Am hosting the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch this Sunday for about 16
adults and various munchkins. The grownups sip Mimosas and Bloody Marys while
the kids do their thing. Thought I'd do an easy buffet with muffins, fresh
fruits, and a couple of frittatas - one with mushrooms, chives, and Asiago and
another with apple smoked bacon & Gruyere. For a little variety I thought I'd
throw in one I saw on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute meals this week. Did a test run
on it last night. Glad I did - it was just awful. For any among you tempted to
try her Egg Pasta Frittata using the recipe on the Food TV website, try at your
own risk...following her recipe exactly, I ended up with a barely edible
rubbery hockey puck...think noodle casserole thats been reheated one too many
times.

TV recipe called for 12 oz. of fettuccini, cooked al dente, 1C cream, 1 C
grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and 12 eggs - it looked awfully dry going in.
She called for cooking it at 425 for 10 minutes - isn't that awfully hot for
eggs? I do my other fritattas in the oven in a large cast iron skillet for
10-15 min at 350 and start out with a soupier egg/cream mixture with great
results.

Anybody have a good frittata recipe to balance out my menu?

NT

Tortilla Española

2 lbs (or a little less) potatoes, quartered and sliced thin
1/2 medium onion, diced
6 eggs

Heat a 10" skillet/omelet pan (ie rounded sides) over low heat and add some
olive oil.
Cook the potatoes slowly in the oil (don't brown them) 10-15 minutes
Add the onion to teh potatoes, and some salt and cook another 10-15 minutes
until teh potatoes are tender

Meanwhile beat the eggs with a little salt.

When the potatoes are done, add to the eggs and mix well

Make sure the pan is clean and slick, add some oil, and heat to medium. Add
the potato-egg mixture, and shake the pan occasionally to keep it from
sticking; cover the pan to help cook the egg through. run a spatula under
the eggs to make sure they haven't stuck. When the egg has set (5-8
minutes), cover the pan with the cover or a plate, and flip it over (so that
the stuff in teh pan is now upside down on the plate. Add more oil to teh
pan if necessary and slide the tortilla back into teh pan to cook the other
side (3 minutes or so). Do the plate flip thing again. Let it rest a
awhile and serve warm or room temp (great for picnics).

The original recipe from Janet mendel's _My Kitchen in Spain_ is just
potatoes, onions, and eggs. I like to cut back on teh potatoes, and add
some color with diced bell peppers and/or parsley. You can probably also
get more eggs into a 10" pan, but getting it to set well enough to flip can
be tricky.

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Louis Cohen
Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"


"NTANTIQUES" > wrote in message
...
> Am hosting the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch this Sunday for
about 16
> adults and various munchkins. The grownups sip Mimosas and Bloody Marys
while
> the kids do their thing. Thought I'd do an easy buffet with muffins, fresh
> fruits, and a couple of frittatas - one with mushrooms, chives, and
Asiago and
> another with apple smoked bacon & Gruyere. For a little variety I thought
I'd
> throw in one I saw on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute meals this week. Did a test
run
> on it last night. Glad I did - it was just awful. For any among you
tempted to
> try her Egg Pasta Frittata using the recipe on the Food TV website, try at
your
> own risk...following her recipe exactly, I ended up with a barely edible
> rubbery hockey puck...think noodle casserole thats been reheated one too
many
> times.
>
> TV recipe called for 12 oz. of fettuccini, cooked al dente, 1C cream, 1
C
> grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and 12 eggs - it looked awfully dry going
in.
> She called for cooking it at 425 for 10 minutes - isn't that awfully hot
for
> eggs? I do my other fritattas in the oven in a large cast iron skillet
for
> 10-15 min at 350 and start out with a soupier egg/cream mixture with great
> results.
>
> Anybody have a good frittata recipe to balance out my menu?
>
> NT
>
>

"NTANTIQUES" > wrote in message
...
>
> Anybody have a good frittata recipe to balance out my menu?
>
Something green soundsgood for balance. I like Marcella Hazan's zucchini
frittata from Essentials of Italian Cooking...lots of fresh basil and
parmesan. It has gone over very well the times I've served it to guests.
Of course, an asparagus frittata would be nice for spring. I don't have a
particular recipe, though.



Chris

On 10 Apr 2004 00:45:18 GMT, oQspam (NTANTIQUES)
wrote:

>Am hosting the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch this Sunday for about 16
>adults and various munchkins. The grownups sip Mimosas and Bloody Marys while
>the kids do their thing. Thought I'd do an easy buffet with muffins, fresh
>fruits, and a couple of frittatas - one with mushrooms, chives, and Asiago and
>another with apple smoked bacon & Gruyere. For a little variety I thought I'd
>throw in one I saw on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute meals this week. Did a test run
>on it last night. Glad I did - it was just awful. For any among you tempted to
>try her Egg Pasta Frittata using the recipe on the Food TV website, try at your
>own risk...following her recipe exactly, I ended up with a barely edible
>rubbery hockey puck...think noodle casserole thats been reheated one too many
>times.
>
>TV recipe called for 12 oz. of fettuccini, cooked al dente, 1C cream, 1 C
>grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and 12 eggs - it looked awfully dry going in.
>She called for cooking it at 425 for 10 minutes - isn't that awfully hot for
>eggs? I do my other fritattas in the oven in a large cast iron skillet for
>10-15 min at 350 and start out with a soupier egg/cream mixture with great
>results.

I would also cook the pasta past al dente. I doubt it would cook much
more in the oven under those conditions.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

NTANTIQUES said:
> Am hosting the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch this Sunday for about 16
> adults and various munchkins. The grownups sip Mimosas and Bloody Marys while
> the kids do their thing. Thought I'd do an easy buffet with muffins, fresh
> fruits, and a couple of frittatas - one with mushrooms, chives, and Asiago and
> another with apple smoked bacon & Gruyere. For a little variety I thought I'd
> throw in one I saw on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute meals this week. Did a test run
> on it last night. Glad I did - it was just awful. For any among you tempted to
> try her Egg Pasta Frittata using the recipe on the Food TV website, try at your
> own risk...following her recipe exactly, I ended up with a barely edible
> rubbery hockey puck...think noodle casserole thats been reheated one too many
> times.
>

Possible reasons:

1. your oven is mis calibrated - or you didn't preheat it long enough.
Also the thermometer if you used one was in the wrong position.
2. The eggs you used are larger or smaller than the ones she used on the
show.
3. Your pan is of a different thickness than the one she used.
4. You placed the pan in a different position in the oven than she did -
i.e. the oven shelf., etc.
5. Your stove top is mis calibrated - or you cooked at the wrong
temperature/heat setting.
6. You used a different amount of ingredients that she used.
7. Your ingredients were at a different temperature when you started
cooking than hers were at.
8. being at a different altitude than she is at.
9 You didn't cook for the proper amount of time based on the above
variables.


Any one or more - possibly all - of the above are possible reasons for
what you experienced.

>
>Possible reasons:
>
>1. your oven is mis calibrated - or you didn't preheat it long enough.
>Also the thermometer if you used one was in the wrong position.
>2. The eggs you used are larger or smaller than the ones she used on the
>show.
>3. Your pan is of a different thickness than the one she used.
>4. You placed the pan in a different position in the oven than she did -
>i.e. the oven shelf., etc.
>5. Your stove top is mis calibrated - or you cooked at the wrong
>temperature/heat setting.
>6. You used a different amount of ingredients that she used.
>7. Your ingredients were at a different temperature when you started
>cooking than hers were at.
>8. being at a different altitude than she is at.
>9 You didn't cook for the proper amount of time based on the above
>variables.
>
>
>Any one or more - possibly all - of the above are possible reasons for
>what you experienced.

Reaonable thoughts, but none seem applicable to my situation...I know my way
around a kitchen & think the recipe was either incorrectly transcribed to the
FoodTV website or just a dud.

Ended up doing a third frittata with blanched fresh asparagus & gruyere...all
three turned out beautifully & went over like gangbusters with the Easter
Brunch bunch. Made them last night, wrapped 'em in parchment paper and served
them up this morning sliced in wedges over an herb salad mix from Trader Joe's
lightly dressed with my version of a dijon vinagrette. Even the kids scarfed
'em up - which I considered the ultimate compliment considering each of the
little ones was hauling around a basket filled with about 12 pounds of
chocolate easter eggs. The weather was fabulous & we served in the garden
where the lavender is in full bloom and the first of the roses have popped. A
grand day - good food & good company...it doesn't get any better...
Thanks to all for your suggestions & Happy Easter!
NT