Frittata...And My Ode to the Cast Iron Pan

 I was recently gifted with a cast iron pan from a friend, and I could hardly wait to break it in. There is something extra epicurean about cast iron pans. I have had a wide range of experiences with them, ranging from the simple to the gourmet. I remember visiting my grandmother as a child and how she would make homemade cornbread in it, would set the pan on the counter, cut it in to wedges, and serve it right out of the pan. I remember also having to "wash" the pan, and thought two things: 1-Why is this thing so damn heavy. 2-Why am I not allowed to use soap? She definitely followed the old wives' tale of never using soap on cast iron. I remembered being scolded for letting it soak, and telling me that I ruined the seasoning. Seasoning? Like salt and pepper? I didn't know that the light layer of oil, filled in the nooks of the pan, giving it a natural non-stick surface..no teflon, pam spray, nada.

My mother inherited her father's cast iron dutch oven. This thing looks straight out of Little House on the Prairie. She carried on his tradition of making bolognese sauce, chili, and chicken and dumplings. Something was magic about that pot (and my mom's cooking) that I could never accomplish in an aluminum or a non-stick.

Then when I started cooking in restaurants, I found that the cast iron pan became an extension of me. Stacks of them lined the wall above the range. They transitioned from the range, to the oven, to the salamander, and to the chef to plate. Blazing hot and able to keep up with the pace, cast iron is a precise cooking tool, dependable-maintaining exact control of cooking temperature. Their heat retention qualities allow for even cooking temperatures without hot spots. I have perfectly seared scallops and meat, made sauces a la minute, baked crab cakes, and even allowed mussels to cook in wine and butter until opened, all in cast iron. I have scars from cast iron pans.

One of the first things in my new pan was a frittata, a crustless quiche of sorts, filled with whatever you heart desires. I had properly seasoned my new pan before, because eggs glued to a pan is a giant mess. We decided this year to do a Easter brunch instead of dinner this year, and I knew my mom would miss the ham, so I added that with my favorite-spinach, and topped with Seaside Cheddar-a cheddar that has a  creamy mouth feel with protein crystals (like sea salt) crunch to it.

Ham, Spinach, and Cheddar Frittata (serves 4-6)

9 eggs, cracked and beaten until frothy, seasoned with black pepper to taste
1T oil
1c thick cut ham, small diced
2c fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 1/2c grated good quality, sharp cheddar cheese



Turn the oven broiler on high. Heat oil in an oven safe pan on medium high heat. Add the ham and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted and ham is lightly browned. Add eggs and stir with a spatula. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the eggs begin to set on the bottom. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top and put in the oven. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, the eggs should raise slightly and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into 6  or 8 wedges and serve.

Two Ingredient Biscuits-A Cook That Hates Baking's Biscuit

We were planning on an Easter brunch with my family, and my mom insisted on not letting me do all the cooking, so I told her to bring her biscuits. I am a cook....not a baker...It was the only class in culinary school that I made a "B" in, and that is because I was miserable. When the chef I was doing an internship for found out that I was in baking, decided to "help" me by taking me off Garde Manger (salads and cold hors d'oeuvres)and Poissonnier (fish and seafood), which I loved and put me in charge of all baking and desserts. Daily focaccia making, souffle watching, 400 biscotti baking (not exaggerating), and creating 2 new dessert items daily. Torture. I don't like the exactness of it all. I cook in the moment, if it needs something...I add it! With baking, if you decide to add something on a whim, you would end up with a kitchen disaster. These biscuits however, I can handle. Two ingredients, getting your hands dirty, and the dough is done when it feels right. They are fluffy, substantial, and perfect plain, or with my favorite-apple butter. Here is my mom's biscuit recipe. Please excuse the free-spiritness of this recipe. It is what it is.

Two Ingredient Biscuits (seriously) Serves: how ever many you make

Self Rising Flour
Heavy Whipping Cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, add several cups of self rising flour. Dig a well in the center, and add a small amount of cream. Add some of the flour from the sides, and work into the cream until absorbed. Add more cream, then flour, and continue until you have as much dough as you want. It should not be sticky, should mold easily, with out flaking apart. Tear a small handful, and mold into a circle 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Lay on a baking sheet and brush the tops with cream. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Curried Lentils and Brown Rice

This is definitely one of my comfort foods. When nothing else sounds appealing, this is what I make. Simple as that. Healthy and inexpensive to make, this dish is perfect in the cooler months, on a rainy day, or if you are like me and just want something good for you. I used long grain brown rice, and if brown rice is not your thing, you can use white-just add it in the last 15 minutes of cooking instead of the beginning. Short grain brown rice works nicely as well if you like that nutty crunch. I pretty much add spinach to any hot dish I can, as well as lemon juice. Before you salt something, add a little lemon juice. Sometimes all you need is a little acidity, not the extra sodium....it works wonders...trust me. When in season, I serve this with halved cherry tomatoes on top, which adds a pop of freshness along with the spinach.

Curried Lentils and brown rice (makes 4 side dishes or 2 entrees)
1/2c brown rice
1 red onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2T olive oil
1T curry powder
2c water
1T lemon juice
1/2c green lentils
4c fresh spinach, roughly chopped
pinch red chili flakes
salt-to taste

In a medium pot heat oil over medium high heat. add the rice, onion, and garlic. Saute until onion starts to turn translucent. Add curry powder, then the water, lemon juice, lentils, and chili flakes. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Stir in chopped spinach, remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste, add more chili flakes is desired.

And yes, I ate this out of a mug...because...why not.

Collard Green Pesto

I got this idea from a future coworker...it was her interview actually. I asked her to create and present a recipe, and she made a pesto with winter greens. Genius. Needless to say she got the job and I got a new idea. Collard greens were local and on sale so that is what I picked for this spicy, slightly bitter, and completely fabulous pesto. In my opinion, greens need two things: spice and acidity. Typically vinegar and chili are used in southern cooking (along with pork).This is what I remember seeing in every restaurant growing up in the mountains of North Carolina and what everyone drowned their greens in.

You can definitely still taste the collard, I added extra garlic to add the spice and lemon juice is a must. Perfect on bruschetta, tossed in with pasta, or as a spread on a sandwich. Freeze in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware for future use.

Collard Green Pesto (makes about 2 cups)

1 bunch collard greens (approximately nine leaves), center rib removed
1/2c water
1/4c fresh basil
1/4c walnuts
1/2c grated parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic
2/3c+ olive oil
1/2t lemon juice
salt and pepper-to taste

In a large pan, heat water over medium heat. Add greens and water saute until leaves are fully wilted. Remove from pan and dry with paper towels or run in a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible. Add greens, basil, walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and lemon juice to a food processor. Turn the processor on and stream in olive oil until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Cinnamon Chicken with Roasted Onions and Chickpeas & Apricot Quinoa

Whew that's a mouthful...note to self, come up with shorter name. This was a great dinner and silly simple. The cinnamon and ginger on the chicken and in the quinoa don't give the dish a pumpkin pie taste to it...just a warmth. Roasted red onions and chickpeas are a favorite in this house, we can easily eat a cans worth each in one sitting, so I always make extra. I love them...they add a creaminess to any dish without using additional fat or diary. I used quinoa as the side to keep it gluten free, but Israeli couscous would be heavenly.

Cinnamon Chicken with Roasted Onions and Chickpeas & Apricot Quinoa (serves 4)

4 bone in chicken legs (can substitute with breasts for white meat eaters)
2t ground cinnamon
2t ground ginger
1t olive oil
2 cans of no salt added garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, halved and sliced thin
2c vegetable or chicken broth (I used vegetable)
1c quinoa
10 dried apricots, small diced
1/2t ground cinnamon
1/2t ground ginger
1/4c nuts, either almonds or cashews
salt and pepper-to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and ginger. Pat dry the chicken and season with the cinnamon, ginger, and add salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and heat until smoking. Add chicken, skin side down and cook until skin in brown and crispy. In a large baking dish add the chicken skin side up. In a bowl, add the chickpeas and red onion. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange around the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160.

To make the quinoa, bring the broth to a boil. Add the quinoa, apricots, cinnamon, and ginger. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Serve with the nuts on top.

Zucchini Pizza with Fresh Goat Cheese

Last night was a fun food night-food you pick up to eat and paired with a movie. These puppies were fun to make and eat. Good gluten free alternative to pizza and with that fresh, garden taste I love when the weather gets warm. Great as a side dish for your next Italian meal and substantial enough to be the main dish, get creative and add your favorite pizza toppings. I used some of the things we had, onion, bell pepper, and fresh goat cheese.

Zucchini Pizza (serves 2-3)

4 small to medium zucchini
1/4c plain tomato sauce
1/4c onion, small dice
1/4c red bell pepper, small diced
2T panko bread crumbs or gluten free bread crumbs
pinch of dried basil
pinch of dried oregano
Parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
fresh goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash zucchini and cut the tops and bottoms off. Slice in half lengthwise, and with a spoon hollow out the zucchini halves. Roughly chop the inside and set aside. Here's a picture of how the zucchini should look.

In a small frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and saute until tender. Remove from heat and add the tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, dried herbs, zucchini "meat", and a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese. With a spoon, fill the zucchini shells. Top with a little bit more Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and dot with the goat cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbling. Let sit for 5 minutes to eat with your hands.

Meals That Make You Go "Mmmm"

That is exactly what my husband kept saying while he was eating this. I knew he was having some dental work done that day, so a soft comfort food is what I was aiming for. Every bite he took was a "Mmm", "so good", and "oh man". I guess he liked it.

I bought local grass fed beef short ribs and braised them in red wine, tomatoes, onions, and mustard. They fell off the bone and produced a wonderful sauce. I opted to use vegetable broth instead of beef stock to give it a lighter, fresher, edge. If it had been winter, I may have used the beef stock. I served them over light egg noodles, but pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes would be great as well.

Braised Short Ribs and Pasta (serves 4)

2 1/2 pounds beef short ribs (this was 3 ribs for me)
Salt and Pepper-to taste
2T olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can no salt added crushed tomatoes (or 3 fresh Roma tomatoes)
3/4 c red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon
2T Dijon mustard
1 c vegetable broth
1t Worcestershire sauce
1 pound egg noodles
Parmesan cheese, grated
Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the ribs with salt and pepper generously. In a large ovenproof pot, heat oil on medium high heat. Add the ribs and brown on all sides, remove and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, and mustard. Bring to a boil and scrape the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pot. Return the ribs to the pan, add vegetable broth, Worcestershire sauce, cover, and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork tender and fall off easily from the bone

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, gently remove any excess fat floating at the top of the cooking liquid and discard. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, blend the cooking liquid until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan, if needed, and keep warm over low heat.

Using two forks shred the rib meat and stir into the sauce, season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve over the cooked egg noodles, top with the Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Lunch Edition

I have been really lazy about posting, so here are a couple of recipes...

I made up a bunch of easy to grab, cheap lunches. I have also been lazy about bringing my lunch to work, which has been costly as well as not as healthy as it should be. Sometimes I get into these moods where I like to cook enough for the apocalyspe. So I came home and cooked enough lunches to last the husband and I for a week...at least.

White Bean and Spinach Salad (4 lunches)
This was the salad that I was trying to make in a previous post. Healthy and inexpensive, this salad is perfect for a lunch that is light and filling.

2 cans not salt added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1c spinach, finely chopped
2T red onion, finely diced
3T olive oil
3T red wine vinegar
1t dijon mustard
1t fresh basil, chopped
black pepper-to taste

Place the beans, spinach, and onion in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Pour over the beans and spinach and lightly toss to coat.

Tuna Pasta Salad (2 lunches)
This is one of my favorite lunches. I love peas, and in this recipe it add a pop of bright freshness. I go very light on the mayo and add a bite from the red onion. I am gluten free-so I used quinoa pasta.

1 can tuna, drained
2T red onion, finely chopped
1/2c frozen green peas, thawed
2c cooked pasta
1/4c mayonnaise
1t dijon mustard
black pepper to taste

Place tuna in a bowl and with a fork flake until broken down into small pieces. Add the onions and peas. Stir in the mayonnaise and mustard. Add pasta and toss to coat. Season with black pepper to taste.

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta Salad (2 lunches)
I made this one for my husband. Something a little bit more substantial and full of flavor. Can be eaten warm or cold

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
salt, black pepper, garlic, and lemon juice- to taste
2 1/2c cooked pasta
5 asparagus spears
10 cherry tomatoes
3 crimini mushrooms, sliced
3T fresh goat cheese
Olive Oil

Combine salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the chicken breast and marinate for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the tomatoes, asparagus, and mushrooms and drizzle very lightly with olive oil. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken breast on the hottest part of the grill and the vegetables on a cooler spot. Cook until the chicken breast is thoroughly cooked and the vegetables are slightly charred and tender. Allow the chicken and vegetables to cool, then chop the chicken and slice the asparagus into fourths. In a bowl, add the chicken, vegetables and pasta. Add enough olive oil to coat and crumble the goat cheese on top.