{"id":1577,"date":"2011-03-04T11:44:10","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T16:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2011-03-04T11:45:35","modified_gmt":"2011-03-04T16:45:35","slug":"veggies-for-breakfast-or-eggs-for-dinner-heres-a-frittata-plus-a-dozen-other-eggy-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/2011\/03\/veggies-for-breakfast-or-eggs-for-dinner-heres-a-frittata-plus-a-dozen-other-eggy-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Veggies for Breakfast or Eggs for Dinner? Here’s A Frittata Plus A Dozen Other Eggy Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Lest you think I\u2019m completely crazy for devoting so much cyber-ink to birds in my last blog<\/a>, I thought maybe I should come clean about a couple of things. First, I think the whole bird thing is part of my effort to be more in touch with nature (goofy as that sounds, I know). Mostly because observing nature requires slowing down. In my old life, I did everything on one speed: Fast. (Oh, dear, now I\u2019m starting to sound like Charlie Sheen.) I barely made time to tend a pot of herbs on the windowsill or take a walk around the neighborhood\u2014I certainly didn\u2019t don the binoculars to wait for a bird to fly by.<\/p>\n

Secondly (and much more practically), one of the reasons I\u2019m truly excited about having our own hens is because we eat so many darn eggs around here (see below). Okay, I admit, there\u2019s also a deeper meaning to the hen thing. To be completely honest, I still have a little fear that someone is going to snatch me away from the Island, return me to the office, to the suburbs, to I-95, and to a whole lot of other noise that I now happily live without. I figure raising hens gives me one more toehold on Vineyard terra firma. If the Old Life Aliens come to snatch me away, they will have to take my hens, too!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Okay. So about those eggs. Because I don\u2019t eat a ton of meat anymore\u2026and because I figured out a long time ago that I won\u2019t get hungry mid-morning if I eat eggs for breakfast\u2026 and because Roy loves having breakfast for dinner\u2026 and because Libby loves anything that involves mixing a batter\u2014we eat a lot of eggs. We are very fortunate to have a regular supply of eggs from local farms available to us (even in the grocery stores); their plump golden yolks and perky whites have spoiled me. (The yellow color comes from the \u00a0higher amounts of beta-carotene these birds ingest.) When I\u2019m developing recipes, I\u2019ll try to use non-local eggs to make sure the recipe will taste good regardless\u2014but for our everyday eating, we love our local eggs. Here\u2019s what we do with them:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> We scramble them with fresh herbs (especially cilantro and mint), a dash of cream, a little cheese (cheddar, aged gouda, Monterey jack, goat cheese), and plenty of salt and pepper.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> We make waffles<\/a> and buttermilk pancakes<\/a>, sometimes for dinner. (Favorite recipes at finecooking.com).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>3.<\/strong> We make all kinds of different egg sandwiches; here\u2019s a recipe<\/a> for one of my favorite creations, which I nicknamed \u201cThe Local.\u201d Yes it has a bit of (local!) meat on it.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> We make my Dad\u2019s famous popovers. (See King Arthur Flour<\/a> site for pans.)<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> We make savory bread puddings, especially when we have the amazing challah bread from our local Orange Peel Bakery<\/a>. (Popover and bread pudding recipes coming in Fresh & Green for Dinner.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> We make French toast with a dash of vanilla and maple in the custard, and we top it with a homemade concoction of fresh berries warmed in maple syrup and slightly mashed in the skillet. (Love to use the challah here, too.)<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> We make omelets with leftover roasted veggies or roasted tomatoes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8. <\/strong>We make a rif on pasta carbonara with spring asparagus or garden peas.<\/p>\n

9.<\/strong> We make thin, quiche-like tarts; my favorite is with fresh corn, basil, and tiny tomatoes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>10<\/strong>. Of \u00a0course, we make cookies<\/a> and quickbreads and the occasional coffee cake, too. (Most often we use recipes from my favorite baker, Abby Dodge<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

11<\/strong>. We make veggie fritters or pancakes\u2014sometimes with grains, too, or leftover mashed potatoes. We also make spoonbread, a favorite from my Dixie days.<\/p>\n

12<\/strong>. But probably our favorite thing to do with eggs is to make a veggie frittata. Usually I make one big one, but sometimes I\u2019ll make little ones in a mini-muffin tin. Frittatas (like the leek and spinach one below) are incredibly versatile; you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner. And they always taste better after sitting a bit (even overnight); I guess the flavors have more time to penetrate the custard. The method I learned years ago at Al Forno restaurant is easy to follow, and you can make up your own veggie combos, too. (I also love potatoes, mushrooms, corn, arugula, scallions, and broccoli in frittatas.) Just be sure to cook most veggies first to concentrate flavor and to reduce excess moisture. Be generous with fresh herbs and don\u2019t forget the salt and pepper in the custard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leek, Spinach, Thyme & Gruyere Frittata<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This easy frittata method starts out on the stovetop and finishes baking in the oven\u2014but there\u2019s no tricky flipping involved. After cooling, I like to cut the frittata into small squares, rather than wedges, so that bite-size snacks are easy to grab. It\u2019s also a great way to go for a potluck, book group meeting, or other casual gathering.<\/p>\n

_______________________________<\/p>\n

3 tablespoons unsalted butter<\/p>\n

3 medium leeks (white and light green parts), sliced about 1\/4-inch thick (about 2 cups) and well washed<\/p>\n

Kosher salt<\/p>\n

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic<\/p>\n

3 ounces baby spinach leaves<\/p>\n

6 large eggs at room temperature<\/p>\n

2\/3 cup half \u2019n half<\/p>\n

1 tablespoon roughly chopped thyme leaves<\/p>\n

big pinch nutmeg<\/p>\n

freshly ground pepper<\/p>\n

1 cup (3 oz.) coarsely grated Gruy\u00e8re<\/p>\n

_______________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Preheat the oven to 375\u00b0F.\u00a0 Make sure one of your oven racks is positioned in the center of the oven.<\/p>\n

In a 10-inch heavy nonstick (ovenproof) skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, season with a big pinch of salt, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened, 5 or 6 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are browned in spots, another 8 to 11 minutes. (Don\u2019t worry if they get a little overbrown in places\u2014that\u2019s just great flavor.) Add the minced garlic and stir well. Add the spinach and 1\/4 tsp. salt and, using tongs, toss and stir the spinach with the leeks until it is all wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the veggies cool a minute.<\/p>\n

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half \u2019n half, 1\/2 teaspoon kosher salt, the thyme, the nutmeg, and several grinds of fresh pepper. Stir in the Gruy\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to it. When the butter has melted, pour and scrape all the custard mixture into the skillet.\u00a0 Using a silicone spatula, gently stir and move the contents of the pan around so that everything is evenly distributed. (You may have to nudge clumps of leeks and spinach apart.) Let the pan sit on the heat until the custard is just beginning to set all the way around the edge of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the frittata is puffed, golden, and set, 22 to 24 \u00a0minutes.<\/p>\n

Before unmolding, let the frittata cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Shake the pan a bit, tip it, and use a spatula (silicone works great) to get under the frittata and slide it gently out onto a cutting board or serving plate. \u00a0Cut into wedges and serve warm, or wait for a bit longer and serve at room temp. Refrigerate leftovers; this is even better the next day.<\/p>\n

Serves 4 to 6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lest you think I\u2019m completely crazy for devoting so much cyber-ink to birds in my last blog, I thought maybe I should come clean about a couple of things. First, I think the whole bird thing is part of my effort to be more in touch with nature (goofy as that sounds, I know). Mostly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[10,12,14,16,45,1],"tags":[83,47,48],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1577"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1609,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions\/1609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}