Frittata for Breakfast

A frittata is a kind of quiche on steroids. It is Italian in origin but my guess is this recipe is not really as much authentic as it is delicious. Generally I make frittata with whatever I have in the fridge so the outcome can vary tremendously however, I never cooked a frittata I didn't like.

A few left over boiled potatoes cut into small pieces.
Olive oil as needed
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 red pepper cut into small pieces
2 round slices of pancetta cut into small cubes
5 eggs
¼ cup milk or cream
1 cup cheddar cheese grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese grated.

Turn the oven on to heat at 450 degrees.
First fry up the pancetta until it begins to crisp. Set it aside.
Put a bit of olive oil in a cast iron frying pan a fry up the potatoes. As the potatoes begin to brown add in the onion and garlic and shortly after season with salt and pepper.
When the onions are translucent add the pepper and the pancetta. Mix it all up making sure that nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Beat the eggs with the milk and add them to the pan. The egg mixture should almost cover the potato mixture.
Spread the cheeses on top and put it all into the hot oven.
After 10 minutes or so take the pan out and check for doneness by sticking in a knife or fork. It is is runny ­inside, pop it back into the oven. If not, it is ready to serve.
Make sure the sides will free up easily by running a knife around the outside.
Take a plate and place it over the pan. Turn the pan upside down. The frittata should come out cleanly onto the plate. Place a new plate on top of the frittata and turn it over again.
Serve it cheese side up.
It will easily cut into 4 or 6 servings as needed.
It is good hot or cold.

Note: Feel free to experiment, if you don't have left over potatoes use frozen hash browns, try bacon or sausage instead of pancetta, almost any vegetables will work in this dish, artichoke hearts, zucchini or green onions. You can mix up the cheese as well.

Quick and Easy Chicken Cacciatore

I have a great recipe for Chicken Cacciatore made from scratch but, there are days where I just don't have the time or energy to put it all together. Quick and easy doesn't have to mean bland. This recipe proves that.

There is no need to cut up a whole chicken, buy legs or thighs for this dish. Dredge them with flour and brown them in some olive oil using a deep fry pan.
When they are well browned, take them out and set aside.
Add one finely chopped onion to the pan along with a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic. Cook then until the onion is translucent being careful not to brown them. Put the chicken back into the pan, stir things around, add one can of Hunt's chopped tomatoes with Olive Oil and Garlic along with a cup or so of chicken stock. Stir.
Bring it all up to a slow boil. Add a tablespoon of oregano and a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes and stir again and turn down the heat.
Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes.
Before it is quite done cook up some of your favorite spaghetti. Drain and put it into a serving bowl. Add your favorite cheese then pour the tomato mixture over the pasta.
Stir and serve.

Mussels a la Plancha

This is my new favorite way of cooking mussels. This is as simple as a recipe gets but it is very good.
I prefer cultivated P.E.I. mussels but chaque un a son gout as they say in Quebec.
A la plancha means on the griddle or skillet.

You will need about a kilo of mussels or less depending on how many you are feeding. Much more and you should do two batches, otherwise it will become unmanageable.

Take a large cast iron or other type of skillet and get it quite hot. Hot enough so that drops of water will dance across the pan when dropped on it.

Put one quick swirl of olive oil in the pan then drop in all the mussel at once. It works best if there is only the one layer of mussels but don't worry if you have a double layer. It will work fine but you might have to stir them up as they cook.

The mussels will cook in their own juices and will open as they cook. A couple of times, shake in a bit of salt and pepper mixing them up each time.

When all the mussels are open, squeeze the juice of a couple of limes all over them and serve them in the pan you cooked them in.

You might want some melted butter to dip the mussels in if you insist but, I don't really think you need it.

Banana Butterscotch Mousse

I don't have a sweet tooth so don't eat dessert very often.This one is from Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food and I think you'll like it. It is everything you want in a recipe, simple, quick and very tasty.

1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
2 1/4 cups whipping cream
4 large bananas
a squeeze of lemon juice
good dark chocolate to grate on top.

Put the sugar, butter and 2/3 of a cup of whipping cream in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Once that is done let it bubble away for a couple of minutes, stirring often, then set aside and let it cool.

Pour the remaining cream into a blender. Add the bananas, broken into small peices along with a squeeze of lemon and blend until the mixture is smooth, thick and creamy.

Spoon a bit of the butterscotch sauce around the edge of a martini glass smearing it for effect. Divide up the banana mousse amongst the 4 glasses. Use a small teaspoon to ripple the remainder of the butterscotch through the mousse. Chill.

Just before serving grate a bit of chocolate over the top of the mousse.

Peas with Double Smoked Bacon

Peas are not a favorite vegetable in our house. I like them but...everyone else would just as soon pass them up. I was looking for something a bit different and came across this. This was originally a Jamie Oliver recipe. I have adapted it a bit for my own taste. It was a big hit. I think you'll like it.

4 or 5 slices of double smoked bacon
an ounce or more of olive oil
frozen peas (to feed 4 or 5)
a squeeze of lemon
1 Tbsp butter

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry them in the olive oil until crisp, set aside. Drain most but not all the oil off
Cook the peas up according to the package instructions, drain
Put them into a serving bowl, mix in the bacon, the butter and add the squeeze of lemon
Stir and serve.

Chicken Legs with White Wine, Sage and Honey

I like to use chicken legs because they are often on sale, in bulk, with backs attached. They are a good buy generally. I almost always cut off the backs and freeze them. When I have enough, I make stock.

This dish is very easy to make and is very tasty. The sauce is sweet and full of flavour.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

4 chicken leg and thighs,

salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped

7 sage leaves, 1 tablespoon
1/2cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon, honey
balsamic vinegar

Fettuccine, enough for 4

Season chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the Olive Oil and heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and brown. Remove chicken from the pan, Pour out all fat except 1 tablespoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add and Sauté the onions. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often so they don’t burn. Add garlic the last few minutes. Rub the sage leaves between your hands then lay the sage leaves into the pan and then add the thyme. Stir.

Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Add the wine, stock and honey. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 35 or 40 minutes. Remove the chicken, place on a plate put in a warming oven to keep warm. Place the skillet on a medium flame, add the balsamic vinegar to the braising liquid, and reduce until it starts to thickened Adjust seasoning.

Serve on a bed of fettuccine with a good dab of butter or olive oil mixed in. Lay a chicken leg on top and spoon the liquid the chicken cooked in, over the chicken and pasta.

Serves: 4

Skillet Cornbread

I really do think a great way to start a weekend morning is to make some cornbread. I often made cornmeal muffins Saturday mornings but lately I have decided that skillet cornbread is the way to go. It is very good and very easy to make. I quite dislike the sweet cakey cornbread that restaurants tend to serve. Montana`s Restaurant cornbread is particularly bad. Mine is firm and not very sweet. It should be served with butter and, if you like, a bit of maple syrup. If you are more of a traditionalist, serve it with molasses.

What you need to start, is a cast iron skillet. First thing, heat the oven to 425 degrees, wipe some oil around the skillet and put it in the oven.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together

2 large eggs,
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp melted butter of vegetable oil

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Take the skillet out of the oven and scrape the mixed batter into the hot skillet. Put it back into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When the top is brown it is ready and should easily turn out onto a plate.
Slice it as you eat it a piece at a time, to keep it warm.