Frittata with Squash Flowers and Proscuitto

Disclaimer this is something I made for my lunch at work this week.

But isn't it pretty!
A simple frittata, only 3 eggs, salt, pepper, parmesan, parsley, squash flowers, and Proscuitto.
Even if I eat my lunch at my desk it will be delightful!

On the dinner side of things, we had grilled Swiss Steak. I used a marinade that consisted of -
¼ cup olive oil  
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup of soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard  
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste 

Really, really good!  Sorry, no photos...

Sausage Frittatta

We have Frittattas quite often. Our usual recipe consists of vegetables and either ham or bacon. The frittatta can be altered to use literally anything. Tonight we used a recipe from La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy. 

It was so easy it was scary. Remove the sausage casing and cut into slices. Melt butter in an oven-safe sautée pan, add the sausage and cook stirring often. Spread the sausage into a single layer. Add the beaten eggs, I used 6 eggs that were seasoned with salt, pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The heat is reduced to low. When the underside is done place the pan into a 375˚ oven for 10 minutes. Remove when the top is firm.

We made sandwiches with the frittata. I can say this was better than our usual vegetable version.

The Frittatta

Eggs, meat, vegetables, cheese. The perfect combination for an easy dinner. Disclaimer - I cut up all the vegetables before I went to work this morning.

Red Pepper, Zucchini, Onion, Scallions, Ham, Bacon, some of that Three Girls Vegan Creamery Pepperoni. All of that is sauteed and then the eggs, I used 6 eggs, beaten and added to the pan. Cook on one side until set. The eggs and vegetables are topped with shredded Mozzarella and scallions. Then the pan goes into a 375˚ oven for about 15 minutes.

Serve on toasted Italian bread and at least one glass of wine.

Frittata Night

We have not had a frittata in a while.  I use to make the frittata on the weekend and serve it later in the week for dinner. Now with the job closer to home, I can cook one up fresh for dinner. It does taste better. Tonight we kept it simple. Zucchini, onion and red pepper. Oh yes, there was also the prosciutto.

Baked Frittata with Zucchini, and Pane Bianco

Tonight we had a perfect summer dinner. Tonight's recipe came from Memorie di Angelina. I love this blog. A lot of the recipe remind me of what my Mom and Aunts use to cook. This recipe was delicious and light. I, of course, omitted the garlic. And my basil plant is a little empty looking so I opted for dried basil and the oregano just seemed like it should be added.

Baked Frittata with Zucchini-

Ingredients-
4-6 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced into rounds
6-8 eggs
100g (3-1/2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese or more to taste
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Method-
In a skillet large enough to contain all the zucchini rounds in one layer, heat the olive oil. Add the zucchini.

Fry the zucchini until lightly golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels or a cooling rack and allow the excess oil to drain off.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and grated cheese together. Add the fried zucchini rounds and basil leaves then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Take a non-stick pie plate or baking sheet with edges at least inch tall (I used a 9x11 cake pan), grease the bottom with a bit of olive oil, then add all of the egg mixture, making sure that the zucchini rounds are evenly distributed.

Carefully transfer the baking dish to a hot oven (400˙F), taking care not to spill the egg and zucchini mixture, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through and lightly browned on top. If the eggs are cooked but the top is not brown enough to your liking, you can run them under a broiler for a minute or two.

And there was the bread. King Arthur Flour is doing a bake-a-long. Yes, I am in! This weeks challenge was Pane Bianco. What an amazing bread this was! The texture of the dough after it rose was just so workable. I filled the bread with roasted cherry tomatoes,  shredded mozzarella, Parmigiano cheese, dried basil, and oregano.

 

I could have put more tomatoes in but the flavor was perfect. We made half of the loaf disappear quickly! Looking forward to the next baking challenge. Can you tell I am going through The Great British Bake Off withdrawal...

Baked Frittata with Zucchini, and Pane Bianco

Tonight we had a perfect summer dinner. Tonight's recipe came from Memorie di Angelina. I love this blog. A lot of the recipe remind me of what my Mom and Aunts use to cook. This recipe was delicious and light. I, of course, omitted the garlic. And my basil plant is a little empty looking so I opted for dried basil and the oregano just seemed like it should be added.

Baked Frittata with Zucchini-

Ingredients-
4-6 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced into rounds
6-8 eggs
100g (3-1/2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese or more to taste
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Method-
In a skillet large enough to contain all the zucchini rounds in one layer, heat the olive oil. Add the zucchini.

Fry the zucchini until lightly golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels or a cooling rack and allow the excess oil to drain off.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and grated cheese together. Add the fried zucchini rounds and basil leaves then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Take a non-stick pie plate or baking sheet with edges at least inch tall (I used a 9x11 cake pan), grease the bottom with a bit of olive oil, then add all of the egg mixture, making sure that the zucchini rounds are evenly distributed.

Carefully transfer the baking dish to a hot oven (400˙F), taking care not to spill the egg and zucchini mixture, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through and lightly browned on top. If the eggs are cooked but the top is not brown enough to your liking, you can run them under a broiler for a minute or two.

And there was the bread. King Arthur Flour is doing a bake-a-long. Yes, I am in! This weeks challenge was Pane Bianco. What an amazing bread this was! The texture of the dough after it rose was just so workable. I filled the bread with roasted cherry tomatoes,  shredded mozzarella, Parmigiano cheese, dried basil, and oregano.

 

I could have put more tomatoes in but the flavor was perfect. We made half of the loaf disappear quickly! Looking forward to the next baking challenge. Can you tell I am going through The Great British Bake Off withdrawal...

A Short Break From Baking

Another recipe from Italian Moms Cookbook Spreading Their Art to Every Table by Elisa Costantini, Was Pepper and Egg Frittatta. I always make my Frittatta by cooking the bottom on the stove top and then putting the pan in the oven to cook through. The recipe in the book suggests flipping the Frittatta. I think, "Why not give it a try." Well the reason is because I suck at flipping Frittattas. The pans are too heavy and oh it just looked like a mess. But at least it was quite delicious. I did add some sausage to the recipe. The next time it will just go into the oven! Chris made a sandwich with the rolls made from the Rustic Bread recipe.

 

 I opted for a slice of Vegetable Tart. I put dried thyme in the crust and the vegetables were zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper and onion. I added my a couple slices of my favorite snack cheese.

The Return of the Frittatta

It seems like it has been a while since we have had the Frittatta Sandwich for dinner. Tonight it was back! Zucchini, Red Pepper, Potatoes, Scallions and Bacon. It was as delicious as you can imagine!

What To Eat On A Rainy July Evening - A Frittatta

We were planning on Burgers on the grill, but Mother Nature was not going to cooperate. Not a problem. There is always the frittatta. Zucchini, yellow squash, onion, red and yellow pepper, fresh parsley, basil and thyme. A little salami. Eggs and Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper. A cutting board and knife. One bowl. One pan. Not too bad for a rainy Tuesday.

The Last Day of Winter?

 

Only time will tell if spring will arrive tomorrow. I am really over the sweaters and layers and coats and scarves. But tonight's dinner reminded me of spring. I stopped by Bishop's to pick up the ingredients for tonight's frittatta and I saw a bin with giant artichokes. $2.99 each. They were so big that I only needed to buy one for the two of us. Not a bad deal. I stuffed them with what I think is close to my Mom's stuffing. Not bad but still need more practice.

And Happy Feast of St. Joseph!
Did you have a Zeppole today? 

I did, well just half of one. And it was so good!

Roasted Butternut Squash, Potato and Prosciutto Frittatta

You may remember last Friday night I made roasted butternut squash and potatoes.
I had quite a bit leftover so that was the base for the frittatta. I added onion, prosciutto and Scamorza cheese. Nice combinations. I sauteed the onion and than added the butternut squash and potatoes. Got them a bit crispy and added the eggs and some Parmesan cheese. Topped it with the prosciutto and the Scamorza cheese.

We made panini's and had potato chips as a side, what a treat!

Vegetable Frittatta

Potatoes, Onion, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Scallion & Spinach. Oh and cheese and eggs!

What did we have for dinner- Part 2

Yeah again a crazy week. I love long weekends but fitting 5 days of work into 4 can be... not sure how to describe it. But the week is over and I can recap our dinners.
And as an added bonus I have an entry for Cookbook Sundays in this recap. (Hint - it's Thursday's entry)

Tuesday - Chicken Noodle Soup

On Sunday I made a large pot of my sister's Chicken Broth recipe so obviously we had to have soup. The broth came out very good. (Food styling by Chris)


Wednesday - Vegetable Frittatta

Being Ash Wednesday I made a frittatta using the leftover vegetables and potatoes from our Whole Foods purchase this weekend. Perfect way to use any kind of leftovers.


Thursday - A Cookbook Sundays Entry! - Baked Macaroni with Eggplant

This was suppose to be our Ash Wednesday meal but last night I picked up my new car (!!!) so we needed something quick to heat up and the frittatta fit the bill.
But tonight we had Baked Macaroni with Eggplant. The recipe is from La Cucina. I have not cooked from there recently but the Cookbook Sundays blog had me going through my bookcase. Chris gave me this book for Christmas back in 2010 and I love it.
It was written by Giuliano Bugialli, The Italian Academy Of Cuisine - Rizzoli (2009).

Here is a description of the book from Google-
Fifty years ago, a group of Italian scholars gathered to discuss a problem: how to preserve traditional Italian cooking. They formed the Italian Academy of Cuisine to document classic recipes from every region. The academy’s more than seven thousand associates spread out to villages everywhere, interviewing grandmothers and farmers at their stoves, transcribing their recipes—many of which had never been documented before. This is the culmination of that research, an astounding feat—2,000 recipes that represent the patrimony of Italian country cooking. Each recipe is labeled with its region of origin, and it’s not just the ingredients but also the techniques that change with the geography. Sprinkled throughout are historical recipes that provide fascinating views into the folk culture of the past. There are no fancy flourishes here, and no shortcuts; this is true salt-of-the-earth cooking. The book is an excellent everyday source for easily achievable recipes, with such simple dishes as White Bean and Escarole Soup, Polenta with Tomato Sauce, and Chicken with Lemon and Capers. For ease of use there are four different indexes. La Cucina is an essential reference for every cook’s library.

The only change I made in this recipe was omitting the lardo. Still have not found that item in a store near me. Here is the recipe -


Ingredients
3 eggplants, cut in thin lengthwise strips
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lardo, minced (I have never seen this in a store...)
1 garlic clove, crushed
3/4 lb. fresh plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded (I used canned San Marzano tomatoes)
3/4 lb. macaroni rigatoni
2oz. caciocavallo, sliced (I used Scamorza)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt




Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking dish. Put the eggplant slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 30 minutes to make them lose their bitter juice.
Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a pan. Rinse and dry the eggplant slices and fry them; set aside.
In a saucepan heat the lardo and 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion and garlic; add the tomatoes and season with salt; cover and cook at low heat.
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water; drain when al dente.
In the baking dish arrange alternating layers of macaroni, tomato sauce, eggplant, and caciocavallo, continuing the layers until no ingredients are left. Place pats of butter across the surface and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from pan and place onto a serving dish and cut in wedges to serve.

And finally Friday - The Simplest and Best Shrimp Dish

Wow what a crazy 4 days this has been. But I planned ahead for tonight. I took some shrimp out of the freezer this morning. At lunch I picked up some green beans and 2 potatoes that could be cooked in the microwave. Sorry but I had to do it to save time. But the shrimp is so easy and fast to prepare. The recipe is from the Mark Bittman. I have made this recipe so many times. Perfect for when you are running late or stuck in traffic.