What a nice Monday surprise to find that I was lucky enough to be featured again on the DailyBuzz Moms site. My hard boiled eggs thank them for all the nice coverage.
Please check out the post and see all the lovely hard boiled egg recipes included, too.
Reposting a great egg Frittata recipe for Easter. enjoy....Picture a hot summer morning at the beach. Five kids, two parents, pitchers of water, seltzer and juice, and tons of sunblock. It must be noted here, that many members of The Family (as the larger group of my siblings and parents shall hence forth be known, no cult-association intended here) hated the beach.
Herewith, some back-story on The Family history with the beach. Joe, our Dad, does not care for the sun. Being one of those blonde-haired, non-olive-skinned Italians, it is understandable why. So, we would head out to Jones Beach, in Long Island, at the crack of 7AM on a potentially sunny Sunday. We'd get there by 7:30, eat pastries on the boardwalk and then set up on the beach. At that hour, there was always plenty of choice real estate available, so we were right near the shore. We were usually packing up sometime around lunch, to avoid the high sun and the traffic back to Queens.
Another major issue, were the jelly fish. I'm not sure when it happened, but I do recall as early as age six that Gran Fran had scared us witless regarding these slimy creatures. Walking on the edge of the ocean was fraught with looking for the telltale globs of jelly-fishness. Gran Fran was convinced that if we got within even five feet of one, we would come away stung. Needless to say, none of us ever got a sting, but we all steered well clear of the jelly fish. And, to this day, poor Iz has to deal with my ever-lasting fear, with calls of "You keeps your eyes open for jelly fish. You don't want to get stung!" I guess no matter what we do, we all eventually turn into our parents.
As the morning progressed, we played in the surf, buried ourselves in the sand and collected a multitude of seashells (and some kelp, if I remember correctly, that was not allowed in the car home). We'd get hungry again around 11:00. This was the big event.
Enter the greatest lunch on earth: Gran Fran's Fritatta. Simply put, it is just a potato and egg pie, like an omelette, but fluffier and filled with fried potatoes.
But, Gran Fran has a way with eggs like no one else. It must be said here that she cooks all egg dishes in olive oil, not butter. Olive oil is the preferred cooking medium for all things savory in Gran Fran's world. Heaven forfend using butter for anything other than baked goods, especially eggs. She gags at the thought of it.
Out came the Frittata. Gran Fran is known for her wrapping (no, it's not elegant, but it is always thorough), and did not scrimp on the waxed paper then foil wrap to ensure the eggs would stay nice and soft, and the temperature would remain as cool as possible.
Cups of seltzer were poured and the eggs handed out. There was always quiet once everyone was served and was munching on their delectable treat. At those times, it was nice to see such a large family having a nice peaceful lunch on a sunny beach day.
But once the eggs were eaten, everyone dispersed again to do what they had been doing before lunch (avoiding the jelly fish, mind you). Overall, we were sated, happy and sunburned. And, it was high noon, time for The Family to head out. That Gran Fran, she sure knows how to feed a crowd!
Fritatta A la Gran Fran
Serves 4 as a meal, or 8 as a side dish
Ingredients:
You will need a broiler-proof non-reactive deep skillet.
Method:
Enjoy hot, warm, cold, or at room temperature. Wonderful with a ripe tomato salad sprinkled wiht finely minced scallions, a dusting of kosher salt, and a good dollop of olive oil (this is Gran Fran's addendum to the above recipe).
Today, Gran Fran called and suggested I try my hand at another of her wonderful Easter baked specialities. Seems that she was so impressed with my version of her Pizza Rustica, that I was deemed worthy of her Easter egg bread basket recipe. As I've mentioned, I'm not much of a baker, so the prospect of taking on another baking project so soon was daunting.
And, I wanted to make these for Isabella. She is thirteen, which means that I don't have to get the Easter bunny over here, but there is still time for her to enjoy some of the fun. What was going through my mind, was how Gran Fran, no matter what, would send me off to preschool (then known as Nursery school) with fresh-baked treats for whatever holiday was being celebrated. I attended a Jewish Nursery school (long story, short, even though our family wasn’t Jewish, the private Nursery school was willing to take me a year earlier than the public school) and so Gran Fran made many challahs, and even hamantaschen cookies for Purim. She sent me the bread recipe today, which, as it turns out, is her trusty challah recipe from days of yore.
Gran Fran is always on my shoulder saying “What? So, you spend a little extra time after work making a nice treat for her? What’s it going to cost you … a little sleep?” This, from a woman who seems to need no more than 5 hours of sleep a night. Who knows if that is a product of raising five kids, what with all the worry and all, or if she was always that way.
Mine look just like her bread baskets, and I'm hoping that they are as lovely as the ones she sends over every year. No doubt, Isabella will give me very frank feedback on who's is better and what she likes about each. Either way, I'm just happy to be in possession of the recipe and to be able to make these baskets myself.
Source: Fleischmann's Yeast, a division of Burns Philp Food, Inc.
Yield: 6 egg basket loaves
Ingredients
Method:
A post from Paris, 2010
It's been almost two years since my summer in Paris with my daughter Isabella. I've been going through my blog from our trip and thought it would be nice to feature some of the posts. Hope you enjoy it.
This picture does not do the dishI had enough justice.
Baked eggs, have become an interest of mine in the recent past, but I have not had the opportunity to make them. I was pleased to see this traditional version offered on the menu across the plaza from Notre Dame, right next door to Shakespeare & Co bookshop. After all those steps, I really wanted to eat (not really that hard to climb, but any excuse for a big meal, I always say).
Isabella was going to order this, but decided on scrambled eggs with bacon as a safer bet. Probably good, this dish had cream, 6 eggs (no kidding) and maybe a half pound of bacon. I thought it was going to come in a small ramekin, but take a look at that pot!
Oh, I forgot to mention, it also had 3 to 4 good sized yellow potatoes sliced amongst the goodness. I ate almost the whole thing. It was so good.
When I get home, I will recreate this dish every now and then. Not too often, though, or I will have the cholesterol police knockin’ on my door.
I've found this Baked Eggs recipe on epicurious.com for you to try yourselves at home.