A Frittata For An Easy Brunch At Home

As much as I love to go out to a cute cafe for brunch on the weekends, sometimes you just want to hang out in your pj's and relax at home.  This frittata recipe is very easy and yet honestly rivals those at a cafe.  Perfect for treating your honey with a lovely homemade brunch!

This could easily be modified to have some veggies (asparagus would be a lovely addition), different cheese, different herbs, or whatever you prefer.   We used goat cheese that had Mediterranean herbs but you could substitute a boursin cheese or any soft cheese.

A cast iron pan is ideal but you could start in any type of skillet and move the potatoes to a baking dish before adding the eggs if you don't have a cast iron pan.  While this recipe is really pretty easy the one thing to avoid is over-cooking it, a dried out frittata is simply not as tasty.

Frittata with Potatoes & Goat Cheese

Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4

8 large eggs
1 Tablespoon half and half (can use milk instead)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
approximately 1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil (need just enough to ensure it won't stick in your skillet!)
2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes (Simply Potatoes works well!)
1 leek, chopped
1/2 cup ham or proscuitto, diced
3-oz goat cheese garlic-herb cheese, chilled
1 Tablespoon cream cheese

 Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together eggs, half and half, salt, and pepper until just combined.

Heat oil in an ovenproof 9- to 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add potatoes and leeks to oil, stirring once, then cover and cook until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add ham, stir potato mixture once, then cover and cook 3 minutes more.

Pour beaten eggs evenly over potato mixture and crumble cheese over eggs. Transfer skillet to oven and bake frittata, uncovered, until set and just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and, holding them together with oven mitts, invert frittata onto plate and serve immediately.

 Enjoy!

~ Tara

Steak & Egg Burritos

My Dad is a great cook, but one thing stands out from the rest...his breakfasts.  When was a kid he would make great big breakfasts on the weekends.  Everything was game, from a thousand ways to prepare eggs, to French toast, to waffles, to pancakes, to burritos, to Dutch Apple Pancakes (a different show).  He was great at teaching and giving tips on how to improve all the time.  One thing I picked up right away was coming up with ways to empty the leftovers which also makes room for the big grocery trip that weekend. 

We recently found ourselves on a Saturday ready for breakfast but at first glance it appeared as though we didn't have any ingredients for a breakfast recipe.  Then I spotted leftover grilled steak and saw that we had both eggs and tortillas - breakfast burritos was the winner!  And really pretty much everything in this recipe was a leftover in our fridge so I am sure there could be many variations depending upon what leftovers you have on hand. 

I believe a way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, because in her eyes nothing is sexier than a man that can cook.  Well ok, cooking together is pretty good too.  This recipe is set for 4 burritos but can easily be altered to make as many as you want.

Steak & Egg Breakfast Burritos

4 Large Eggs, room temperature and beaten
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
1/2 Small Onion
6 oz Cooked Steak, cut into bite sized pieces
4 Flour Medium Tortillas
1/2 can Diced Tomatoes
Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Dice the peppers and onion, sauteing them stirring ever minute or so until they begin to soften but will still have a little crunch to them.  Set the peppars and onions aside in a bowl. 

Add the steak to the pan, let that cook for 2-3 min or until the steak is tender.

In a bowl, beat the eggs together. In another skillet add 1 Tsp butter and melt it, add the beaten eggs stirring frequently.  Don't over cook them! Now add the steak in with the eggs, stirring and cook long enough just to finish the eggs. Season with crushed black pepper

Place the tortillas in the oven to warm them. 

Add the peppers and onions back to their pan at a medium heat.  Stir in the tomatoes to the pepper mixture and let them heat up, then kill the heat. 

Sprinkle a little of the cheddar cheese on each tortilla then add the eggs and steak mixture evenly, and finish by adding on top the pepper and tomato mixture.  Top her coffee off and enjoy.

-Dan

Brunch At Home: Quiche Lorraine

The original ‘quiche Lorraine’ was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon. It was only later that cheese was added to the quiche Lorraine. Add onions and you have quiche Alsacienne. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough, but that has long since evolved into a short-crust or puff pastry crust.  Speaking of the flakey pastry crust, making sure it is flash baking it prior to adding the egg mixture keeps the bottom from being undercooked and doughy on the bottom.

We prefer a quiche with a bit of cheese, a bit of bacon, and a bit of leeks as the combination of the flavors is just really very tasty.  We also don't have a tart pan as ours was bent in one of our moves; so we use a pie pan.  It works out just fine, we just have to cook it a bit longer as it is thicker.

This delicious yet simple dish is a welcome change from the quick breakfast fare that gets most of us through the week.  Splitting up tasks makes this a nice easy couple recipe, Tara made the crust while I prepped the filling.  We also try to stir together the pastry dough the day before so it is ready to be rolled out in the morning.  It is a nice indulgent bunch for a lazy weekend morning.

Quiche Lorraine

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking

Flaky Pastry Dough (below)
4 oz. bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
3 leeks, thinly sliced (approximately 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, creme fraiche, or half cream and half milk
3 large, lightly beaten
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (ground nutmeg works fine)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare the Flaky Pastry Dough in a 9.5 or 10 inch tart pan and brush lightly with egg yolk; bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Brown the bacon in a skillet. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.  Sautee the leeks until soft and nearly translucent.

In a large bowl, whisk toget

her the cream, eggs, salt, and pepper until smooth. 

Arrange the browned bacon and leeks on the bottom of the crust, top with the cheese. Gently pour the egg mixture over the cheese.  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the middle has set.

Flazy Pastry Dough

Makes two 9 inch pie crust, one 9 inch covered pie crust, or two 9.5 or 10 inch tart crusts

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teasopoon white sugar (or 1 tablespoon powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid vegetable shortening, or 1/2 cup shortening and 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (we use Crisco for the shortening)
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon ice water

Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Break the shortening up into small pieces, then add to the flour mixture.  Cut in with a bastry blender, or you can use 2 knives.  As you are working the shortening in, stir up the flour from the bottom of the bowl.  Working it in until the consistency is like course crumbs, there will be some pea-sized pieces.  The mixture should seem dry, not greasy or pasty. 

Drizzle the ice cold water over the mixture.  Using the rubber spatula, cut it into the mixture until it looks evenly moistened and begins to form balls.  Press down on the dough with teh flat side of the spatula, if the balls of dough stick together then you have enough water; if not add another 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water.  The dough will look rough, not smooth.

Divide the dough in half, press each into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic.  Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 2 days before rolling.  If wrapped airtight it can be frozen for up to six months.

 Enjoy!

-Dan