Monday, June 10, 2013

Potato, Onion and Mushroom Breakfast Frittata

Generally, I don't like breakfast foods (with a few notable exceptions). Suffice it to say, breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. It's the one meal where hamburgers may be most frowned upon as a culinary choice - come on! Given the choice between savory and sweet, 9 times out of 10, I will pick savory. For this reason, I'm always delighted to find a good savory breakfast choice. Today seemed like as good a day as any to attempt my first frittata, and it turned our rather deliciously. I hope you will enjoy this savory recipe, too!

Potato, Onion and Mushroom Breakfast Frittata

  • One large potato, chopped into small, thin pieces
  • One half large white onion (if you're not a big onion fan, use less)
  • 1/3 small box of mushrooms
  • Cheese of your choice
  • 6 eggs (if you want to avoid egg yolks, use 9 - 10 egg whites)
  • 1/2 cup milk (if substituting egg whites for egg yolks, increase, to 2/3 cup or slightly more, depending on your desired consistency)
  • Sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, basil (use as desired)
  • Olive oil

Ok, here's the hard part: first, find an awesome plate. Next, find an equally awesome cuttin' knife. Next, cut up onion and potato. Cut the potato into fine pieces. (Exactly how finely should you be cutting them, you ask? However finely you'd like!)

Coat a frying pan with a delightful layer of olive oil. Cook onions and potatoes together for about 7-8 minutes, then add in mushrooms and cook for 3 - 5 minutes more, at low heat. Add in black pepper, sea salt, garlic, basil (small pinches - or if you are a huge salt fan, you know, go to town or whatever.) Next, combine eggs and milk, mix together, and add mixture to the potato-onion-mushroom masterpiece.

Lastly (and most deliciously), add on your cheese of choice. I chose to use a mixture of Muenster cheese, Mozzarella and Colby Jack cheese. (And it was just as delicious as it sounds.) I'll recommend using oh, maybe 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of cheese, but in reality, I used closer to 1 cup. That's right - I sprinkled the shit out of that cheese - and. Didn't. Regret. It. One. Bit. Sprinkle on the cheese, cover up the epic-ness, and cook until the mixture no longer appears liquid-y (also known as "cooked").

The biggest challenge is artfully transferring the frittata to a plate without breaking it. You can try to avoid this heartbreak by skillfully flipping the frittata and cooking it on both sides (the top half for a much briefer time), and then quickly transferring it onto a dish. Or you can eat the finished frittata straight out o the pan.

 
 
Enjoy! I know I did!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Maple Syrup

Imagine this: you just had a terrific week. The biggest stress in your life (like, oh, say, finishing a really ridiculously hard exam) was a thing of the past, you had exciting things to look forward to, and you just had some seriously over-the-top-delicious ice cream. Now say that on top of this, your awesome friend just got you a celebratory loaf of your favorite challah bread, with plans to turn it into your favorite, challah French toast.

Now pretend that in the middle of making said French toast, right after you dip the first piece of bread into the egg-milk-cinnamon mixture, you realize that you forgot to get maple syrup. C-R-A-P! Maple syrup is the secret best ingredient in French toast! Whatever will you do?!

You'll make your own damn maple syrup, goshdarnit!

It's really quite simple. Add the following ingredients together:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
a dash of vanilla or maple extract

Bring the ingredients to a boil, then stir for another few minutes, turn off heat, and let the mixture cool.

I found that the syrup improved vastly after being refrigerated for a day. The texture and thickness improved, too.

Adventures in Foodery!

Welcome to my food blog! I love food and I want to share that love of food. And it turns out, even the most daunting recipes are either A.) not as hard as they seem, or B.) as hard as they seem, but are. So. Very. Worth. It.

Come along and experience the wonder and adventure of food. It's adventure time!