Apres Easter

 

 

 

 

This Easter turned out to be surprisingly festive. I had thought only a few people would come over, but we ended up with a full house: Lindsay and Ryan;Gen, Sean and Kaia; Colin and Tracey (late); Kim and Dennis; Dena, Kelly and Kelly's friend and Dave. I'd already bought a huge Honeybaked ham. I love Honeybaked ham for the holidays. I also had lamb to grill outside with garlic and fresh rosemary. We had new potatoes with green onions and parsley all from the farmer's market along with asparagus with lemon and butter and Rhodes rolls.

Because Dena is a vegetarian, I bought extra eggs to make an asparagus/Swiss cheese frittata. They take just minutes to make and really taste good. Dena was lucky to get a slice because everyone flocked over after I pulled the browned treat out of the oven. I was told it was the hit of the evening during the post-feast reviews. Basically I go, "how was the food?" and everyone has to say how great it was and how wonderful I am.

When I was making the frittata, Kim came over and wanted to know how to make one. They're so very easy and they can easily be incorporated into many of today's diets.

Asparagus/Swiss cheese/bacon frittata

8 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
salt
fresh ground white pepper
3 tablespoons butter
20 spears lightly cooked asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces Swiss cheese
10 slices of cooked bacon

Beat the eggs and milk in a small bowl with a whisk. Add salt and pepper. Heat butter in an iron skillet. Add the asparagus spears and spread them out over the bottom of the skillet. Add bacon and spread it evenly around. Pour the egg mixture over the top and reduce the heat to medium. Add Swiss cheese slices, spread evenly over the top of the mixture. As the frittata cooks, loosen the edges with a spatula, letting the egg mixture flow through. Be careful not to scorch the frittata -- use your nose for this. The minute you smell the eggs beginning to overcook, turn the heat down and turn the pan. Cook the frittata until it seem set when you jiggle the skillet. The top will still be liquid, but everything underneath should be set. This takes about 7 t 8 minutes. Place the skillet in the broiler just under the flame and brown for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and slice to serve.
*A couple of notes: I add a LOT of cheese which makes it seem runny, although the egg is cooked through and it will set up when it cools. But you don't have to use so much. Whole milk works best, but you can use low-fat and low fat cheese. Serve this with a nice salad for really quick and good meal. Fritatta are extremely flexible, so mix it up. The best frittatas have some kind of vegetable along with the eggs and some cheese. Feel free to experiment.