5 ★★★★★ Onion & Herb Frittata

I have made a lot of frittatas in my day, but this one takes the grand prize.

It is from Bon Appetit magazine and all I can say is: make this dish!

It's very easy, using the herbs from your garden, 8 eggs and yummy fresh ricotta cheese.





The recipe calls for an ovenproof non-stick skillet, which I don't own. My non-stick skillet has a plastic handle that is not oven safe, so I had to figure something else out.

A well seasoned cast iron skillet to the rescue. I bumped up the oil a bit to make sure for a smooth release from the pan and added extra herbs, of course.

The trick is to have everything ready to go and you can whip this up for your Sunday breakfast in no time.

I tried a slice about 30 minutes out of the oven, but I loved this most 6 hours later, left on the counter, at room temperature.

I took the leftovers to the beach the next day and we ate them out of the cooler, even better, if you can imagine a leftover omelet being that good.

I hope you try this, it gets my 5 star rating.



Best Onion Frittata: (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1 cup of thinly sliced onions (I used 2 large Vidalia onions)
1/4 cup of olive oil for the skillet (unless you are using a nonstick, make sure it is ovenproof up to 400F, then use only 3 tbsp of olive oil)
1 tsp kosher salt

8 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
4 large sage leaves, minced
4 large basil leaves, torn
1 tbsp of fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
black pepper
5 dollops of fresh ricotta cheese for the top (about 1/3 cup)

Start by cooking your onions in an 8" ovenproof skillet (they recommend non-stick, but I used cast iron) in the olive oil, until golden. About 10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, whisk the eggs with the next 6 ingredients (not the ricotta) and get ready.

Once the onions are cooked, pour the egg, parmesan and herb mixture over the onions in the pan. Spoon about 5 dollops of ricotta cheese around the eggs to make a nice design. I added an extra sage leaf to each dollop to be fancy.



Turn the heat down to low and cook about 3-4 minutes, until the sides of the frittata look they are setting.

Carefully place the skillet (careful, it's hot) in a 400F oven and bake the frittata for about 9 minutes until the dish looks set and golden.

Let rest in the pan a few minutes until you can slide it out onto a serving plate.



This is fantastic warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.



Enjoy!

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Zucchini Crostini

Such a nice title. I love rhymes. Zucchini Crostini, Bikini Cuisini....sort of like Vince the Shamwow Slapchop Guy.

It's Friday, time for summer crostini.

Why did it take me so long to figure this combination out?

Slice a few zucchini into thin strips and season w/ kosher salt and olive oil.
Grill just a few minutes on each side, they will cook up quickly.



Spread some fresh ricotta on top of toasted baguette slices and drape w/ a zucchini slice, some lemon zest and basil leaf (you can also use fresh mint instead of the basil, I liked the contrast of my opal basil with this). Drizzle w/ olive oil just before serving.

So yummy.

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Roasted Beet & Chickpea Salad

There is this moody farmer at my farmer's market who grows the best of everything.

He has so many gorgeous varieties of tomatoes and 5 different kinds of beets. He takes such pride in what he grows and I don't mind paying the extra dollar for his prized produce, I only wish he would smile more. It seems like all this growing and harvesting is making him miserable.



This weekend he had Ace Beets and Burpee's Golden. I couldn't wait to get these babies home. I love my beets.

Growing up I thought beets were disgusting, along with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and lima beans. I think we all felt this way. Why did my mother BOIL every vegetable to death? We choked on them before we could swallow them.

Now I know better. Beets are like sugar, you can bake cakes with them, roast them for salads, serve them with cheese or eat them like candy.

If you still don't "like" beets, then come over to my house, I will help convert you.

This is an easy salad and was delicious at room temperature or cold from the fridge.

The fresh mint goes really nicely with the earthy flavor of the sweet beets.

It makes for an easy lunch for 3 days in a row! I took this salad to the beach last week and it was perfect.

Chickpea Salad w/ Roasted Beets:

6 beets, red & yellow, stems and greens cut off
2 shallots, minced
2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed & drained
big handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
big handful of green onions or chives, chopped
juice of a lemon
3 tbsp of white balsamic or red wine vinegar
6 tbsp of olive oil
sea salt & pepper
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

To roast beets:
Scrub the beets to remove dirt and remove the greens. Place in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt. Cover the beets with foil and place in a 400F oven and roast for 1 hour.



Let beets cool with the foil still on for at least an hour until cool enough to handle.
The skins will slip right off and they are ready for cutting or slicing. You can make these the day before and keep them in the fridge.

Slice or cube the beets into any shape you like and mix them in a large bowl w/ the drained chickpeas.

Add the fresh herbs and dressing. Season w/ salt & pepper and taste and adjust seasonings.



Add the feta cheese just before serving and serve on a bed of baby arugula.

Don't worry, if you are using red beets, the chickpeas will turn pink!

Enjoy!

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Grilled Flank Steak

I always buy flank steak when I see it on sale, it's great for the grill and makes the best sandwiches for the next day.

The key to a good flank steak is the marinade. The flank is a tough cut and needs acid to break up the muscle, so vinegar, citrus or soy sauce is imperative.

You can make this delicious easy marinade the day before and the longer the meat sits in it, the better it is.



Grilled Flank Steak:

one 2-3 lb. flank steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup of red wine or balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp honey
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
kosher salt & pepper

In a ziploc bag or Pyrex glass dish, add the marinade to the meat and season with kosher salt & pepper.



Let sit in the fridge anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.

Light a grill on high heat and grill the flank steak (discarding the marinade) for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare.



It is important to let the meat rest for 5 minutes (so the juices redistribute) before slicing.

Slice across the grain and serve!



Enjoy!

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Food Gifts: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I love receiving food in the mail as gifts.

I received a gorgeous bag of special black quinoa from my friend Jenna and I was waiting for the right recipe to try them with.



Quinoa is that super food that is super high in protein and just so good for you.

Since they were black in color, I thought why not stuff them into yellow bell peppers for a nice contrast. and since the yellow peppers were a 1970's price of .79 a lb.!! (I am not lying), I bought a bunch. I have never seen bell peppers offered for such a low price, even at the end of the summer when they are falling off the plants. This must have been a typo.



The black quinoa tasted different from regular quinoa and I couldn't tell you why, but it was the best quinoa I have ever had (not that I have tried so many different types of quinoa in my lifetime).

I sauteed 2 shallots and mixed in some frozen corn, with some chili peppers, cheese and herbs and these made for a delicious, healthy dinner.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers:

1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed
1 tsp salt
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 shallots, chopped
olive oil
1 cup of defrosted frozen corn
4 red or yellow bell peppers, cut in half and seeded (leave stems on)
1 jalapeno pepper or hot pepper of your choice, seeded & chopped
1 1/2 cups of Mexican blend cheese (Jack & cheddar)
big handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Rinse your quinoa and cook it per package directions until the little curly-q kernels are showing.

In a small saucepan, saute the 2 shallots for a minute until fragrant.

To the quinoa mixture add the grated carrot, the cooked shallot and the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings, it may need more salt.

Slice the bell peppers in half and remove the seeds and membrane, leaving the stems attached.



Spoon the quinoa stuffing into the pepper halves and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a 375F oven for 40 minutes.



Enjoy!

.....and on the subject of food gifts: thank you to Colleen from Smyrna, Georgia for sending me her beautiful homemade fig jams! I can't wait to try them!

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Paccheri con Pesce Spada e Pomodorini

In English please.

What is paccheri, you are wondering?

Paccheri is a wide tubular pasta shape from Italy that collapses when you cook it, and is great w/ seafood sauces. I have only had it in NYC restaurants, and even though I live 20 miles from those restaurants, I could not find this pasta.

I substituted rigatoni for the paccheri and it was fine.



The next time I will mail order it directly from Naples!

This beautiful summer pasta dish is from the wonderful book My Calabria. There are a lot of swordfish (pesce spada) recipes in this book because swordfish is the main catch in this region of Southern Italy.

With this recipe, you use fresh summer ingredients and the freshest catch. You work fast to create a wonderful light pasta dish that calls for a crisp summer white wine to go with it. We loved this dish.



The book mentions that different regions prepare this sauce with different ingredients.

In Naples they use eggplant with the swordfish. Some of the Italian recipes I found use olives, and some even use pine nuts. You can use basil or parsley, just make sure you use the tablespoon of kosher salt that the recipe calls for.



Paccheri con Pesce Spada e Pomodorini (Pasta w/ Swordfish & Cherry Tomatoes) (adapted from My Calabria):

Serves 4

3/4 lb. of paccheri (good luck finding it!) or rigatoni (which is what I used)

1 lb. swordfish steak (I went over a pound), cut into 3/4" cubes
1 lb. sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
4 garlic cloves, chopped
big shake of hot red pepper flakes
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
big handful of fresh parsley leaves
handful of Kalamata or Gaeta olives, halved (optional, but makes it yummier)
handful of capers (also optional, but do it)

You have to work quickly. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.

In a heavy 12" skillet, heat the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the generous shake of hot pepper flakes, the garlic and swordfish. Cook only 45 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant. Don't worry, the fish will be totally cooked.

Now add the cherry tomatoes and the tablespoon of kosher salt. Cook only 1 minute.
You don't want the tomatoes to collapse at all.



Remove the fish and tomatoes from the heat and add the parsley and olives and capers (if using). It's ok for the sauce to rest a few minutes while the pasta is cooking.



Drain the pasta and add it immediately to the tomato fish sauce. Toss the mixture to incorporate all the yummy flavors. No cheese please on this pasta (eeew to fish w/ cheese).

Serve immediately. We ate the entire pan ourselves, this was so delicious.



Enjoy!

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Upside Down Fig Cake

I am always looking for new ideas to use my beloved fresh figs.

How about an upside down cake? You can eat this right side up if you like.

Easy to put together, however, a big pain to remove from the pan in one piece.
Good luck with that.

I adapted a few recipes and came out with this winner.
Serve with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.



Upside Fresh Fig Cake: (loosely adapted from GroupRecipes.com)

1 stick butter, plus 4 tbsp butter for the figs (12 tbsp total)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
8 fresh figs, stems removed, cut in half
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 small lemon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk

I used a 9" cast iron skillet and it worked out well, but you can also bake this in a 9" parchment lined cake pan. Just cook the sugar/butter/fig mixture first on the stove, then pour into the lined cake pan for easy lift out.



Place half stick of butter in the cast iron skillet w/ the 1/2 cup of brown sugar and melt together, adding the fresh figs (flesh side down) to the pan. Let the figs caramelize for 2 minutes in the bubbling sugar/butter mixture, without disturbing them.



Make the batter by mixing together the rest of the ingredients and pouring on top of the figs.



Spread carefully and bake in a 350F oven for 35-40 minutes, until the top is cracking and pulling away from the sides.

Let rest on a cooling rack (be careful when you remove the cast iron from the oven, it will be HOT!) for about 20 minutes.



Carefully invert onto a serving platter. If some of the figs stick to the pan, not to worry, just place them back on top of the cake, no one will notice.



The top will harden and be sticky & sweet. I liked this cake best warm.

Serve with ice cream or plain.



Delicious!

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Grilled Garlic Shrimp

It's Friday. Time for snacks on the patio, even though it is hotter than hell out there (almost 100F and disgusting humidity). We may have to eat these indoors tonight with the a.c. blasting.

Here is the easiest and most delicious way to prepare shrimp on the grill (adapted from Bobby Flay).

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled w/ tails left on
1 tbsp ancho chili powder
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked (pimenton) Spanish paprika (optional)
salt & pepper
fresh chopped flat leaf parsley (for garnish)

for the oil:
3 garlic cloves, sliced into thin coins
1/4 cup of olive oil
hot red pepper flakes

Marinate the shrimp in the garlic chili mixture for no more than one hour.



Turn the grill to high heat and when the grill is nice and hot, grill the shrimp about a minute & a half on each side (3 minutes total).

While the shrimp is cooking, make the garlic oil. It's great if you have a side burner on your grill like I do, it makes it so much easier!



Heat the slices of garlic in the oil w/ the hot pepper flakes for a minute or two until the garlic slices are golden and fragrant. Remove the garlic to a plate and reserve the oil.

In flat serving dishes, serve the shrimp and spoon some of the garlic oil on top, then some of the reserved garlic slices. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!



Happy Weekend and Stay Cool!

Yum!

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