Tortilla Espanola

I've been busy hosting dinner parties and it's been fun. I enjoy hosting friends and family; this week I've been doing it on a weekly basis. I like to cook foods that make people feel special which can some times be time consuming. But because I work full time and have a packed schedule of daily meditation, yoga, gardening, writing, blogging, cooking, cleaning house, etc. I like to cook food that is tasty, fuss free, and allows me to be an attentive host. Apologies for the less than ideal picture.

So easy and tasty, it's one of my favorite dishes to make on the fly. Supplement with a green salad with avocado, tomatoes and pomegranate, and a dense wheat bread with cheese, and you have the perfect quick dinner party meal. You probably the ingredients for all three of these dishes in your kitchen now. This meal is guaranteed to fly off the table; there were no leftovers.

I previously blogged about this dish back in 2006, using Deborah Madison's recipe. Mark Bittman was my chef this week. His recipe is more simple with fewer ingredients. I love this one too. The eggs were moist and the potato perfectly cooked through. Some of the potatoes on top were a little crunchy, like potato chips and they were yummy, really. Next time, I think I will add a dash of chili flakes for a little heat. I couldn't stop picking at it until the guests arrived.

Makes at least 4 servings

45 minutes or less

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

- 1 pound waxy red or white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices (I didn't peel)

- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

- 1 large onion, sliced

- 1 red pepper, stemmed, peeled if desired, seeded and sliced

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 6 eggs

- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Preparation

1. Place about half the olive oil in a large oven proof skillet, preferably non-stick, and turn the heat to medium. Add the potato slices and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook, turning gently from time to time, until they soften, about 20 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon.

2. Add the remaining oil to the pan, followed by the onion and red pepper, and cook, stirring occassionally, until nice and soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3. Return potatoes to the skillet, and turn the heat to medium low. Continue to cook, turning with spatula, for about 5 more minutes. Beat the eggs wiht parsley.

4. Turn the heat to low and pour the eggs over the potatoes, undisturbed, for about 5 minutes. Transfer from the oven and bake until the mixture is set, about 10 minutes more. Remove the pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into chunks wedges. Serve.

Bittman calls for first cooking the potatoes, and then the onions and red pepper separately. Not sure why. This takes more time than necessary but I followed his recipe exactly except that I had two skillets working simultaneously. Below I present easy modifications.

My modifications. I thought steps 1 and 2 could be combined to save time in one very large skillet. First cook potatoes and onions together, and then in the last 5 minutes add red pepper. Then continue with the garlic, and the remainder of the recipe. I felt that my potatoes were soft enough so I didn't cook the potatoes more in Step 3. Rather, I jumped right to adding the eggs. I think this will save you time. Something we can all use a little more of, no?!

Eggs, They're What's for Dinner.....and Lunch, Brunch

Eggs. You got to love them. Inexpensive, they make for quick meals and tasty meals. A few weeks ago I wrote about a kale frittata. It was great but on the thin side. I like thicker "meaty" frittatas. At a friend's suggestion, I decided to try my 10 inch cast iron skillet (as opposed to the 12 inch All Clad skillet), and it was definitely thicker though it took longer to cook, a trade off.

I followed the recipe I previous wrote about but used a 10 inch cast iron skillet. I also decided to spice up the kale. This sized skillet can hold up to 12 eggs (really full) plus filling. 10 eggs is probably better. You'll probably need 20 minutes in the oven but check after 10 minutes. It definitely made for a thicker hunkier slice which was thoroughly enjoyed by friends.

For about 2 cups of curried kale, use the following recipe:

Ingredients

- 1 bunch of kale

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 1/2 tsp garam masala

- 1/2 tsp mustard seed

- 1/2 freshly ground cumin

- 1 tbs oil

- salt to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet, add mustard seed and cover skillet with lid until you the popping finishes. Add onion, saute for 7 minutes until lightly golden. Add cumin and garam masala, and saute for another minute. Add kale, and cook until desired tenderness is reached. Add salt.

Kale Frittata

A few months ago I purchased the All Clad 12 inch skillet based on Cook's Illustrated recommendation. Well, I recommend it too. It's wonderful. Omelets are super tender, fonds develop. Not only can you use it on the stove but you can use it in the oven too. I've been struggling for years to make frittatas by flipping them but inevitably half the contents slide onto my kitchen floor! Big mess. So I was very excited to try this skillet out in the oven. I bought it on sale for $90 in the New Year at Sur la Table; it usually goes for $135.

I found this recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food.

Time: 30 minutes or so

Ingredients

-2 T butter or olive oil

- 5 or 6 eggs

-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or other cheese

-Salt and freshly ground pepper

-Minced parsley leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the butter or oil in a medium-to-large ovenproof skillet, preferably non-stick, and turn the heat to medium. While it's heating, beat together the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, pour the eggs into the skillet and turn the heat to medium low. Cook, undisturbed for about 10 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata is firm.

3. Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake, checking every 5 minutes or so, just until the top of the frittata is no longer runny; 10 to 20 minutes more. Garnish and serve hot or at room temperature.

So this is the basic frittata. If you want to add a vegetable like kale, Bittman suggests adding one cup chopped kale or other green. I find kale is a little tough so I recommend sauteing the kale in olive oil and shallots until it is wilted a bit. Then proceed with step 2 above.

Also, do check the eggs every 5 minutes. I did not read that instruction and looked at frittata after 10 minutes, and it was done and may be on the dry side. So watch carefully, and enjoy!

Simple, easy and healthy.

Zucchini Frittata with Marjoram

Frittatas are quick, easy, and versatile. They can be made for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. They can also be served as appetizers. They are sturdy so travel very well for picnics and may be served room temperature or warm.

This particular recipe was so delicious, quick and easy, more so if you have a food processor to grate the zucchini. Of course, this recipe comes fromVegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Every recipe turns out very very well. There is zucchini everywhere now and it requires so very little to make it taste amazing. A little oil and a few herbs and you have a wonderful side.

Any vegetable would work for this recipe though zucchini is the only vegetable that would require the 20 minutes of salt sitting, as it draws out the moisture so the frittata is not watery.

Ingredients
-1 1/4 pounds zucchini, coarsely grated
- Salt and freshly milled pepper
-3 T olive oil
-6 eggs
-1 large garlic clove, crushed or minced
-1 T chopped marjoram (used basil instead)
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation
Toss the zucchini with 1 tsp salt and set it aside in a colander for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse briefly, then squeeze dry.

Warm half the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently until its' dry and flecked with gold in a few places, about 6 minutes. Transfer the zucchini to a bowl and wipe out the pan.

Beat the eggs with a few pinches of salt and some pepper, the stir in garlic, zucchini, marjoram, and cheese. Add the remaining oil to the pan over medium, and when it's hot, add the eggs. Lower the heat, cook for a minute until bottom is golden. Place a plate over the skillet, secure both plate and skillet with your hands, and invert the entire thing. Slide eggs back in, and finish cooking, another 2 to 3 minutes, and slide back on to a plate.

Eat!

Eggs in a Basket

are the classic camping food. I was partly inspired by all my friends' camping trips which I sadly could not participate in due to all my end of July work jaunts. There's something very comforting about a piece of warm toast with an egg in the middle. After a few challenging work weeks, I decided that I didn't need to wait for my next camping trip to enjoy such a treat.

Hearing about camping trips and stories, of course, jogged my memory back to the 10th grade. We were on our class bonding trip in Yosemite. I was sharing a tent with at least 4 other girls. Some boys thought it would be humorous to surround our tent with cookies so that the bears would come, and indeed they did! What were they thinking?! Did they not realize that we knew their plan before they did it? We came up with the buddy system to mitigate scary situations. My buddy's time came, we peaked our heads out, saw the glow-in-the-dark bear eyes, and ran for it. The bears were harmless enough. While we didn't bond with the guys in any way they would have liked, we girls certainly did. After a sleepless night and a 4 AM wake up call for the 18 mile hike to Half Dome, we were a lot grouchier than the bears. The cute rugged scruffy older brother of one our teacher's handing us eggs-in-a-basket with a smile slightly lifted our spirits and made our little girl hearts palpitate; re-energized we set out, beating the guys to the top was priceless!