large measuring cup or mixing bowl (about 4 cups) mix all of the above.

Then add any of the following:

The Kitchen Sink:
  • Up to 2 cups of veggies and meat: Bacon, sausage, chorizo, canadian bacon, pancetta, or you name it. Fresh red or green bell peppers, mushrooms, jalapeños, onions, spinach, summer squash, or, again, you name it. Steam some asperagus and cut into one-inch pieces. Microwave some diced potatoes. The only caveat is, if you use sauteed or cooked veggies, let them cool before adding them to the egg mixture.
  • Half to a full cup of cheese: Any hard or soft cheese will work. Try crumbled feta or goat, or grated cheddar, or packages of mixed Italian or Mexican cheeses. Note, if using salty cheese, like feta, then take it easy on the salt in your egg mix.
  • Herbs and spices: Sprinkle enough spice to cover the top of your egg mix, then whisk into the mixture until blended. Try red pepper flakes, garlic, green onions, or basil, cilantro, or parsley.
Here's the last bit of your hands-on. Heat your oven to 350°. In an oven-proof pan, heat enough butter or olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium heat. Medium, not medium-high. Get your egg mix ready, and then give the pan a twirl to make sure the oil touches the sides of the pan. Slowly pour the egg mix into the pan, cover, and let it sit on medium heat for about a minute. Then turn the stove down to low and give it about 7 minutes. Check the egg, and when the eggs are set about an inch from the side, you're ready. Depending on your ingredients, this might take up to 12 minutes, so just keep checking.

Then uncover the pan and move it to the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes, but again, because of your ingredients, it might take up to 25 minutes to finish. You're going to bake it until the top is completely set. Watch the very center; when the center is set, you're done.

If you're using an omelet-style pan, you can slide the frittata to a cutting board. We use a straight-sided pan and just cut it in the pan with a sharp plastic spatula. If you let it cool for two minutes, it will pull away from the pan and will be easier to serve.

Serve it as-is or with salsa. A side salad, green or fruit, goes well with this dish. Or, cut it into one inch squares for an hors d'oevre.

Kitchen Sink Frittata

I'm not sure what I would do if I was forced to give up eggs. Scrambled with a side of toast and bacon. Scrambled with green chiles in a breakfast burrito. Boiled just right for egg salad. Soft boiled with lots of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Fried hard for a quick sandwich, with cheese and a slice of tomato. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

And in this tough economy, at about a dime each, eggs are the most cost-effective way of getting protein. A dozen of large are just north of a buck at our grocer, and as high as $3 for the hippie eggs. That's still just a quarter an egg, or $2 for all the eggs you need for this frittata that serves four easy.

Throw in two bucks worth of veggies and this meal is a dollar per serving. So take that, you drive-thru, dollar menu clowns.

So here you go. Read the entire thing, then go back to the beginning and pick your ingredients. You have five minutes of prep, then just watch it cook. 30 minutes start to finish.






Everyone's selling frittata pans these days, but any oven-proof pan will work by starting it on the stove and finishing in the oven.

The Base:
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or cream (preferably not skim, but skim will work if that's all you have)
1 Tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste



In a very large measuring cup or mixing bowl (about 4 cups) mix all of the above.

Then add any of the following:

The Kitchen Sink:
  • Up to 2 cups of veggies and meat: Bacon, sausage, chorizo, canadian bacon, pancetta, or you name it. Fresh red or green bell peppers, mushrooms, jalapeños, onions, spinach, summer squash, or, again, you name it. Steam some asperagus and cut into one-inch pieces. Microwave some diced potatoes. The only caveat is, if you use sauteed or cooked veggies, let them cool before adding them to the egg mixture.
  • Half to a full cup of cheese: Any hard or soft cheese will work. Try crumbled feta or goat, or grated cheddar, or packages of mixed Italian or Mexican cheeses. Note, if using salty cheese, like feta, then take it easy on the salt in your egg mix.
  • Herbs and spices: Sprinkle enough spice to cover the top of your egg mix, then whisk into the mixture until blended. Try red pepper flakes, garlic, green onions, or basil, cilantro, or parsley.
Here's the last bit of your hands-on. Heat your oven to 350°. In an oven-proof pan, heat enough butter or olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium heat. Medium, not medium-high. Get your egg mix ready, and then give the pan a twirl to make sure the oil touches the sides of the pan. Slowly pour the egg mix into the pan, cover, and let it sit on medium heat for about a minute. Then turn the stove down to low and give it about 7 minutes. Check the egg, and when the eggs are set about an inch from the side, you're ready. Depending on your ingredients, this might take up to 12 minutes, so just keep checking.

Then uncover the pan and move it to the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes, but again, because of your ingredients, it might take up to 25 minutes to finish. You're going to bake it until the top is completely set. Watch the very center; when the center is set, you're done.

If you're using an omelet-style pan, you can slide the frittata to a cutting board. We use a straight-sided pan and just cut it in the pan with a sharp plastic spatula. If you let it cool for two minutes, it will pull away from the pan and will be easier to serve.

Serve it as-is or with salsa. A side salad, green or fruit, goes well with this dish. Or, cut it into one inch squares for an hors d'oevre.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St Paddy's Day Recap

In no particular order ...

Short story about Guinness at The Whole Story.

Bangers and Tatties from the Big Red Kitchen.

And their complete Irish Feast, including Murphy's Stout Milkshakes, here.


Irish Soda Bread right here.

Two other ways to make Irish Soda Bread at Bon Appétit.






Irish Stew with Cheddar Scones right here.








A nutrition clip that mentions Guinness as a healthy beverage choice here.

Corned Beef via Spilled Milk. And Molly and Matt's thoughts about St Patrick's Day here.

Corned Beef on the grill, courtesy the folks at Weber.

Corned Beef and Cabbage via Sur La Table.

Irish oatmeal: crockpot steel-cut oats at Kalyn's Kitchen.

For dessert, a Vanilla Guinness Shake.

Or Guinness ice cream here.








How to say "cheers" in numerous languages here.

Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart.
—Ecclesiastes 9:10
Payday came and with it beer.
-Rudyard Kipling

Work is the curse of the drinking class.
-Oscar Wilde

Here’s to you and here’s to me, the best of friends we’ll ever be, but if we ever disagree, to hell with you and here’s to me.

The problem with some people is that when they aren’t drunk they’re sober.
-William Butler Yeats

Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.
— Frank Sinatra

(On receiving a hearty introduction) When I get a very generous introduction like that I explain that I'm emotionally moved, but on the other hand I'm Irish and the Irish are very emotionally moved. My mother is Irish and she cries during beer commercials.
— Barry McCaffrey

I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my Mum. I know I've got Irish blood because I wake up everyday with a hangover.
— Noel Gallagher

We are all of us in the gutter.
But some of us are looking at the stars.
— Oscar Wilde

Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.
— W. C. Fields

I like to do my principal research in bars, where people are more likely to tell the truth or, at least, lie less convincingly than they do in briefings and books.
— P J. O'Rourke

I like beer. On occasion, I will even drink beer to celebrate a major event such as the fall of Communism or the fact that the refrigerator is still working.
— Dave Barry

This beer is good for you. This is draft beer. Stick with the beer. Let's go and beat this guy up and come back and drink some more beer.
— Earnest Hemingway

I can resist everything except temptation.
– Oscar Wilde

Let schoolmasters puzzle their brains
With grammar, and nonsense, and learning,
Good liquor, I stoutly maintain,
Gives genius a better discerning
--- Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774), Irish poet

I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society, except that which makes the road safer, the beer stronger, old men and women warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer.
--- Irish novelist Brendan Behan

What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.
--- Irish proverb

There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says 'Good people drink good beer.' Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer.
--- Hunter S. Thompson








Thursday, March 11, 2010

Breakfast Tacos

Personally, big fan here. Doesn't really matter what's in them. Eggs, of course, are a great way to start.

What's not to like about breakfast tacos?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Mother of All Cobblers

O, blackberry tart, with berries as big as your thumb, purple and black, and thick with juice, and a crust to endear them...with such a taste that will make you close your eyes and wish you might live forever in the wideness of that rich moment. —Richard Llewellyn, Welsh novelist (1907 — 1983)



Filling:
8 cups blackberries fresh or frozen
(thawed slightly if frozen)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup instant tapioca
Juice of ½ lime
Pinch of salt

Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup coconut
¾ cup sugar
½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg
















Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, toss berries with sugar, tapioca, lime juice and salt. Spoon into a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Don’t be afraid to mix or try other fruits too—peaches, raspberries, blueberries, etc. Use a little more tapioca with frozen fruit or expect the juices to be a bit thinner.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, coconut, sugar, pecans, baking powder and salt. Knead in the butter using your fingers. The mixture should resemble coarse sand; avoid overmixing. Blend in egg with your fingers; dough will be sticky. Spread topping over berries in clumps, covering evenly.
















Bake for 45–50 minutes or until golden and crisp and filling is thick and bubbly. Place a cookie sheet under the dish during baking to catch spills.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Impressions — Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Here's a great tasting little cake with a little bit of show. By timing them to come out right when you're ready to serve, you get a mini-volcano of chocolate lava running out of the cake. It's really, really, really hard to screw these up.

1 stick butter, plus more for preparing the ramekins
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate,chopped
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons flour, plus more for dusting




Preheat oven to 450°. Butter and flour four 6-ounce ramekins, tapping
out excess.
Melt the stick of butter with the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl, beat the whole eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and thickened.




Quickly fold the chocolate into the egg mixture along with the 2 tablespoons of flour until just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the ramekins.





Set the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are still soft.










Let the cakes cool for 1 minute. Run a knife around the edge of each cake, cover with an inverted dessert plate and turn it over. Let the cakes stand for a few seconds before unmolding, then serve.

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Gotta confess ... I don't get St Patrick's Day. I just don't get it. First of all, St Patrick was English, which right off the bat makes him a highly unlikely candidate for Irish immortality. And while St Patrick's Day has practically always been a holiday in Ireland, the concept of a parade and the slogan "kiss me, I'm Irish" are completely American. Granted, Irish-Americans make up the second largest ancestral group in this country (after German-Americans), but we're still only talking about 12% of the country. So why don't other ethnic holidays get the same amount of attention? Does anyone remember a particularly rowdy or noteworthy Columbus Day party? Why didn't Fasching catch on around here? Or St Hubbin's Day, where we celebrate quality footwear?

So you have a saint about which very little is known, to whom only 12% of us have a connection, and you have a mostly Catholic holiday that falls in the middle of Lent, and yet, it has endured.

Well, if you're going to celebrate it, you have to celebrate it right. You have to know how to pronounce "slàinte," to start with. (Trick question, as there are at least three correct pronunciations.) You have to know the Latin names for all of Ireland's indigenous snakes. And you have to make something Irish besides pouring a glass of something from the Class VI store.

In no particular order, a couple of redirects. A couple of good corned beef recipes here and here. And a Guinness shout-out here.

And here are a couple of things we've whipped up around here lately. Hoping I'm giving you plenty of time to get the grocery shopping done. Other than nabbing a brisket or some ground lamb, there isn't much you really need that you more than likely don't already have. (And, honestly, ground beef with a little ground pork makes a mighty fine shepherd's pie.)

Irish Soda Bread

The simplest thing to make would be one or more loaves of soda bread. I didn't realize there was controversy around soda bread, but I've recently been informed that quite a few people don't like it. Which doesn't make sense to me, because soda bread is just bread with baking soda instead yeast as the leavening agent. So, technically, soda bread is just bread. Now, you can add raisins and currants and use rye flour or barley flour and all of that, so I guess there are varieties that might not be ones cup of tea. So, just remember, if you don't like raisin bread, don't add raisins. Brilliant, eh?

So your basic soda bread is this simplest of simple recipes, courtesy Mary O'Callaghan from the Ballinalacken Castle Country House and Restaurant, in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. (Found in the March issue of Bon Appetit.)

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup butter, cut into very small cubes
2 cups buttermilk






Preheat oven to 425°F. If using a baking stone, pre-heat the stone as well. If using a baking sheet, either line it with parchment paper or lightly butter or grease a 9x9 area in the center of the sheet.
(What happens if you don't pre-heat your stone? Well, this.)






Thoroughly mix both flours, then the sugar, and then the baking soda in 4-6 quart bowl. Add butter and cut in until it is reduced to pea-size pieces. Form a well and add the buttermilk, and then very gently stir until the dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead about 10-12 times until the dough comes together, and then shape dough into 9-inch round. Place dough on your stone or prepared baking sheet. Using a carving or baker's knife, slice a large cross, 1/2 inch deep, all the way across the top of the dough.




Bake the bread for 55-60 minutes. (Note: I halved the recipe and baked it about 50 minutes.) Cool on a rack for about ten minutes before slicing.






Irish Stew and Cheddar Scones

This one takes a good hour and a half, but most of that time is just watching it simmer on the stove, which frees you up to make the scones, clean everything up, and set the table, so once dinner's on, there's nothing to do but sit back and enjoy it all.





Ingredients:
2 pounds stew meat (beef or lamb), cut up into one inch cubes
Olive oil
1 large onion or 2 med/small ones
2 Tbs chopped garlic
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/4 cup flour
One bottle stout or porter beer
4 cups broth — 2 cups beef, 2 cups chicken
Thyme: either a couple of fresh sprigs or a shake or two of dried
*2 pounds potatoes (Yukon works best)
*1 cup carrots
*1 cup frozen peas
*1 cup savoy cabbage

*you won't need these until after the stew simmers for an hour, so you have time to chop it all later

(Adapted from Cuisine at Home.)





Season the stew meat with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the meat for 5-8 minutes on med-high in 1-2 Tbs of oil. Move it to a bowl (or a plate, but you want to catch and save any liquid from the meat for the broth) and drop the heat down to medium.

Add a bit more oil and saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic, stir well and cook for 2 more minutes, until the paste darkens. Add the flour and stir until everything is evenly coated, and cook for 1 more minute. Then deglaze with your beer, scraping the bottom for a couple of minutes to free up the meat and onion bits from the bottom of the pot.



Most folks will tell you to use a Guiness, but this time I used an Odells Cutthroat Porter. Any dark beer will work, but avoid anything sweet (eg, your vanilla or chocolate stouts).

Once you've deglazed, add both broths, the stew meat and its juices, and the thyme. Simmer for one hour on low heat. (Now you can work on the cheddar scones and clean up a bit.)

Chop the potatoes and carrots. Stir in to the stew and cook for about 10-12 minutes (potatoes should be tender). Cut the savoy cabbage into slices and add with the peas, and cook for 5 minutes more.


The cheddar scones take about 20 minutes to make and 25 minutes to bake, so you can make these while the stew is simmering.






2 1/2 cups flour (up to one cup whole wheat, the rest all-purpose)
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
10 Tbs butter (keep it cold until you need it)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup minced chives
*1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs water
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbs water

*or water and Saco cultured buttermilk powder

Preheat the oven to 375ºand line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (Ahh, parchment paper... one of the world's greatest inventions.)

Mix the flour, sugar, baking power and baking soda, and salt. Combine until evenly mixed. (If you're using the buttermilk powder instead of real buttermilk, add that now as well.) Cut in the butter until pea-sized.

(Scott Peacock says to cut in the butter by hand, mashing it and tearing it between your fingers until it crumbles. I tried that but make too much of a mess. And I'm not a huge fan of pastry cutters, because I hate cleaning them. So I use my three dollar, all-purpose utility knife to cut the cold butter into tiny cubes and then mash it with a fork.)







Add the cheddar and chives (or a dash of onion and garlic powder, if you forget to get green onions) and then add the buttermilk and 2 Tbs water. Mix very gently, just until blended. Move the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a large square, 8-10 inches on a side. Cut in half both ways, and then cut each section in half both ways again. Then cut those squares into triangles. Place on the parchment paper and brush the tops with the egg/water mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden.

Clean up the kitchen, get back to the potatoes and carrots, and get ready for a slow dinner.

Cheers, and Happy Birthday, Naomh Pádraig!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

March 4th: National Pound Cake Day

The term pound cake comes from the traditional recipe which required one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Well, not "traditional," I guess, but original. Back in the day when the oven was heated by a wood fire and you used the "seconds to too hot" method of sticking your hand in there to guess the temp, and your measuring cup was the same thing you drank coffee out of. Now we have these newfangled measuring devices, can be a bit more precise, and the recipe folks keep tweaking with things to get them right.

I guess every day is Something Day, if you look hard enough. But pound cake is worth mentioning because cake seems to be one of our more popular desserts and at the same time, one that no one really likes all that much. Everyone gets a birthday cake, not a birthday pie, but does anyone really prefer dried out, flavorless, airy baked dough that needs flavored icings and colorful decorations to get our attention? Does anyone prefer that to one of Grandma's fruit pies? But a pound cake, like it's cousin the Bundt cake, can stand on its own. Maybe on the bronze or silver step of the podium, but still standing nonetheless.

So for National Poundcake Day, how about Elvis's favorite? Simple recipe, just flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, and heavy cream. But in the spirit of Elvis, feel free to spread peanut butter on it and then deep fry it.