Cajun Frittata

Some people welcome friends into their arms with heartfelt hugs. I am not one of them. I will reciprocate hugs, preferably side ones, but I might be the world's most awkward hugger. It just doesn't say love to me.

Instead, when a friend is stressed, I want to love on her (or him) by preparing edible comfort. When big deal things happen in others' lives, I find myself crafting something tasty. That's how I roll.

And that is how I found myself toting frittata ingredients to an old white house in small town, Alabama.

Because, of course, when a bride requests you make a frittata on her wedding morning, you prechop onions, pepper and Conecuh sausage, you preshred you some Monterey jack cheese, and you throw your dishes and your eggs and your olive oil in a bag and take them with you.

And as you relish those moments leading up to the BIG moment, that only-happens-once time that is so precious when spent with close friends, you get those close ones well-nourished in a way that says "this is my hug." And also you put flowers in your hair.

You get bonus point if clearing-rain morning light streams into your kitchen for photo opps, even if the lighting in your steaming skillet shot isn't the greatest.

Mini Frittatas with Feta, Swiss Chard, Mushrooms and Shallots

This is what happens when you fancify eggs for brunch with friends. I have yet to perfect a giant frittata, but making little ones in muffin tins turn out just fine. It was also easy to pull out servings for a few of us and save the rest for fast meals later that week.

Also, what are eggs without bacon?

Why cook spinach when you can get your hands on something as pretty as red-veined Swiss Chard? Like spinach, it also goes from a giant pile of leaves to a small ball of wilted green, and has a similar taste. Cooking is really quite fascinating.

Making these also reminded me I need to purchase silicone cupcake tins. Cleaning eggs out of metal ones is treacherous.

Easy Breakfast: Fried Egg Nest

I finally got around to multitasking quick yet tasty and filling fried-egg-on-toast breakfast last weekend. Call it what you like*, it takes the whole putting-the-bread-in-the-toaster step out of the equation and adds an element of fun. Now if I could just master cooking my egg the perfect amount of time, with just enough runniness.

*Wikipedia says this recipe idea is known as bird's nest, bull's eye eggs, cowboy eggs, egg-in-the-hole, eggs in a blanket, elephant egg bagel, frog in a hole, gas house eggs, moon eggs, and Rocky Mountain toast.

Recipe: (Yogurt) Eggs Benedict

I'm trying to cook more with yogurt (read: healthy) to make usually-fattening creamy sauces and dressings that I love. I found this one on the Website my favorite yogurt brand, Stonyfield Farm, and made it for brunch. Yum. I used prosciutto instead of Canadian bacon and served it with asparagus roasted in olive oil and Greek spices with pine nuts. My first ever poached egg even turned out decently well despite the scary-looking egg mess that surrounded it in the water.

(Yogurt) Eggs Benedict

6 eggs

6 slices Canadian bacon

3 English muffins

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, for garnish

For the Sauce:

3/4 cup Stonyfielf lowfat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white sugar

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 dash hot pepper sauce

Prepare sauce first. Using a double boiler, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, egg yolks, mustard, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cook mixture over simmering water, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. In a large pan heat one and a half quarts of salted water to a boil. Carefully break the eggs one at a time into the boiling water. When all the eggs have been added, reduce the heat to medium. When the eggs float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon, drain briefly, and reserve. To finish dish: Toast English muffins and place on plates. Top each piece of toast with a slice of Canadian bacon and a hot poached egg. Drizzle with yogurt sauce; garnish with chopped chives.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 300; Calories from fat 100; Carbohydrate 30g; Protein 20g; Fiber 5g

Recipe: Tomato Tort, Broccoli Salad

These two dishes probably aren’t the best complement to one another in flavor; they both have a lot going on. But I wanted to make both, and what-Madoline-feels -like-making/eating won over tonight. 

I pulled this recipe out of the May Cooking Light because I was fascinated by the idea of a crust made of brown rice. I love crusts, but usually they have very little nutritional value.  Mine didn’t turn out terribly crust-like, but the layer of seasoned rice tasted quite good with the tomato-egg-cheese flavors.

The recipe tells you to prepare it in a pie plate, but I modified it to go in a bread pan to make fewer servings. I also made a few other modifications based on what ingredients I had on hand.

Italian Tomato Tort

Crust:

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. Greek seasonings

1 egg white

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Filling:

½ cup fat free milk

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

salt and pepper

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ oz. prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 tomato

1 Tbsp. basil

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine all ingredients; firmly press mixture into the bottom and up sides of a bread pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven.

3. Increase oven temperature to 400°.

4. To prepare filling, combine milk, eggs, egg yolk, salt and peppe; stir with a whisk.

5. Sprinkle half of mozzarella and half of prosciutto into bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of tomato slices. Repeat procedure with remaining mozzarella, prosciutto, and tomatoes. Pour milk mixture over tomatoes; bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325° (do not remove tart from oven); bake an additional 35 minutes or until set. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with basil.

 ___________________________________________

I only eat broccoli if its taste is well disguised. The best tasting yet relatively healthy broccoli veil to reach my palate recently was a broccoli salad a caterer prepared for my grandfather’s 80^th birthday in May. I recreated the recipe tweaking this Cooking Light broccoli salad to incorporate two of my favorite salad staples, cranberries and pecans.

Broccoli Salad

4 cups  small broccoli florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 cup  chopped celery

1 cup  dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup  plain lowfat yogurt

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine mayonnaise and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture, and toss well. Chill for 1 hour.