Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Potato Frittata

This here is a very fine frittata recipe that is sure to be in our breakfast, lunch and dinner menu rotation all summer long!

There are many reasons to love frittatas, and at the top of that list for me is:

They are easy and delicious.

They are customizable--a perfect clean-out-the-fridge meal.

They feed a crowd, and on a budget to boot!

This Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Potato Frittata is simple yet elegant. It's the kind of meal you can throw together in no time, plus any leftovers will make a spectacular breakfast the next day! The key to making a frittata exciting is adding layers and layers of flavor, and believe me when I say there is no shortage of that here!

We'll start by sauteing diced onions in a bit of butter and olive oil to start. I cut the zucchini and red potatoes into thin rounds and saute them with the onions to soften the veggies and develop a beautiful golden brown color (which translates to flavor!) The egg mixture is also getting an extra boost of tastiness thanks to freshly grated parmesan cheese and lots of freshly chopped parsley. Let's not forget the goat cheese--creamy, tangy goat cheese AKA my food love language. It's such a simple addition but trust me when I say it brings the whole dish together!

As for cooking vessels, my preferred choice for frittatas is a well-seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet. I love the slight brown crust the cast iron creates, and it is naturally non-stick. If you don't have a cast iron, any oven proof skillet will work -- just be sure to use a good amount of butter and olive oil to prevent sticking. Also, letting the frittata sit for about 5 minutes after baking will help prevent any additional stickage!

Broccoli and Cream Cheese Breakfast Braid

Some of my favorite recipes tend to be accidental - recipes you put together because you need to clear your fridge and freezer, but then all of a sudden the most delicious creation emerges from your oven.

This...this is one of those recipes. A very happy, very tasty accident.

Here was the situation I found myself in this weekend. In addition to a grumbling stomach around 11 a.m. on Sunday, there was:

--One sheet of frozen puff pastry that was reaching it's prime hanging in the freezer
--Half a block of cream cheese that was close to it's last leg in the refrigerator
--Two big bags of chopped frozen broccoli
--A small nugget of parmesan cheese and half a ball of mozzarella in the cheese drawer

Individually, these aren't particularly bad situations to find oneself in. Combined, however, I started panicking. I didn't want to waste any of this food, so I knew I had to get creative.

And so goes the story of my Broccoli and Cream Cheese Breakfast Braid. This creamy. dreamy creation is perfect anytime of day. Having some girlfriends over for brunch? Need a quick, low maintenance dinner? Want to treat your family to a special Saturday breakfast? This recipe is just what you need for all these situations and more.

In reality, I should have foreseen the success this dish was going to be. Generally, anything wrapped in puff pastry will immediately have a gourmet touch. Then I went ahead and made a savory cream cheese base...who DOESN'T love warm, melty, rich cream cheese?! A couple of soft-scrambled eggs and chopped broccoli make this dish robust and fulfilling. Plus, you can customize this any way you want! Thinking about adding ham and cheddar cheese? Me too!

Did I mention that it's a showstopper? So gorgeous!

Breakfast Fajita Quesadillas

I've made an interesting habit of spending my weekend mornings using whatever leftovers I have in my fridge to make crazy breakfast mash-ups that are filling and delicious.

Just the other day, I executed a perfect omelette stuffed with BBQ beef brisket from my favorite barbecue restaurant in Boston. I've made countless breakfast burritos with every vegetable and protein I can get my hands on. Why yes, I did take leftover blackberry simple syrup, mixed it up with maple syrup, and poured it all over crispy homemade waffles. The weekends are just the perfect time to spend a little extra time in the kitchen emptying our fridge and filling up our stomachs. 

After finding myself with a whole lot of bell peppers, I knew I needed some fajitas in my life. These Breakfast Fajita Quesadillas were everything I wanted and more. Bell peppers sauteed with a spicy blend of chili powder, paprika, cajun seasoning and lime juice. Perfect soft scrambled eggs, mixed with fresh cilantro. Lots and lots (and lots) of shredded cheddar and pepperjack cheese. All of this sandwiched between a crisped flour tortilla...well, mornings don't get much better than that! 

Now, I realized I named these "breakfast" quesadillas, but really you can enjoy these any time of day. Imagine these for dinner after a long day? They take barely 20 minutes to prepare but the flavors are out of this world.

Oh, and as with any quesadilla, don't skimp on the toppings! I had salsa, lime wedges, and cilantro on hand, but man do I wish I had some creamy avocado slices, tangy sour cream, a bit of fresh pico de gallo..mm, my mouth is watering all over again!

Caramelized Onion, Sausage, and Ricotta Frittata

Eggs have never looked as good as they do right here in this frittata.

I love these pictures. They are making my mouth water all over again. This lovely frittata was our Easter brunch this past Sunday. I would say to save this recipe for a special occasion but it's far too good to wait. Whether you need a fun and easy breakfast, lunch, brunch, or dinner--this is just the ticket.

Caramelized Onion, Sausage, and Ricotta Frittata is rich and hardy, with depths of flavor that will keep you coming back for seconds (and thirds...and fourths). Brown and buttery caramelized onions get this party started. Crumbled Italian sausage is earthy and rich and full of spices. Lots of eggs are beaten together with salt, pepper, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, whole milk and asiago cheese. Breakfast. It is near.

I became obsessed with frittatas when I first got my cast iron skillet. The cast iron will make the bottom of this frittata brown and crispy. It's like making a quiche, without the added pressure of making, rolling, and decorating a pie crust. Everything comes together in the skillet and then it is popped in the oven to bake.

Oh, I almost forgot. Before everything goes in the oven, I added a few dollops of ricotta cheese around the frittata. More cheese, please! The creamy ricotta blankets the soft and tender onions and will make your heart melt. 

How To: Make Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs were such a mystery to me until about 1 hour ago.

They always magically appeared in our refridgerator the day before Easter. We would dye them all sorts of festive spring colors. Then we would smash the shells and eat them the next morning. Pretty typical, right?

Sometimes, when I order salads at restaurants, a few pieces of hard boiled eggs would be scattered about. Extra protein. Neat!

I don't know why I was so scared of making hard boiled eggs, but I was. I could just imagine my clumsy self putting some eggs in a pot of boiling water and being left with a broken shell, yolky mess. I don't think I could have handled it. I left well enough alone and never hard boiled any eggs.

After a few days of research, I finally just went for it. I was being silly. Hard boiling a perfect egg is SO simple (despite being so intimidating....were others intimidated during their first time?!) What's wrong with me?

Well, if you have been putting off hard boiled eggs due to fear, lack of knowledge, or any other weird reason, I'm here to help. If I can do it, I know you certainly can do it, too. Patience and technique is all you need! Below is the technique, I'll leave the patience up to you.

Here's what you need for Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:

6 eggs, in the shell
1 5-quart pot*
1 large bowl
 Tap water

Here's what you do:

Gently place your eggs in the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot with enough cool (not hot) tap water so that there is about an inch of water above the top of the eggs. This is about the distance from the tip of your thumbnail to the first knuckle.

Place the pot on a burner and turn the heat to high. Bring the pot to a full boil.

This is not enough of a boil. You want it rocking and rolling...

Like this!

Next, turn the heat completely off (and, if on an electric stove, remove the pot from the hot burner). Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set your kitchen timer for 17 minutes. Walk away and let the eggs do their thing.

17 minutes!

This is that whole "patience" thing

In the meantime, fill the large bowl with cold tap water. Add an ice cube or two if necessary to cool it down.

As soon as the 17 minutes are up, use your search and rescue spoon to CAREFULLY transfer the eggs into the cold water.

Let them sit for 10 more minutes or until completely cooled. Dry off the shells and store in the fridge until they are ready to be used (safest way to do this to make sure they don't crack is to re-use the original egg carton). 

Eggs are of course a wonderful breakfast option, and hard boiled eggs happen to go great with grilled kielbasa. You can also dice some up and toss them on top of your salad for lunch!

Check out this great new recipe that calls for a hearty helping of hard-boiled eggs! 

*Note: if you want to hard boil a dozen eggs, a 5 quart pot should still be fine. You just want to be sure the eggs have enough room to roll around without constantly smashing into one another.

How To: Flip a Perfect Omelette

I absolutely love the weekend for a number of obvious reasons. Perhaps the best part about a relaxing weekend in my eyes is that I finally have time to cook up a nice big breakfast.

I usually like to kick start a weekend with eggs! Eggs are awesome as we know. There is so much you can do just for breakfast with these delightful pockets of protein.

Perhaps my favorite way to use eggs in the morning is in a veggie-packed Omelette! For a while though, my omelettes always turned into scrambles. I couldn't master the damn flip!

Alas, as with most things, practice seemed to make perfect and I could not be happier. The perfect Omlette flip allows you to get a taste of your entire filling in every bite--awesome!

It takes a little bit of finesse and the right equipment to flip an omelette beautifully--but trust me, it can be done!

The equipment you need is a flat-bottomed frying pan with a diameter no bigger than 12 inches (10 inches is ideal) along with a thin spatula.

For the omelette itself, start by whisking 2 or 3 eggs with about 2 tablespoons of milk. Lightly spray the pan with an olive oil spray or cooking spray. Heat it up slightly over medium-low heat.

Now, take your scrambled eggs and dump them into the pan. Pick up the pan and tilt it so that every part of the pan is covered by the egg mixture.

On one half of the pan, add your filling of choice along with a 1/4 cup of cheese of your choosing. Leave about half an inch between your filling and the edge of the egg to prevent spillage!

Let the eggs and fillings cook for about 5 minutes or just when the egg starts to rise and separate slightly from the pan. Take your spatula to lift up slightly the half of the omelette that does not have the filling cooking on it. Using your thumb and pointer finger, gently pull this half of the omelette over the filled half, covering completely.

Reduce the heat to low and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. At this point you should be able to cleanly flip the entire omelette, cooking the other side for another minute.

The result should be a half-moon shaped, slightly browned and golden delicious omelette with warm and oozing insides! If you don't want your eggs to become too browned, cook the entire omelette over low heat. This will obviously increase cooking time but it will prevent the olive oil from burning.

I stuffed my omelette with sliced cherry tomatoes, spinach, chopped mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. It was delicious! And beautifully flipped!