Strawberry Pavlova, the Perfect Dessert to Celebrate a Milestone

"I'm thinking of signing him up for golf camp, basketball camp, a soccer camp and maybe some swimming," one of my well-meaning friends was saying to a group of us about a month ago. The conversation then lead to the fall, "Besides soccer, we're putting together a flag football team if anyone wants to do it."

The conversation continued and as I sat there listening, sipping my coffee, I thought about how different  I am now as a parent as opposed to when my daughter was younger.

She was in swim lessons at six-months-old. As a toddler, she had a regular "playgroup" that met weekly. She was in Gymboree classes...for years. She could write her name before she entered preschool and ride a bike and tie her shoes before she entered Kindergarten.

For my youngest, playgroup and Gymboree aren't even words in his vocabulary. As for some of the others, well, maybe I had been a little lackadaisical in teaching him some of those childhood milestones. So I said to my friends, "You know, I think you should count us out. We're still working on...some basics."

Later that day, I sat my Kindergartener down and said, "Guess what we're going to do this summer?"

"What?"

"You are going to have "Bike Camp with Mom," "Swim Camp with Mom," and "Tie-Your-Shoes Camp with Mom." We're going to start with Bike Camp. How does that sound?"

He was thrilled. Besides motherly guilt, I was feeling particularly motivated to get rid of the training wheels because I knew we'd be meeting up with his cousins at the beach for vacation soon and he just couldn't be shown up by his three-year-old cousin who could already ride a two-wheeler.

Day one of bike camp was held in our driveway. We worked on simply gliding. Then, I taught him how to use the kick-stand, how to use the brakes, how to start and then went on to the back-braker....holding onto the back of the bike as he "rode" it up and down the driveway. Luckily, before my back gave out, I was interrupted by my neighbor driving by. She stopped. And we chatted...on and on.

In the middle of our conversation, I decided to check on my little guy. As I turned around to look for him, there he was riding his bike out of the garage. On two-wheels. By himself.

I turned to my neighbor and said, "Sandbagger."

Then, I turned back to my guy and shouted, "Whoo! Hoo! You're riding your bike by yourself!!!"

With a huge smile on his face, he stopped the bike, put the kickstand down and took off his helmet. Then he said to me, "Can I go back in now?"

"But buddy, you just learned to ride your bike. That's so exciting. Don't you want to keep practicing?"

"Well, I was in the middle of a lego war when you called me out here." For crying out loud, his older brother would have been out here for hours practicing his new-found-skill if this had been him.

We continued our bike camp throughout the week, visiting various parks with tracks or trails and culminating with the park in our neighborhood whose trail travels over bridges, around a pond and up and down hills. He completed the required "two times around the pond" but he really just wanted to play on the playground with some friends who happened to be there.

To celebrate my little guy's "Completion of Bike Camp," that night I made a special dessert. Strawberry Pavlova...which he inhaled. As I watched him enjoy his dessert, I thought to myself how different my children are. How my middle guy was the kid who rode a two-wheeler at age three...because he wanted to. How my eldest could swim as a toddler and still is my fish...because she loves it.

And my little guy, well, apparently he takes on the mantra that the Rooster applies to handyman jobs from time to time, "It's not that I can't do it, it's just not how I choose to spend my time." (Although, let the record state that when the Rooster does choose to do handyman jobs, he does a mighty fine job.)

We'll see how swimming and shoe-tying go.....

Strawberry Pavlova
Inspired and adapted from The Reluctant Entertainer and MIX magazine

I am not a fancy dessert maker. Usually the pinnacle of my dessert making consists of ice cream with berries or every so often a pie but that's about it. However, I was intrigued to make this dessert when I read about it in my friend Sandy's book, The Reluctant Entertainer. And then a recent issue of our local food magazine MIX also had a recipe for it and considering that both the Rooster and I had brought home half-flats of Hood strawberries recently....well, I needed to find ways to use them up. Hood strawberries are truly the most delicious strawberry you will ever taste but...they don't last long.

Also, I made my pavlova with a sour cream filling because I don't like my desserts to be too sweet and trust me, it was plenty sweet...but if you're a whipped cream purist you could always substitute that for the filling.

Ingredients
Meringues
1/2 c egg whites (about 4) at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 c granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling
1 c sour cream or crème fraiche
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract


Berries
2 pints fresh strawberries (preferably Hoods if you can find them), hulled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice


Directions
Meringues
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.


In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your egg whites and cream of tartar. Using an electric mixer, beat them together until foamy. On medium speed, add in your granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time. Increase your speed to high and continue beating for about 3 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Fold in your cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla extract and stir just until combined.


Spoon out six half-domes of meringue onto the cookie sheet. Using the back of your spoon, press gently down on the center of each one to make a shallow well. Bake for about one hour or until your meringues lift easily off the parchment.


Filling
While your meringues are cooking, prepare your filling. Whip your sour cream, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract until thick. Then, put in the refrigerator while the meringues are finishing. You can make your filling in advance but it may need some gentle re-whisking if it sits for over an hour.


Strawberries
Put your sliced strawberries, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp lemon juice in a bowl. Mix together to combine and then set aside to macerate for 5-10 minutes or the duration of your meringue baking time.


When ready to serve, put each meringue on an individual plate. Spoon on some of the filling and then, top with the berries. Put out for your friends and family to "ooh and ahh" over and then....enjoy.


Yield: 6 individual dessert...quite large servings

...

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Just in case you didn't see this message on my last post, La Pomme de Portland is just about to get a new look. My friend and web designer Kirsten Hope has been helping me create this lovely new space. It is so pretty.

The time has come for us to do the site transfer. In order to do so, my website will be down for about a week starting July 3rd. I'm letting you know this for a couple of reasons.

1. I am crossing all fingers and toes that nothing will happen but there is a chance that in the transfer I may loose a few of my email subscribers' subscriptions. I apologize in advance for this. Should you not receive your regular emails from me after July 10th, you may need to go back onto my site and re-subscribe. My site address will remain the same: www.lapommedeportland.com

2. In case you want any recipes for Fourth of July, I encourage you to print them before July 3rd. :) Once the site transfer happens, all recipes, new and old, will be available again.

...

Fourth of July Menu
In case you're looking for ideas, here is my Fourth of July menu:

Cowboy Caviar
Cherry Tomato and Asparagus Summer Salad
Grilled Salmon with Cherry Tomato and Shallot compote
A Strawberry Tart


...

Organizing Project
Just spent the past week, including...and I'm not kidding here...10 hours yesterday....organizing my yard. This included weeding, weeding and more weeding, planting 15 boxwood plants I bought on-sale on the one sunny day we had this past spring and filling my planter boxes with petunias I bought back in May in a fit of momentary excitement.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Letting Go with Counter-Top Salads for Dinner

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Please read my message after the story especially my gracious email subscribers.


She was three years old when she performed in her first dance recital. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Bunny Hop. Her little feet could be heard "tap, tap, tapping" away as she practiced for her big debut.

Considering that when she wasn't dancing she was impersonating Mary Poppins, she seemed destined for life as a performer.

On the soccer field, she was the one with bows in her hair, picking daisies, twirling around and skipping as the ball rolled past her.

When the girls around her and the competitiveness of the game grew to such a level that skipping as the ball rolled past you wasn't considered cute anymore, the Rooster and I decided to pull her from soccer. We encouraged her to forge her own path in dance.

And dance, she did...ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical. Six nights a week. She blossomed into an amazing dancer. And call me bias....but I love to watch her dance. She's beautiful on-stage.

And just when there seemed to be no end to her dancing days and at the height of sequins, sparkles, lycra, stage make-up and dark auditoriums, she said to me, "Mom, I'd really like to try lacrosse."

Like a needle being ripped across a record, the room went silent.

"Lacrosse?"

"Yeah, my friends who play are always telling me how fun it is."

"But, sweetie, you have to wear goggles...and a mouthguard," I said to my fashion-concious daughter.

"I know."

"And you have to get in there and mix-it up with sticks and a ball," added the Rooster. "You don't like competitive contact. Remember when you played soccer?"

"No, I don't remember. Last time I played I was like in fourth grade."

That was probably true. While her "out-in-the-field picking daisies" ways were still very present in our minds, for her it was four years ago. Practically a lifetime.

We continued to throw out reasons why lacrosse wouldn't work for her and she continued to come back with reasons why it would.

On her own, she worked out a schedule that would accommodate lacrosse, dance and school. She contacted coaches about getting on the team. She figured out how to get to and from practices. When game time came around, she not only got in there and mixed-it up, she was aggressive. And fast.

When she asked to go to a tournament in Seattle at the end of the season, we had to say no. "You are committed to your dance classes that conflict with the lacrosse practices. Your recital is coming up. You can't miss class. Other dancers are counting on you."

She contacted the coaches for the tournament and arranged to miss Monday night practices so she could be at dance. I told the Rooster that her determination should be rewarded so we agreed to let her go to the tournament.

Her team, the Bulldogs, played three games in the tournament. The Rooster and I watched every one from under umbrellas, down jackets and fleece blankets. We watched our daughter flying down the field in the rain, fighting for the ball amidst a swarm of sticks and on occasion, putting that little ball into the net to score.

Her team lost all three games. The final game had a score of 2-13 but her coach awarded her "Player of the Game" for her persistence and hard work and I felt myself tear up.

There is something so gratifying about watching your child succeed at something that she alone wanted. Something she was determined to do even if her parents were trying to talk her out of it.

So last week, instead of feeling bitter about driving her out to a lacrosse camp clear across town, leaving no time to cook but only time for counter-top meals, I was happy to do it.

And as she limped along into her dance recital over the weekend, I could tell by her demeanor that perhaps this phase of her life was coming to a close. She was still beautiful on-stage but there was something removed about her stance. And when I asked her if she thought she'd take dance next year, she said to me, "Well, I know you like me to do dance...."

That's when I told myself, "Let go."

I don't know whether her future will hold mouthguards or ballet slippers but I do know that it is her future and I am loving watching her decide for herself just what that future will be.


...


IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I know I have alluded to the fact that  I have been working with web designer, Kirsten Hope, to create a new look for La Pomme de Portland. She has helped me create a lovely new space. I know you will love it.

The time has come for us to do the site transfer. In order to do so, my website will be down for about a week starting July 3rd. I'm letting you know this for a couple of reasons.

1. I am crossing all fingers and toes that nothing will happen but there is a chance that in the transfer I may loose a few of my email subscribers' subscriptions. I apologize in advance for this. Should you not receive your regular emails from me after July 10th, you may need to go back onto my site and re-subscribe. My site address will remain the same: www.lapommedeportland.com

2. In case you want any recipes for Fourth of July, I encourage you to print them off soon. :) Once the site transfer happens, all recipes, new and old, will be available again.

Counter-Top Salads
Sometimes there just isn't time to cook. Sometimes I don't want to cook. During the summer, I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen especially considering that we've just come off of the coldest, wettest spring on record in 117 years...I want to be outside where it is finally sunny. One of my favorite meals when I'm feeling like this is the ole counter-top salad. Basically, pull out any leftover bits and pieces from your refrigerator and slap them on the counter with some lettuce as a base and a vinaigrette as a topping and voila....dinner. I'm always amazed at the things my children will put on their salads...that I didn't think they would like...when I let them choose their own toppings.

Ingredients
Of course, these ingredients could be anything you have leftover but here are my favorites....

a head or two of romaine lettuce, washed and coarsely chopped
cherry tomatoes
blanched green beans
cooked red potatoes, cut into quarters
hard boiled eggs
leftover roasted chicken
crumbled gorgonzola
and usually, I put a little crumbled bacon on top or avocado but I didn't have any leftover this time

homemade vinaigrette, recipe here.


Directions
I'm assuming that most of this is leftover from other meals but should you be making it from scratch, here are a few quick tips.

To blanch green beans, trim the ends then put in boiling water for two minutes. Drain the water and immediately run cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

To cook your potatoes, wash them, quarter them and put them in a pot of salted boiling water for about 12-15 minutes or until just softened. Drain water and set aside.

For the hard boiled eggs, everyone has a different method for the timing but I put mine in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to very, very low and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them.

For your chicken, get a roasted one from the grocery store.

Put all of your ingredients out on your counter...plates at one end, vinaigrette at the other and let the troops have at it. Quick and easy....enjoy.

...


Organizing Project
The only thing I have been organizing is my summer....travel dates, camp registrations, down time, up time...so that I can simply enjoy and not have to worry about the details.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Spring Cleaning Scramble

The flurry of activity from the weekend is over. Everyone is back to his corner of the city for the weekly routine. I absentmindedly reach over to pick up a pair of scissors jutting out from under the couch. I walk over to the set of drawers with the fading labels and pull on the handle of the one marked, "scissors, hole punch and stapler." Inside I find clay, glue, oil pastels, crayons, tape, a pencil and a bell, but not one pair of scissors until I deposit the ones I'm holding. With a bit of a sigh, I push the drawer back in and recall a time when those drawers actually held exactly what appeared on the labels...back when I cared. Back when I was known to stay up until one or two in the morning, organizing, purging, labeling, cleaning, painting, rearranging. I think it's safe to say that my sweetie is a very...very...patient man. Actually, I take that back. He's not patient at all. Perhaps it's that he is wise to the ways of women and knows when to stand back and let me work through the frenzy.

I pull up my email in-box and wait for the new messages to load. Glancing down the list, the one entitled, "Spring Cleaning: Day One" catches my eye. I open it up, glance at the thoughtful advice and then, promptly delete it. I can't even keep up with regular cleaning. The thought of "spring cleaning" just overwhelms me. I recently confessed to my mother, my sister and one of my oldest, dearest friends who is a frequent guest in my home that the impendence of their arrival no longer spurs on a flurry of home projects. Where before there would be flowers and decorations reflecting the seasons along with a well-scrubbed house, now, well....oh sure, I clean the toilets (I have boys after all) and I may do a quick little sweep of the kitchen floor, make the beds and fluff a pillow or two but after that, it's more like, "Good to see ya. Here's a glass of wine. Let's sit and chat."

You know, the great irony is that my home may no longer be the pristinely clean and perfectly organized place that it once was but I find I'm more relaxed (which means my sweetie is more relaxed.) I enjoy my time with my guests more. Maybe it's that spring seems to come more quickly with each passing year (Didn't we just pull all of these spring weeds?), and I recognize that I must decide exactly how I want to spend my time. And, I've decided that I want to spend my time with my guests enjoying a home cooked meal, a glass of wine and their company.

Looking for inspiration for the evening's dinner, I pull out the crisper drawers in the fridge. Still having the "spring cleaning" article on the brain (old habits die hard), I recognize that the contents of these drawers could use a little purging. Grabbing the bundle of asparagus that is a bit past its prime, a half a shallot, some potatoes rolling around in the back, some eggs, a couple cloves of garlic and a bag of mushrooms from last weekend's Farmer's Market and drawing on the recollection of a favorite "Egg Scramble" I loved at a diner in Eureka, California....I whip up my own "Spring Cleaning Scramble" and place it on the table for dinner along with some toasted, day-old bread. As we inhale the medley of spring flavors, we chat about our day. What's coming up in the week. And, for some unknown reason we seem to linger a little longer at the table than usual. It's then that I decide that this is the kind of spring cleaning I love. The kind I can handle. The rest of it....eh....

Spring Cleaning Scramble
While I confess that I am not a huge "egg person," I do love this dish which can be made with any veggies you may have lying around in your fridge....peppers, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes....you name it....scramble it up. This particular evening I made this with mushrooms but I've also made it without them and it was lapped up just as quickly (maybe even more quickly by certain family members.) Also, I find that there is nothing like potatoes browned in a cast iron pan but for a weeknight, I'm picky about how much clean-up I have to do. For these potatoes, I followed Pam Anderson's inspiration for using a non-stick pan and her steam/saute method of cooking them up. I hope this recipe will inspire you to do a little spring cleaning of your own refrigerator to make room for all the berries that are just about to hit the markets.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil, divided below
a bundle of asparagus with "tough" ends trimmed off (or snapped off like I do)
1 small onion, quartered, white, yellow, red, whatever you have
1/2 lb of shiitake mushrooms (optional)
2 c diced, fingerling potatoes, Yukon Gold or any other thin-skinned potatoes you have lying around
1/2 shallot, chopped (or 1/4 c onion)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
kosher salt and pepper
3 tbsp water
8 eggs (two per person)
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp butter (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While your oven is heating, prepare your asparagus, onion and mushrooms. Lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or two. Drizzle a tbsp or two of olive oil over your vegetables. Using your hands (or tongs) mix them around to ensure that they are coated with the olive oil but not drenched in it. Laying them back out in a single layer, sprinkle them well with kosher salt and pepper. Put them in your heated oven to roast for 15 -20 minutes, stirring halfway through. You want the asparagus browned but not blackened, tender but not mushy.

While your vegetables are roasting, prepare your potatoes, shallot and garlic. Place them in a non-stick skillet, along with 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp water and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and steam over medium-high heat until the potatoes are just tender about 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are lightly browned about 6-8 minutes longer.

While your potatoes are cooking, prepare your eggs by cracking them into a medium bowl and lightly beating them along with the 3 tbsp of milk. (Don't ask me why but I always put a bit of milk in my scrambled eggs.) Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

Once your potatoes are done, spoon them into a bowl, tent with foil and set aside. Turning the heat to low, add one tsp of butter to your already warm skillet (or forgo the butter and just rely on the magic of the non-stick surface.) Once melted, add your eggs. Allow the eggs to set slightly on the bottom and then, cook on the lowest heat, stirring almost constantly. Although, I would take a second here to pop that day-old bread into the toaster. Cook the eggs to your desired doneness...usually 3-4 minutes for me. They continue to cook even after you've turned off the stove.

At this point, it's time to ring the dinner bell and call the troops to the table. On a side note, I did recently acquire a cow bell just for this purpose. No one seemed to pay any attention to me before when I called everyone to the dinner table after slaving away over a hot stove. It's amazing how the extremely loud, incessant and annoying sound of the cow bell seems to bring everyone to the table...quickly...even those people trying to hide from me in the woods. Once they've arrived, hand everyone a plate, tell them to load up with the veggies, potatoes and eggs and mix-it all up on their plates. Toss them each a piece of toast, set some salt and pepper on the table and you're good to go.  Dinner....check. Refrigerator cleaned out...check. Family fed...check. Dishes...pending.

Yield: Enough to feed a family of 4 and one person who still insists on eating like a bird

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Sauntering Through the Market with a Basket of Rapini, Potatoes and Chives

As usual, I was running late. Nothing new there but my tardiness was extra awkward (even for me) considering that I was trying to slip, unnoticed, into a pew in the hushed room of The Old Church for the monthly Willamette Writers meeting. This month's speaker had already begun her talk as I tried to make myself invisible. Once seated it took me a minute to calm my thoughts enough to focus on the speaker, Naseem Rakha, but once I did, she had my complete concentration as she discussed her newly released book, The Crying Tree. And while I took away so many nuggets of wisdom from this clearly talented woman, I really seemed to take hold of what would appear to be a seemingly insignificant story that she shared. She had recently been on vacation in Florida with her son and she admitted to us that while she believed the "correct" thing to say would be that her favorite part of the trip was playing in the ocean with her son...that wasn't the case. No. Her favorite part of the trip was the time she was alone in Ernest Hemingway's garden. Alone with her thoughts. Alone enough to focus and to remember what it was she wanted to focus her life on.

The Portland Farmer's Market opened a few weeks ago. I didn't make it to Opening Day, although I hear it was quite the success. Jam-packed with people even with the extra block added this year for more space. Vendors selling out of that day's produce. I did, however, make it a few weekends later. As usual, I invited the family to come but, as was oftentimes the case, they kindly declined. I probably should say I was disappointed but I wasn't. I like going there by myself. I love to lose myself in the crowd under that great canopy of trees. To saunter up to my favorite coffee bar. To then make the circle once, coffee in hand, browsing and making mental notes. To pick up a cookie along the way....this time from The Tart Lady. To enjoy the festive music in the background. To take in just what was being offered. What was in season. And, then to go back and circle again.

Recently someone asked of me, "Where do you get your ideas for cooking? Where do you get your inspiration?" I replied that due to my strong love affair with food, I, of course, read a lot of cookbooks and food blogs. I call friends and ask them what they're cooking that night. I occasionally tune into cooking shows. However, my biggest source of inspiration is my farmer's market or those grocery stores that cater to local produce. While I used to find the recipe I liked and then go hunt for the ingredients, now I let the natural rhythms of the growing season be my guide. I buy what's in season and then, I go find the recipe. This method also helps narrow down the choices of recipes making the whole process of cooking and feeding my family a lot less overwhelming.

Before arriving at the farmer's market that day, I had in my mind a bit of an idea of what would be good for dinner that night. I was hoping to find the ingredients for a delicious and light, pasta primavera I enjoy making this time of year. I thought for sure there would be spring asparagus on display everywhere. But alas, there was not. What was on display, and what is clearly still in season here in Oregon, were winter greens. Winter greens, leeks, potatoes, baby carrots, chives and rapini (broccoli rabe.) I had to chuckle that back here when I was trying to make this dish that called for rapini, I couldn't find a single stalk, and now here it was aplenty. So, without anyone asking me when were we leaving or needing a bathroom or what could they have to eat or getting lost in the crowd and sending me into panic mode, I sat down. I sat down, alone with my coffee and my "breakfast" cookie (nevermind that it was chocolate chip) and readjusted my thoughts. What was I going to make with leeks, potates, chives and rapini? And then, the ideas started flowing. I raced around and grabbed my produce, throwing in a baguette, some pesto and a couple bunches of daffodils to round it all out and headed home. While driving home, I pulled out my cell phone and called my parents I responsibly pulled over to the side of the road and called my parents from my cell phone. They were passing through town that evening and I wanted to encourage them to stop by for dinner. To stop by for dinner and the result of my inspiration. The result of my solitary trip to the farmer's market.

The Recipes

So, today, you're going to get two recipes for the price of one blog post. (Corny...I know.) From time to time, I pop into the blog, Simply Breakfast. Her photographs are always so beautiful and although, I'm not much of a breakfast gal, I keep thinking maybe her simple meals will inspire me and recently she had posted that she couldn't get enough of garlicky greens with scrambled eggs. Well, I could do without the scrambled eggs but the garlicky greens struck a bell and that's how I arrived at the following recipe that I served up for dinner to my parents and my family along with some chicken sausages I grilled on the barbecue. (Note: If you happen to be a patron of the Portland Farmer's Market, I purchased my rapini at DeNoble's Family Farm booth. So tender and delicious.)

Sauteed Rapini (Broccoli Rabe) with Spaghetti and Grilled Sausages

Inspired by fresh air

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

2 large bunches of rapini, coarsely chopped, discarding any tough ends

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 black pepper

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked as directed on the package

Heat your olive oil in a non-stick saute pan. Add your garlic and saute just about one minute then, immediately add your rapini. It will seem like a lot, but like spinach, it will reduce in size by at least half once it is cooked. Saute about 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Scrape all of the contents from the pan (including the now garlic infused olive oil) over the spaghetti and toss gently to combine. Check to see if it needs additional salt and pepper. Serve alongside grilled sausages. Doesn't get much easier or quicker than this. This recipe can easily be doubled.

A Dinner Frittata Complete with Potatoes, Bacon and Chives

I was looking for a way to use my potatoes and chives so I pulled from the shelf one of my favorite cookbooks of all times, "How to Cook Without a Book" by Pam Anderson. This is the perfect book for those of us who feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of recipe options when all we really want to do is get a quick, healthy and delicious dinner on the table for our families. I bought it when my two eldest were leaving the baby food stage and I realized that fish sticks and peas every night just wasn't going to cut it any longer. I have been intrigued by her dinner frittata section for quite some time (despite the fact that I'm not always that intrigued with egg dishes.) I flipped to that section, made a few of my own changes and came up with this recipe. I served it with a simple salad of baby greens and vinaigrette and a bowl of "cuties"...those delicious little sweet clementines in season right now. Those same cuties with the sticker that my daughter and her friends would feel compelled to pull off the rind and stick on their foreheads last year when they were much younger.

2 tbsp olive oil (divided)

3 slices, thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 small, Yukon gold potatoes (or other thin-skinned spring potatoes), unpeeled and 1/2 inch diced

kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 medium garlic clove, minced

8 large eggs

4 tbsp milk

3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp fresh chopped chives

Adjust your rack to the upper-middle position and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add your bacon and cook for about 5 minutes until the bacon is browned but not too crisp. Drain your bacon on a paper towel and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with another paper towel and heat your second tablespoon of olive oil, unless you like to cook with bacon grease, in which case, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, do not add the second tablespoon of olive oil and continue with the recipe.

Add your potatoes to the skillet along with the olive oil (bacon grease), 3 tbsp water, the garlic and then, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set your heat to medium-high, cover and let the potatoes steam for about 3 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the water evaporates and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes more. Toss occasionally to ensure even browning.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the eggs, milk, parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper together with a fork. Once the potatoes are done, shake the skillet to evenly distribute them. Evenly sprinkle your bacon on the potatoes and then, pour in your egg mixture. Sprinkle the chives over the top and then, let the egg mixture cook just until the edges start to set around the edges about 1 minute. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the eggs are puffed and set about 8 minutes. Serve hot, sliced like a pizza and enjoy.

One word of caution: Do not under any circumstances forget that once your skillet is out of the oven, the handle is still registering at about 350 degrees and grabbing it bare-handed will result in second degree burns. Not that I know that from personal experience or anything, but if I did know that from personal experience, I will tell you that expletives that a young child should never hear will come spewing out over and over from the mouth of his injured parent creating a bit of awkwardness once the moment has passed.

Variation: I did make this frittata one evening, substituting sauteed rapini for the bacon. For the sake of honesty, I will tell you that my daughter and I quite enjoyed it but the boys...young and old...they just couldn't get past the greenery in their eggs, although they greedily ate the greenery just fine the week before when it was tossed with the pasta. So, there you have it.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010