Eggs Again--Frittata

When on Friday night I found myself with two beautiful red peppers and a half a carton of eggs, the eggs became the centerpiece of our dinner yet again. This time it was a frittata.

The versatile frittata is simply an open-faced Italian omelet. The Italian frittata,which is flat and round, is cooked over low heat until it is firm and set. It is never runny, and it is cooked on both sides. Its fillings are limited only by your imagination.

In a large non-stick skillet, coated with olive oil, I sauteed the sliced peppers and an onion until soft.  Then I seasoned them with salt and pepper.

 I beat 5 large eggs with salt, pepper and a large handful of grated Pecorino cheese.

I poured the egg mixture over the vegetables and turned the heat to low. Without stirring, I let the eggs cook over low heat until only the top was runny.  Now the fun part--remember, the frittata is cooked on both sides. Some people flip the frittata with a flourish to finish the cooking.  I was never that brave.
I would always turn it over on a dish, then slide the frittata back into the pan. Marcella suggests running the pan under the broiler for 20 seconds without browning the frittata.  But the easiest for me now is to allow the frittata to finish cooking in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until set.

This is nice with a green salad and a crisp white wine.

You might enjoy seeing these variations by Georgia and Miryam.

Carbonnades A La Flamande

It was one of those days.  You know the kind. You don't know what the day will bring, what the outcome will be or what time anyone would be home for dinner.  So I needed to prepare something ahead that would hold up well and reheat easily.

As luck would have it, I had a package of beef chuck languishing in the refrigerator begging to be used. And a search of the vegetable bin revealed two large Spanish onions and some garlic. Although there is the promise of Spring in the air, the temperatures are still in the 30's so a hearty braised beef dish for dinner sounded about right.

Carbonnades A La Flamande is a Belgian braise of  beef and onions.  Like most braised dishes it can be made ahead and reheated when you are ready to eat.

Onions are sauteed in olive oil for about ten minutes, some garlic is added along with salt and pepper.

Beef is browned. Salt, pepper, beer and a touch of brown sugar is added, then onions  go back into the casserole. Braise in oven or on top of the stove until fork tender.