Breakfast Frittata and the Gutsy Cooks

Who, besides me, gets a brain freeze on the weekend when the word "breakfast" is uttered? If I do not prepare what I am fixing for breakfast at LEAST a day in advance, Saturday morning I just want to pull the covers up over my head.

Whenever I need an extra boost of help, I go to Gale Gand and her BRUNCH! cookbook. She has never let me down. I take one of her recipes as a base and ad-lib away; which is what I did with her frittata recipe.


Red pepper Gouda, sharp Cheddar cheese, Fontina, wilted baby spinach, sauteed green bell pepper and 4 ounces of Pancetta, 1 cup of cooked spaghetti, along with Gale Gands base recipe for a Frittata (okay I played with the base recipe too) all when together for an amazing breakfast. I even heated up some marinara sauce to serve over the top!

I LoVe baby spinach!

Gale's base recipe for a Frittata is this:

6 eggs

1/4 c. heavy cream or whole milk

1/4 t. salt

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese (This amount is my change)

Filling ingredients:

I used 1/2 c. red pepper Gouda, 1/3 c. sharp Cheddar cheese, and 1/3 c. creamy Fontina, along with sauteing 4 ounces of diced Pancetta and 1 seeded and diced green bell pepper. Left over spaghetti was in the refrigerator so I added 1 cup of cooked noodles. I also added 1 cup of fresh baby spinach to the sauteed Pancetta and bell pepper just long enough to wilt the leaves.

2 Tablespoons of butter and store bought Marinara sauce is also used.

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with a fork. Blend in the cream, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Add in your filling ingredients and stir to blend.

In an 8-inch nonstick saute pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it foams. Pour in the egg mixture and start to cook it. After about 2 minutes, stick a wooded spoon into the egg at the edge of the pan, lift up the cooked egg, and let some of the uncooked egg mixture seep underneath. Make a hole in the center of the frittata to let some of the uncooked egg seep under.

Turn the heat down to low, place a rounded lid on the pan (make sure you allow room for the egg to puff up), and cook until the egg mixture is completely set, about 10 minutes. Once the frittata is cooked all the way through, flip it out onto a serving platter, using a spatula or knife to loosen it from the pan and letting it fall onto the platter browned side up. Serve hot, cut into wedges with a little warmed marinara sauce. Easy and Delicious!



The GUTSY COOKS Week 1 of December! The menu? I goofed! Instead of making Raymond's choice of recipes: Chicken a la King, Spinach Timbales, and Kasha Pilaf, I made the week previous' recipes of: Minestrone and Roast Beef Tenderloin with Red Currant Jus from the cookbook The Illustrated Kitchen Bible. Raymond from Your Just Dessert choose the month of December's menus and I am going to play catch-up this week to make the RIGHT recipes. I can not believe I goofed but I will try and get the menu made by Tuesday. Yeesh!

I seriously altered the recipe and used salt pork, onion, and garlic first.

Baby Lima beans replaced white kidney beans (cannellini beans), along with extras like dried basil, baby spinach, and corn. I also doubled the recipe so I would have enough to freeze for future dinners.

The minestrone turned out amazing and packed full of delicious flavor!

The soup was topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. A meal all on its' own.


The roast beef tenderloin jus was tender and the jus drizzled over the top with crispy bacon, Port wine, beef stock and currant jelly was perfect together. It is hard to imagine Port and currant jelly being cooked down, creating a winning combination but the currant added a sweet depth. Bacon goes without saying.

I made creamy mashed potatoes infused with crisp bacon and green onions along with steamed corn, creating a hearty Sunday evening dinner.

For the Mashed Potatoes:
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, peeled
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup low-fat milk, warmed
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Directions:
In a large pot, immerse the potatoes and garlic in water.
Boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels.
Pour out all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings from the pan.
Add the green onions to the drippings, and saute until soft but not brown. Return the bacon to the skillet and stir to combine.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and return to the pot.
Mash the potatoes with the milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Stir in the bacon and green onions.
Reheat, if necessary, before serving.

CEiMB - Whole Wheat Pancakes and a Breakfast Burrito

Whole wheat flour and a light and fluffy texture are a contradiction in terms from what I have experienced in past cooking. A mixture of whole wheat pastry flour with all-purpose flour created a pancake, not heavy with a strong wheat flavor, but airy with a slightly nutty flavor. Coupled with the fresh strawberry sauce and sprinkling of powdered sugar, breakfast went from being dreaded by several this weekend too Wow, these are pretty good! CEiMB is a hit again!



A back-up plan was already in progress the same morning and there may have been a verbal slippage of said back-up plan. Breakfast burritos filled with sliced ham, sharp cheddar cheese, avocado slices, black bean and corn salsa, two dollops of sour cream and a heaping spoonful of scrambled eggs ended up being served with Ellie's breakfast, chosen and hosted by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen.

Ellie's recipe was easy to assemble. As shown above, the dry ingredients are in one bowl and the wet are in another; quickly combining the two without over mixing and start your skillet.

Two small piles of fluffy pancakes were side-by-side on a plate in the oven. The pancake edges no longer laid flat so the pictures show curled up, non-perfect plates of pancakes. Tummies never knew the difference. =)

Thank you Melissa for hosting this week and choosing another great Ellie recipe. The recipe can be found in Ellie's "The Food You Crave" cookbook, on Melissa's blog, and on the Food Network recipe site. Craving Ellie in My Belly will be back next week with Energy Bars. I have read great success stories about this recipe already!

Sweet Melissa Sunday Chocolate!!!! plus The Magnolia Hotel's Puffy Pancakes

I'm in love! Belonging to several baking groups and my own quest for the "best" recipe for brownies, "two" have come to the surface simultaneously. Dorie Greenspan's Peppermint Patty Brownies and now Sweet Melissa's Chocolate Walnut Brownies. Are we really surprised? The chewy, chocolaty brownies with a nutty crunch is a twist on Julia Child's brownie recipe and one of the best Melissa herself has ever tried. Is there a recipe Julia Child created that is not wonderful?

The only alteration to this delicious recipe is the nuts; I used pecans and hand broke each half into fourths. The brownies were made several days ago and I still forgot to post until after breakfast this morning! Sigh, when the sun is out, I loose all focus and can not wait to get outside and play with the yard.


Chocolate Walnut Brownies were chosen by Tiffany of A Spoonful & a Heap for our Sweet Melissa Sunday and Tiffany did a wonderful job on her own batch of brownies. If you would like the recipe, visit Tiffany's post.

I am adding a fun little breakfast recipe that is a moist, delicious and easy breakfast recipe with the option for versatility in toppings. Sometimes I slice strawberries with blueberries and drizzle over the top when the puffy pancakes just come out of the oven.


When I mean easy, I mean preheat the oven to 450 degrees F., throw all ingredients in a blender and while blending, throw a Tablespoon of butter into each 1-cup baking dish, put into the oven to melt only then pour the batter from the blender into equal portions among the four baking dishes and bake. That is it PLUS the presentation is adorable!

The recipe originally comes from The Magnolia Hotel and I have had the recipe for over 19 years now. Still a HUGE hit in my home; enjoy.

The Magnolia Hotel's Puffy Pancakes
(courteously of Bon Appetit 1983 (20) volume series; volume Breakfast and Brunches)
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 T. butter
4 T. (1/2 stick) butter
Powdered sugar (garnish)
Sweetened Fresh Berries (garnish)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar and orange juice in processor or blender and mix well. Add 1 Tablespoon butter and blend in thoroughly.



Put 1 Tablespoon butter to each of four 1-cup oval or round baking dishes. Heat dishes in oven until butter is melted but not browned. Divide batter evenly among dishes. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately with fresh berries and powdered sugar.

Layered Tortilla Omelet with Homemade Salsa

Are you lucky enough to have a vegetable garden this year? If not, do you go to the local Farmer's Market? I have both options and tomatoes are starting to be everywhere! Gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, bright yellows, reds, multi-colors everywhere I look. A great way to show off fresh flavors and colors is with as little prep work as possible, least amount of additional ingredients; allowing the food to speak for itself.



Fresh salsa screams juicy, sweet flavors and gorgeous colors. The layered tortilla omelet is just as much fun to put together and a great base for toppling on large spoonfuls of the colorful salsa. I added the recipe for making your own red sauce. This sauce is made for adding heat in the tortilla omelet. There will be a lot left over so freeze the excess for later use . . . maybe to make this omelet again.



The tortilla omelet works great for breakfast, brunch or dinner served with a chilled, light and fruity white wine.

Layered Tortilla Omelet With Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:
9 large eggs
1 1/2 t. salt and a few turns of freshly ground pepper
1 t. thyme
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. butter
3/4 c. chopped scallions
4 eight-inch flour tortillas
2 c. red or green enchilada sauce OR Red Chile Sauce (RECIPE FOLLOWS)
1 c. cream cheese (even better, use queso fresco if you can get it)
4 ounces goat cheese
1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
***OPTIONAL:***
RED CHILE SAUCE
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 T. Dijon mustard
3 to 4 T. chile powder (I mixed mine; 2 T. New Mexico and 2 T. California chile powders)
1 t. sugar to cut down acidity in tomatoes
3/4 c. beer (Corona or XX Mexican beer would be appropriate, or substitute sparkling wine)
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. oregano
1 t. ground cumin
10-12 ripe Roma tomatoes or 1 1/2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 c. red chile puree (I will post the recipe for homemade puree)
OR substitute canned red chile sauce
2 t. balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste



TO MAKE THE OMELETS:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet (or use a silicon mat), spread 3 of the tortillas on the sheet and place in the oven to get warm.

Beat the eggs with the salt, pepper and herbs in a quart-sized glass measuring cup to make it easier to divide the eggs in three parts.

Mix the cream cheese and goat cheese together.




Melt 1/2 teaspoon of butter over medium heat in a skillet the same size as the tortillas. I used my 8-inch crepe pan. The perfect size! Pour in 1/3 of the egg mixture. Cook until the edges get dry, which will only take a few minutes.Then lift out the flat omelet with a large spatula and place it directly onto a flour tortilla on the warmed greased baking sheet. Repeat two more times, keeping the omelets warm in the oven until the last one is ready.






TO ASSEMBLE:
On the baking sheet, ladle 1/4 of the sauce over a tortilla/omelet and crumble 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture and 1/4 of the jack cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the scallions on top.
Place the next tortilla/omelet on top and repeat. Repeat again with the third tortilla/omelet and place the remaining plain tortilla on top with the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining jack cheese over the top.

Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Make a tent out of aluminum foil so that you can cover the stack without touching the top, or all of the cheese will stick and come off on the foil. I also spray the foil with PAM just to be sure.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes until the tortillas and omelets are heated through and the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and let the stack sit for a few minutes so that the layers don't slide. Cut it into wedges and serve with Fresh Salsa over the top.

OPTIONAL RED CHILE SAUCE DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, saute onion in a little bit of olive oil until soft. Add mustard and chile powder. Cook for a few minutes to soften the rawness of the chile powder. Stir in beer, soy sauce, oregano, sugar and cumin along with the tomatoes. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add more beer if the mixture looks dry. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the mixture cool a few minutes and then puree using a blender or food processor.

Return to a low heat and add the chile puree or red chile sauce and balsamic vinegar. Cook a few minutes more to marry the ingredients together.





Add more of the beer if needed for a good spreading consistency. The sauce will have a strong chile taste. It is suppose too. You want to taste a little heat in the tortilla/omelet but you will not taste the sauce itself.




Chunky Garden Salsa

Directions:
1 heirloom tomato; preferably yellow
4 Roma tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion
1 roasted red pepper from a jar
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
3 cloves of garlic puree using a garlic press
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
salt to taste
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped




I chopped all my ingredients by hand (instead of using the pulse button on a food processor) because I wanted large chunks and less juice. Stir together and allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Love how the flavors mingle.

Fabulous Mexican Breakfast

Huevos Rancheros with homemade tortilla chips. Before you look any further into the recipe, I would like to state . . . the tortilla chips are made from purchased tortillas, cut into wedges and quickly fried into crispy little chips; then sprinkled with Ranch seasoning for flavor while on paper towels. No one needs to scroll down in a blog post and feel jipped.

I fight making breakfast since my stomach refuses to wake up until around brunch. Making a food dish to me means my tastes buds should be drooling over what the eyes and brain have seen, associated with and made a decision on. No one gets hungry for a breakfast with the cook looking like she is going to hurl her cookies across the kitchen just from the aroma. The solution for this unsightly problem is to find food ideas that appeal to my morning sense of adventure. I get excited over the aspect of creating something fresh and interesting. The Heuvos Rancheros breakfast was fun because all the elements pull together, looks beautiful, contain layers of great flavor, does not take long to make and is enough to wake up anyone's tummy!

Huevos Rancheros with Semi-Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
For the Chips:
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 corn tortillas, each cut into 8 wedges
1 1-ounce packet ranch dressing mix
For the Sauce:
5 plum tomatoes
1/2 medium white onion
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the Eggs:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 large eggs
1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
Fresh cilantro and crumbled feta cheese, for topping (optional)

Directions:

Make the chips: Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Fry the tortillas in batches until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon dressing mix. Make the sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook, turning, until the vegetables are charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Squeeze the garlic from its skin and cut the onion and tomatoes into chunks. Transfer to a blender; pulse with remaining dressing mix (about 2 tablespoons), the chipotles and half of the beans until smooth. Heat the olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the pureed mixture and the remaining beans and cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
Make the eggs: Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the eggs in batches until the whites are set, adding more butter as needed. Divide the sauce among shallow bowls; top each serving with 2 eggs, some ranch chips and avocado. Sprinkle with cilantro and cheese, if desired.

Cucurumao

Chef Gale Gand's husband's Italian grandfather, a Brooklyn shipyard worker, created this wonderful breakfast dish. The story goes he created this delicious tomato, basil, and herb egg breakfast out of what was available in his kitchen and the recipe became so popular among his Italian family that Gale Gand eventually published the recipe in her BRUNCH! cookbook.

The spelling to this wondrous creation may be strange: Cucurumao BUT the pronunciation of the word is even stranger; pronounced: goo-ga-de-mow.

Serve this dish with thick slices of slightly toasted rustic bread slathered in butter and a little crushed garlic.

Cucurumao
Serves 3 to 4
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped or 2 cloves garlic, minced - I use both
2 pinches red pepper flakes (optional)
One 28-oz. can whole or crushed Italian plum tomatoes, with juice (used my canned stewed tomatoes)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 to 2 pinches sugar, to taste (optional) - cuts the acidity of the tomatoes so I use 2 pinches
4 fresh basil leaves, torn
6 large eggs
Grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling (optional) (freshly grated is the best)
1 loaf crusty Italian bread

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it is translucent and slightly golden, about 4 minutes. (If you're using garlic instead of onion, saute it for 1 minute.) If you want this to be spicy, add the red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes (if whole, crush them with the back of a spoon). Cook until the mixture is fairly thick, about 20 minutes; then season it with salt and pepper. Taste the tomato sauce, and if you think you'd like it to be a little sweeter, add the sugar. Stir in the basil leaves.

Make six depressions in the tomato sauce with the back of a large spoon, and break 1 egg into each depression. Baste the eggs with a little tomato sauce, cover the pan, and cook over medium heat to poach the eggs, about 4 minutes.

Carefully divide the eggs and sauce among 3 or 4 bowls. Top with grated Parmesan, if desired, and serve with thick slices of bread.