Translate

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Ron's Eggs- Frittata

Not too long ago I was at church and noticed a friend carrying a dozen eggs.  Kind of a curious thing to carry around on Sunday morning, don't you think?  Upon inquiring, Ron explained that he and his wife raise chickens on their farm and that he provides a few members of the congregation with fresh eggs every week.  Immediately I placed my order, 1 dozen eggs from cage free, free roaming Ohio chickens.

6 months later my standing weekly order is 2 dozen eggs.  They come in all shapes, sizes and the colors are incredible!  Pale blue, green and brown eggs ranging from medium to jumbo size fill the carton to capacity.

I love purchasing these eggs - it feels like the right thing to do on many levels.  Usually these eggs make scrambled, hardboiled, soft boiled or poached eggs for any meal.  About once a month I make a fritata using leftover vegetables from the night before and whatever cheese I have available.  Here is the ratio:

5 eggs scrambled (you can leave out some of the yolks and increase the egg whites, I use 2 egg whites for every yolk I remove)
1/2 cup cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped herbs
2-3 cups vegetables, excess liquid removed

Combine the eggs, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl, whisk.  Add the cheese, stir.
Heat the vegetables in a large cast iron skillet (or whatever kind o oven proof skillet you have) with a little olive oil or butter.  Add the eggs all at once.  Let the eggs set over medium heat, then transfer to the oven to finish.  I have used the broiler and a 400 degree oven to finish the cooking - use what you are comfortable with - the broiler is the quickest - but keep an eye on it.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Eggs and Brioche Toast

Sometimes the best things are the simplest.  Last night my stomach was not happy with me, for whatever reason.  As the family ate spaghetti tacos (those of you familiar with iCarly on Nickelodeon know what I mean and those of you unfamiliar with this tv show can figure out what I mean) with steamed broccoli, I prepared one of my "easy on the tummy" dinners, scrambled eggs and toast.

I had just enough brioche loaf leftover from making stuffed french toast (from The Joy of Cooking cookbook) on Sunday to make 2 crusty, buttery pieces of toast.  And I coupled this with fluffy scrambled eggs: 1 whole egg + 3 egg whites.  I always start my eggs on medium heat and turn them down to medium-low to finish them slowly - makes for a creamy, light texture.  Real salted butter on my toast and I had a fantastic, easy on the tummy supper.

There is just the heal of the brioche loaf left, if I don't eat it for breakfast, I will make croutons with it for a one man salad.

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

Thank you Dorie Greenspan - her cookbook Around My French Table has given me a new lease on cooking!  My sister knew it would when she gave it to me for my birthday in November - thanks Heather.

AMFT is a cookbook to read and is perfect for the cook who doesn't have to follow the recipe exactly.  Greenspan expects her readers to cook intuitively.  She writes her recipes assuming you have good taste and that we all don't have the exact ingredients or tools called for in the recipe, but that we may have a "bonne idea."  She is a curious partner in cooking, offering me confidence and the permission to not play by the book.

So far my favorites include Cream Puff Dough filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream, Salted Butter Break-ups and Hachis Parmentier (a well-seasoned meat and potato pie) and Stuffed Pork Loin Roast.

I look forward to making many family favorites in the future!