Blueberry & Fennel Frittata

Hello!

Logging in to my little blog again after almost a month hiatus is so exciting! Wee! I'm still sort of in between kitchens. As I sit here in Philadelphia, PA, everything I own is in Washington, DC gathering dust. I'm here until Monday, but then I'm a representative-lacking-Washingtonian for good. This has literally been the l o n g e s t move in the history of the world.

I did do a little dabbling in my new kitchen last weekend on Saturday morning. It was a day which I was going to also dedicate to baked goods, but that was cut short by a power outage in the afternoon. Literally walked in the door with an armful of groceries, excited to finally mix butter with flour again, and.. pop! and everything shuts down. 

Fortunately, it came back the same evening and merely deterred my culinary endeavors. My ice cream didn't even melt. YES! And I guess the grilled cheese party I was baking for wasn't REALLY lacking in the fat department anyway. I'm still sweating butter. (PS if you ever find yourself in need of a new party idea.. grilled cheese is the way to go.)

I should also let you know that I owe the inspiration for this frittata came from my poor eyesight. I was driving down 95, heading to work last Thursday, when I noticed a WaWa billboard with an egg wrap. At first glance (and ok,  and the next 2-3 seconds as well) it looked like egg and blueberry. Which.. was interesting to me. Obviously it was sausage, but it got me thinking. So thanks, WaWa, for making your sausages look conspicuously like blueberries.

 I made this with swiss for myself and mozz for Adam. Swiss won in my book, but mozz is an acceptable substitute if your pallet is a little funny and you don't like the swiss.

Blueberry & Fennel Frittata
Serves 2

1/4 c coarsely chopped fennel bulb
2 heaping tbsp blueberries
4 eggs, beaten
salt & pepper
2 oz swiss cheese (or mozzarella), shredded

Grease a small cast iron pan (or a non-stick fry pan) and heat over low heat. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add fennel and saute for 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften and becomes slightly translucent. Pour in eggs and drop blueberries gently around the pan evenly. Cook eggs over low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until eggs begin to firm up in the center.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top. If using cast iron, place pan in the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and just begins to brown. (If using non-stick, continue to cook over low heat on the stovetop until cheese melts).

Cut into 2 pieces and serve with toast for breakfast or salad for lunch (or dinner of course!).

Breakfast Pizza

First, some VINews : Another season for Arrested Development? Oooohhh, exciting!

Now then...

Cracking an egg over a bed of rosemary-sweet potato-hash browns laid out on a whole wheat biscuit and then sprinkling it with hearty pieces of maple syrup-glazed bacon is a pretty rewarding feeling. Never mind actually eating it. Just doing it. (Also, please consider a bed of sweet potatoes for a moment.)

That feeling just grows as the aroma of the different flavors baking together in the oven fills the air.

Maybe you're drinking a Bloody Mary that is garnished with yet another piece of bacon and maybe some avocado. And maybe that's what feels so rewarding. Or maybe you're not, but you should be. And I should be too. Hell, everyone should be drinking a Bloody Mary with bacon and avocado right now.

All of these things have you feeling pretty great. But now I'm going to lay it on you. The most rewarding thing about this breakfast pizza, I mean. Get your head out of the gutter.

Eating it. Duh. I'm sure you saw that coming...

Here's the deal. This is fairly easy to assemble. Takes a little time in the oven. Perfect for brunch guests because you can put it together and then let it bake, while you sip your Bloody Mary and chat. I made my own biscuit "crust" because I love an opportunity to make anything healthier and homemade (I was also slightly less hungover today than I could have been, so there's that too..). You don't have to. You can skip that part and just top any biscuit dough you like!

Soundtrack: Aeroplane - September 2011 Mix! Check DPC for a review!

Aeroplane September 2011 Mix by Aeroplane (Official)

Breakfast Pizza
Serves 3-4


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Biscuit Dough


1 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 1/3 tbsp cold butter
1 c. greek yogurt


In the bowl of a food processor, add both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse for a few seconds until combined. (Alternately, in the absence of a food processor, whisk the dry together in a large bowl.) Add butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces and pulse for 15 seconds at a time, until dough resembles tiny crumbs (3-4 times). (Alternately, cut butter into dry mixture using 2 knives or a pastry cutter. This takes forever. Buy a food processor.) 


Transfer dough to a large bowl. Using a fork, stir yogurt into the dough. Once combined, use your hands to knead dough until it forms a ball.


Breakfast Pizza


Biscuit Dough
1 large sweet potato, shredded
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 large eggs
5-6 pieces of your favorite bacon
1 tbsp real maple syrup


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet in a piece of parchment paper. Roll biscuit dough out in a circle until it is about 1/4 in. thick. Set aside.


Heat canola oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add shredded sweet potato and season with salt, pepper, rosemary & thyme. Fry in the oil for about 5 minutes, moving the potatoes every so often.


Meanwhile, microwave bacon for 1 minute between 2 paper towels to begin the cooking process. Remove from microwave and brush with maple syrup. Chop bacon into large, yet bite sized pieces. Set aside.


Once sweet potatoes are begin to soften (about 5 minutes) remove from heat and set aside. 


Place biscuit in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temp to 350.


Cover biscuit dough in sweet potatoes. Crack each egg separately into a small bowl or ramekin, then pour (more like a slide) over the pizza, taking care not to break the yoke. (It's ok if you do though, they will just cook harder!). Dot the pizza with pieces of bacon.


Return the pizza to the oven once the temperature has reduced. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the whites of the eggs are no longer runny. 

La guillotine.

Crumb-like texture, goopy yogurt.

Dough ball

Holy artery clogging...

Looks a little less than appetizing here..

Much more like it!

Huevos Rancheros

I love. love. love. breakfast. And by that I mean I could eat it for lunch and dinner as well, something I'm sure we all do sometimes (and if you don't, you're missing out). One of the best things about the weekend, in my not-so-humble opinion, is having the time to prepare a delicious breakfast for myself and anyone else who's face I can shove food in. Huevos Rancheros is up there on my list of favorite breakfast (and lunch and dinner) dishes.

Eggs and Mexican food = match made in heaven

Until today, it wasn't really a dish that I made for myself so much as something I ordered in almost every brunch-serving restaurant in Philadelphia and beyond. But a little leftover guacamole and some fresh ingredients inspired me to try it this morning. And I'm really glad I did, because, as I discovered, it's not a difficult dish to make at all! The basic "must-haves" are of course the eggs, a "ranchero" (tomato based chile) sauce, beans, and tortillas. Everything else is gravy on the cake. Icing on the mashed potatoes. Wait...


Just a side note about Americans being fat before we get started: cheese and sour cream don't even exist in traditional Mexican food. So we can add them to our burritos, tacos, etc, but it's only because we are fat Americans. I learned that today and I feel proud. Other than that, this recipe is really healthy. Make the ranchero sauce yourself to control oil and sodium, use black beans rather than refried beans, and everything else is pretty much fresh. Ok ok, tortillas. But the way I did this, the portion size includes only half a medium sized tortilla, so no harm, no foul. It's like eating ice cream standing up from the carton. If you don't eat a whole serving, it doesn't count! (Please don't try and tell me otherwise, I firmly believe this to be true and live by it.)


Soundtrack: Ain't nothin' like a disco dance party to start the day off right! Seriously. Best. mood. ever.


Huevos Rancheros (serves 2)

1/4 c. chopped tomato

1/8 c. chopped red onion

1/8 c. chopped red bell pepper
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 med. flour tortilla (corn is more traditional and can be used as well)
4 eggs
Ranchero Sauce (I used this recipe with some slight adjustments. Cut in about half serves 2. My changes: I used 1/2 a fresh large tomato, chopped, for the diced tomatoes and just enough oil to saute - no need for a whole tbsp)
1/2 c. black beans, drained and rinsed
guacamole
cheddar cheese (optional)
salt and pepper


Combine tomato, red onion, bell pepper and cilantro to make a fresh salsa. Set aside. Cut the flour tortilla into quarters. Place pieces in a toaster oven or preheated (350) oven to warm. Crack 4 eggs into a medium, greased, frying pan, so that all 4 yokes are separate (the whites will run together, it's ok you can separate them out once they cook). Salt and pepper eggs. Cook eggs over medium (to do this, cook eggs until whites are hardened, except right around the yoke. Separate into four pieces (each with a yoke, obvs) and then flip. Cook another minute or so). Remove tortillas from oven and plate (2 per plate). Flip 1 egg onto each tortilla piece. If using cheese, apply now. Add desired amount of Ranchero Sauce, black beans, salsa and guacamole. Serve and enjoy! Ole!

Fresh salsa! Ok, I didn't have cilantro :(
But I'm still drooling for it

Eggs in frying pan. Sizzzzlllleee!

Naked tortillas. Omg it's like tortilla pornography!

Eggs done over-medium - don't break those yokes! 

Freshness!