Week 4: Prosciutto, Aged Gouda, Caramelized Onions & Pears

Last year we were given a fruit-of-the-month gift from Harry & David. At first I was a bit skeptical about being shipped fruit—I try to support local farms and we have plenty of options in my neck of the woods. Also, I was concerned about the freshness, ripeness, etc. However, all my skepticism was washed away when I bit into a peach from the first shipment. It was the most delicious peach I have ever had. And the pears—out of this world! This week's frittata was inspired by my January shipment of Royal Riviera Pears. I was a little concerned about adding a sweet ripe pear to a savory egg dish, but paired with the prosciutto, gouda, and onions—this frittata was a dream.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 small yellow onions

1/3 cup chopped prosciutto (I had the deli cut it thick ~3/8")

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 of a lovely pear

1/2 cup (loose) aged gouda; gruyere would work well too

6 eggs

pepper

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp milk

Slice your onions thin, and add them to your frittata pan with the tablespoon of olive oil on medium to low heat. Let them brown and caramelize, about 10 to 15 minutes. In a separate lightly greased pan, saute your chopped prosciutto for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the pan onto a paper towel. Add the 1/2 tbsp of butter to the prosciutto pan and add your sliced pears—medium low heat. A few minutes on each side. My pear was incredibly ripe, so it was hard to keep the pieces together. A less ripe pear would be easier to work with and will yield the same results. Whisk the 6 eggs, pepper, water and milk together. Add the prosciutto and onions to the eggs, mix and pour into your frittata pan. I employed hubby's method of whisking the egg in the pan for a couple of minutes. When it started to set on the bottom I put it under the broiler for a few minutes to set the top. I pulled it out when it was light and fluffy looking on top and arranged the pears and then distributed the gouda—back into the broiler for about 3 minutes.

This was delicious! My hubs remarked that it was very "French" tasting, oh-la-la. You do not need to add salt to this frittata, neither during prep or plate. The prosciutto and Gouda will provide plenty of flavor. Aged Gouda is wonderful—the more it is aged, the saltier and nuttier it is. This Gouda was aged enough to have a slightly nutty flavor, but not so aged that it acquired the crystallized brittle texture in the bite. It's texture and medium-low moisture reminded me of a nice Gruyere.

We paired the frittata with our usual roasted fingerling potatoes and arugula salad. I grated an extra bit of Gouda and made cheese cookies to top the salad. My lovely girlfriend brought over a bottle of Prosecco this weekend and I found the last glass to be a delightful match to this delicate yet rich flavored frittata.

Our uninvited dinner guest. She couldn't resist the delectable aromas and the chance to chew on flowers.

Week 3: Hubs wings it

Earlier this week, the wife had surgery and before visiting hours at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philly, I, the husband of the blogger, visited Morning Glory, a breakfast/brunch spot in Society Hill to pick up some frittata tips. Frittatas are their specialty and I knew I'd be handling the duties this weekend.

I sat at the counter and watched the chef, who happily answered my inquiries: 6-inch teflon skillet, potatoes on the side, 4 eggs per person (for a frittata I could barely finish), cheese on top before broiler to seal egg moisture, anything you want inside. This weekend, with wife recuperating on the couch, I endeavored to recreate what I had learned. With so much food delivered by friends, I decided to make a "whatever's in the fridge" frittata, which turned out to be spinach, arugula, onions, cheddar cheese, and of course truffle salt (our new savory indulgence). And because we have only an 8-inch cast iron skillet, we used six eggs and plenty of olive oil. That was about as much as I had planned, the key difference being that I would put only a few potatoes in the frittata and the rest on the side.

I started by slicing half a red onion and chopping about 3 cups of chopped multi-colored fingerling potatoes. I boiled the taters until soft and sauteed the onions in oil. Then I fixed myself a vodka cocktail and grated a healthy dose of Cabot extra sharp cheddar. Once the taters were soft, I put them in olive oil with some Old Bay and hoped they'd get crunchy in time (which they almost did). Onto the frittata. I heated some oil in the cast iron skillet and poured in 6 beaten eggs. I learned from the chef at Morning Glory to use high heat on the eggs and not to let them form an edge for quite a while. I really swirled them around like I was scrambling them before finally letting them settle. There was much less wet egg than before. Then I turned the fire off and dumped in the sauteed onion (I did send pinch of the onions into the taters so they'd get that burned onion flavor), a few taters, some truffle salt, a layer of spinach and arugula, and covered the whole mess with cheese. Into the broiler it went looking bushy and weird, but smelling good.

A friend gave us a loaf of delicious rosemary bread from a Princeton bakery, which I sliced and put in the toaster. The taters were still cooking and I wondered if I'd boiled them too long, if they were too wet to get crunchy. Still, the combination of Old Bay, truffle salt, and burnt onion was pretty awesome. I was pleased when I pulled out the frittata. The cheese was melted; the egg was fluffly and cooked through; the spinach and arugula wilted properly; and the edge of the eggs firm but not too dry nor stuck to the skillet.

We sat and ate. A bite of cheesy frittata on toasted rosemary bread washed down with savory potatoes (and a second vodka drink) was really good. Not quite Morning Glory, but not bad for a substitute chef, if I may say so myself. Wifey was less liberal with the compliments, but her plate was clean!

The animals did not help in the kitchen this week. They chose to knit & rest with the Wife.

Week 2: Mushroom, Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata

6 eggs
2 tbsp. water
1 cup roughly chopped mushrooms
(I used a medley of baby bellas, shitake, and oyster)
1 shallot chopped
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup chopped and boiled potatoes
steamed asparagus
goat cheese
s + p to taste

We mixed the eggs, water and some crumbled goat cheese together. The shallots were sauteed in butter until slightly translucent and then the mushrooms were added, mixed and kept over low-medium heat for a couple of minutes. The mushroom mixture and the boiled potatoes were added to the eggs. Then back in the frittata pan. After cooking on the stove top for about 8-10 minutes we topped the frittata with the asparagus and dollops of goat cheese and then threw it in the broiler.

This frit was yummy, but needed something more—like savory herbiness. Maybe saute herbs with the shallots? I may chop the asparagus and throw it in the egg mixture next time too. I was going for some lovely design, but it was a bit funky looking and hard to cut to boot! I think next week we will ditch the potatoes—Hubs has already started scheming.

Chess, Anyone?

Before the holidays, there was a chess tournament in our house (hubs & I live at a boarding school and have an apartment within a 30+ boys dormitory). Hubs promised the winner of said tournament a baked good by yours truly. When asked, the winner wanted something that he could share with the rest of the house. Typically cupcakes are my standby, but I've been broadening my horizons and decided to bake brownies and blondies. I had only made brownies from scratch once and couldn't remember them, so apparently they weren't that remarkable. I decided to go the basic route and not try anything crazy. I chose my recipes from The New Best Recipe Cookbook, from the trusty editors of Cook's Illustrated. They were good, especially the blondies—I definitely picked up the butterscothiness flavors. The brownies were good, but nothing to rave over. The boys liked them, and I guess that was the ultimate goal.

The blondies and brownies take a rest before being measured and cut. And below, all 64 pieces are arranged and ready for the winner!

And look what I stumbled upon at Wegman's!!! Unbleached cake flour! I was staring at the usual purchase, the bright red box of overly processed bleached cake flour when I gazed over to this gorgeous box. I use King Arthur unbleached AP, wheat and pastry flours—so I am happy to add this one to the family.

Truffle salt...how do i love thee?

Hubs and I are head over heels for this indulgent jar of salty splendor. My awesome boss gave me a jar of this recently and we are addicted. I love opening the jar and just taking a deep whiff. I love the way my fingers smell after I have sprinkled it. Truffle salt will add an earthy sultry aroma/taste to just about anything. So far we've thrown it on filet mingon, frittatas, each other. I read on the WS site to try it on hot buttery popcorn—I can not wait!

Go buy a jar. Then go buy jars for all of the people you love because you won't stop talking about it. It is a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

A couple of years ago I tried a bite size pumpkin whoopie pie from One Girl Cookie in Brooklyn and it was delicious. Since then I have been intrigued by the thought of making them but never got around to it, until this week. While browsing the stacks at B&N I came across the "Baked" bakery cookbook. After drooling over their pumpkin whoopie pie and sweet & salty cake recipe, I decided to painstakingly write them down in my trusty little notebook—only to come home and find both recipes on MarthaStewart.com. Arg.

The recipe.

They were really easy to make. The batter was straight forward: mix the dry, mix the wet, then mix them together. The recipe yields 12 pies, but made them smaller, getting 18 complete pies. The cookie/cake is super moist. I was worried that I may have slightly undercooked them, regardless they were awesome.

Pies cooling, pictured with a non-blog worthy chocolate carrot cake. Assembly was simple, I skipped the piping bag and just dished the frosting on with a large spoon, spread slightly and then put the pies together.

A friend gave me a bottle of Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste recently and I've really enjoyed using it. I am partial to their extract, but this is the first time I've used the paste. The paste is used exactly like the extract, but I typically save it for frosting—where the lovely little vanilla beans are visible.

Week 1: Buffalo Chicken Frittata

Okay, I know what you're thinking...Buffalo Chicken Frittata? Gross. Couldn't you have started off with something a bit more good-for-you sounding? Of all the wonderful ingredients in the world, really,  Buffalo Chicken? Well folks, here's the deal: Before the New Year, hubs and I designated Sundays as frittata night in our house. I got to thinking that it would be fun to experiment and take turns with the ingredients all the while documenting the journey, hence "fifty-two frittatas". While scoping our ravaged fridge after our holiday away I noticed that we had a surplus of blue cheese and that was about it. Buffalo Chicky was the first thing to pop into my head. I thought it would also be a great way to garner some enthusiasm out of hubs. Sure enough his eyes lit up when I mentioned it.

This was a thin frittata, I was a bit stingy with the eggs.

5 eggs
tablespoon soy milk
1 chicken breast
buffalo chicken sauce (to bake the chicken in) and to add to the eggs
crumbled blue cheese
~5 small potatoes
1 shallot

I chop and boil my potatoes for about 6 minutes. I use this delightful trio of potatoes I get at Wegman's—white, reds and blues. All the while sauteing my chopped shallot in olive oil in my frittata pan. Add the potatoes and stir. Meanwhile the chicken, coated with Buffalo sauce is cooking and my 5 eggs are beaten together with soy milk, 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles and about a tablespoon or so of b. sauce (depending on how spicy you want your frittata). Cut up the chicken and add to the potatoes, then pour egg mixture over that. Let it sit over medium heat for a bit to set up. With a flexible spatula, start to peel the sides and let the eggs fill the sides. Once it is pretty well set, throw it in the oven to cook off the remaining runny egg on top. Broiling does the trick nicely.

Overall taste: delicious. The flavors were fantastic. I tend to let my shallots and potatoes get a little crispy and browned, combine that with egg, buffalo chicken and blue cheese—and you've got one terrific bite. Follow it with a swig of frosty brew.

Drawbacks: I found that I slightly overcooked this one, it was a bit dry. It is hard to get the timing perfect, especially when you have a shallow pool of runny egg on top. Less time on stove top and a nice hot broil? Or should I invest in the wonderful calphalon frittata pan over at William S.

My little frittata helper. Hubs had his weekly tennis match the night I made this, but he'll be mixing up the eggs next week.