Herb Frittata

Yesterday I stopped off at the farmer's market for my weekend haul of fruits and veggies. In addition to some yummy potatoes, snap peas, and free milk(which is so good I am now second guessing my purchase of all other milk), I picked up some spring onions. These are onions resemble large scallions but are actually just a white onion picked early. Or, if you refuse to let go of the whole scallion thing, really big bulbous scallions. I returned home and went about making breakfast with them. Onion pancakes don't sound good, so left was the incredible edible egg. I had leftover goat cheese and some fresh basil as well, so I decided to go with a frittata.

Eggs take very well to multiple vehicles, so this is by no means the limitation of a frittata. Ham and Swiss, tomato and Parmesan and sausage, the combinations are endless. I use this as a template for adding whatever you want into your tasty breakfast.



Fresh Herb and Goat Cheese Frittata

4 eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 spring onions, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

Whisk the eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl. Add the parsley and basil and set aside. Preheat broiler to low

In a 12-inch non stick skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, stirring constantly. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions become wilted and start to caramelize. If you have a lid for the pan, clamp this on, it will speed up the process. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the eggs, stirring lightly with a spatula. Once the eggs start to set up, use the spatula to pull the eggs away from the edge of the pan and allow the runny part to run underneath the frittata. Continue doing this until most of the runny part has been removed from the center. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the top and place the pan in the oven. Broil until the top is just set, about 2-3 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

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Shrimp and Grits

My adventure into the previously unknown continued last week with my first shot at grits. The first time I had grits I thought they were nasty (and in retrospect, whoever made them made them taste like paste). The second time my friend Catherine made them (with shrimp) and I loved them. So I had a 50/50 chance with this meal succeeding. Why not?

Grits are a pretty simple concept, just like polenta. Coarse ground corn and water makes yummy food. Well, at least that’s where you start. In the interest of time/my first time I used quick grits instead of the fancy stone ground ones. Next time I think I will try the latter, mainly for their texture and more than likely better flavor. But for anyone making this dish in a pinch quick grits work just fine. Time investment in this meal clocks in at less than 30 minutes.

This recipe is open to interpretation, it really is. That is the beauty of southern food, everyone makes it differently. I like that about some dishes because they really take on a life of their own. For example, instead of water for the grits, I added the intended amount of water into a pot, added the shrimp shells, a bay leaf, some fresh thyme, and salt and then let it simmer for about 15 minutes to make a quick shrimp stock. Nifty.

Shrimp and Grits

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 T paprika
½ t cayenne
½ t dried thyme
½ t dried oregano
¼ t cumin
2 t salt
½ t pepper
1 T flour
¼ cup chicken (or shrimp) stock
2 T parsley
2 T lemon juice
1 onion, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices bacon, chopped

Grits

½ cup quick grits
2 C water
3 oz cheddar cheese
½ t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t pepper

For the shrimp, combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and mix well, coating shrimp with spice mixture. Let sit for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet or pot over medium heat and add bacon, cooking until browned. Remove bacon and set aside on paper towels to drain. Add the onion and pepper, cooking them both in the bacon drippings about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with flour and mix until absorbed. Add the chicken stock and cook until a thick sauce has formed, about 2 minutes. Add the parsley and lemon juice, season with salt, pepper, and cayenne for spice. Add the bacon back into the mix in the end.

For the grits, heat the water (or stock) over medium heat until boiling. Add grits and salt, whisk, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally until grits are creamy and plump, about 5-7 minutes. Taste the grits to check their consistency, they should be smooth. If gritty, add a bit more water or stock and whisk in. Add the garlic powder, pepper, and cheese, whisking until the cheese is melted.

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It's Not a Party Without a Cheeseball

Ever been to a rocking party? Sure you have. How many of those parties did not involve in some manner a cheese ball? Very few, I guess. Because nothing says fun like a ball of cheese. If one is absent, it becomes a "gathering".

And since this recipe pretty much makes itself, I will add only two quick notes. First, once you add the remaining ingredients to the cream cheese, mix slowly so you keep the textures of the pimentos and cheddar intact. Second, chopped nuts. Do yourself a favor and do not buy these at the grocery store. Buy whole ones and chop them yourselves. A food processor or a baggie/rolling pin work just fine. I keep a big bag in the freezer for all sorts of uses.

Now, onto the balling.

Cheeseball

1 8-oz package reduced fat cream cheese
3 T shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 t diced pimentos
1/2 t each salt, pepper, garlic powder
walnuts or pecans, chopped (about 1 cup)

In a stand mixer or bowl, add cream cheese and beat until soft (it helps to take it out of the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before making). Add cheddar, seasonings, pimentos, and Worcestershire, mix slowly, scraping down sides of bowl. When it looks uniform, scrape down sides and scoop out mixture into hands. Form a semi-tight ball and roll in nuts to evenly coat. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving (will keep for up to 4 days in plastic wrap). Enjoy with veggies and crackers.

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Baked Rigatoni

I have always found that the best time to write blog posts is soon after I have eaten the dish I want to write about. In this case, I am currently feeding my face of this stuff. Because it's tasty and I like food. This dish is getting fast tracked into the blog thanks to something my better half said last night, that she would order it in a restaurant. Never has she said that, and I make a big deal out of it because it’s a huge compliment and its not "maybe we should get pizza" (I get that every other month or so when I make something off the wall). Now, on to the cooking!

This recipe makes use of the tomato sauce from the last post. It also takes inspiration from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, a fantastic Italian cookbook that I would recommend to anyone. So what is this baked pan of pure love? Pasta, cheese, and two sauces. Traditional Italian dishes such as lasagna call for two sauces, a red and a white, which allows a creamy texture and still lends itself to full flavor. The red sauce is usually a tomato or Bolognese sauce. In this instance I went with tomato. If you do not have home made tomato sauce, try this instead. Take a jar of tomato sauce from wherever you buy it, and taste it. If you are content with it, use as is. If not, adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, basil, and oregano are good places to start) until you are satisfied. People often just take bottled sauces at their word and find them to be flat once used. If I ever use any kind of pre packaged sauce or something, I always taste it first and adjust its seasonings. This will save you a lot of heart ache in the end.

The white sauce that is used is a béchamel, which is equal parts flour and butter combined with milk. It’s the same sauce I used with my ron con con. However, since we want some of the sauce to be absorbed by the pasta, this sauce will be a bit thinner and contain no cheese. This recipe multiplies nicely and is also my new favorite for pot lucks. It can be prepared in under 15 minutes, which is an added plus.

Baked Rigatoni

2 cups red sauce (tomato or Bolognese)
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 cups milk, heated
½ cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 pound rigatoni

Preheat oven to 400°F. On stove, heat a large pot of water to boiling with a copious amount of salt and about 1T olive oil.

Meanwhile in a medium sauce pot over medium heat add butter until melted, whisk in flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add milk a little bit at a time, whisking to make a sauce (adding the milk hot will allow the sauce to come together quickly and prevent lumps). Cook sauce for a minute or so, it should have a creamy but not extremely thick consistency. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Boil pasta until still chewy, about 3 minutes under recommended time. Drain and place in large bowl. Add the white and red sauce and half of the cheese, toss to combine. Butter a baking dish and add pasta mixture. Top with remaining cheese, bake for about 15-20 minutes until top starts to brown. Let the pasta sit for about 10 minutes after removing from oven to absorb the rest of the sauce.

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Macaroni and Cheese (Ron con con)

Wow, I have been writing a food blog for almost 9 months and I have yet to put this recipe up? Chalk that one up to some serious memory impairment. Sheesh. This dish is the first savory dish I ever made on my own. I was 7 and I was hungry, and as any child, I went to my mother and asked her what was for dinner. She replied "whatever you make". Being the hungry kid that I was, I set about trying to make macaroni. Meaning, I got out the ingredients on the counter and asked my mom what to do next. With a little bit of help I turned out a pretty good side dish for dinner (we made pork chops to go along with it). To this day I have altered this recipe very little. In fact, the only change is the cheese split, I used to use all Colby jack (melty) until I discovered how awesome cheddar was in this.

The recipe is straight forward. Make a béchamel sauce (roux + milk), add cheese, add pasta, bake. The secret, super amazing part I credit to my father, who for the longest time mysteriously made better macaroni and cheese than my mom but no one knew why. Turns out he just added a cube of chicken bullion. You know, the stuff I don’t like to use as a substitute for my chicken stock. But it has many other uses. Such as making amazing mac and cheese. That and the fact that this stuff is under a buck for eight cubes gives it a place in my spice cabinet.

One last note is the pasta. I like rigatoni way more than elbows because of the bigger tube that can pick up more sauce, but its totally a preference thing. Oh, and it is sometime referred to as "ron con con" because my girlfriend called it that when she was a baby. No idea why, but it is what it is.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound rigatoni noodles (or elbows or some kind of short tubular pasta)
3 T Butter
3 T flour
3 C milk
1 cube chicken bullion (if you have a smaller cube, use two, if large, go one)
8 oz Colby jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
6 oz sharp cheddar, shredded (1.5 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir, cooking the roux for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk and bullion cube, whisking to combine (if you want it to cook faster, warm your milk before hand). Reduce heat to medium low. When the sauce thickens, add the cheese a little at a time, switching to a wooden spoon and stirring constantly. Add all of the cheese and mix until cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, boil pasta (making sure to heavily salt the water and add a small amount of oil) until al-dente, cooking it a little under (it will absorb sauce). Drain (but do not rinse) and add pasta to a 9x12 baking dish (or something that will hold a pound of pasta and can go in your oven). Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix well, cover with foil, and bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and delicious.

UPDATE: Feel free to leave comments below, you don't even need to be signed in :)

UPDATED UPDATE: I altered the recipe a bit above, as I mistakenly listed the amounts of each cheese needed.

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Beans!

I have to say, beans are not usually followed in any recipe with an exclamation point. In fact, the foods that have a "!" on the end are usually processed bags of blah. Next time you peruse through the grocery store, watch out for them.

But I'm getting off topic. This is about beans, or rather, beans! More specifically refried beans. A staple to many Mexican dishes but probably only found in your diet as a side at a Mexican restaurant or in a Taco Bell burrito. Not the way they were originally intended. Taking a page from my pseudo Hispanic heritage (I grew up near Mexico) I like to put beans in lots of foods. More importantly, my girlfriend loves them. Why? Because they are simply delicious!

Refried beans come from re-cooking pinto beans and mashing them into a kind of paste. While this sounds mildly displeasing, they are actually quite tasty. I have made my own before, and while they are quite good, they take a bit of time with the soaking, the cooking, the cooling, the mashing, and anything else I can think of to get a smooth texture. In my opinion its much better to go with the canned variety. I like Rosarita Fat-Free. Yes, I said fat free, so deal with it. I promise you will not be disappointed.

A small tangent I would like to go for is the wonderful health benefits of beans. Full of fiber, vitamins, and protein while being devoid of fat, cholesterol, and loads of calories, pretty much every other country in the world eats more beans than we do. And most of them live longer. Get it? The refried variety show up in a lot of my dishes, so before I go off on those I have to explain how I make beans. So here we go.

Refried Beans

1 can Rosarita Fat-Free Beans
1-2 T bacon fat
1-2 oz shredded cheese (Cheddar and Colby-Jack work best)
2ish T of milk

Whoa, whoa, I know, I said buy fat free, and now I want you to add bacon fat? Yes, I do. First of all, 1-2 tablespoons of the stuff split between four people is much healthier than anything you shamelessly ate the last time you walked into a fast food joint. And more importantly, pork fat rules! It lends a smoky flavor that cannot be matched by any other fat put into beans. And if you do not have bacon fat, save some the next time you make bacon. I keep a small container in my fridge at all times. If you think about it, many great dishes would taste better with bacon fat than butter.

So back to our beans. Heat a small pot over medium-low heat, add the bacon fat until it melts, and add the beans, stirring to incorporate the two. Add the milk and cheese and stir. Vary the amount of each to accommodate your desired consistency. Heat until the cheese melts, and serve.

Yep, no seasoning. If you want some spice, you can add whatever you like. No need for salt thanks to the cheese. You can serve these on the side or use them for burritos, tacos, and many other goodies. They are the base for my Indian Fry Bread, which I will post in the near future.

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