Pea, Pancetta, Leek and Onion Frittata

Doesn't that slice of frittata look like it fell from the sky and onto my plate? Splat!

No, the weatherman wasn't calling for frittata showers, this particular frittata didn't hold together particularly well. I take all the blame myself, and not just because Donna Hay is a food genius. I know it was oozy because I added more ricotta cheese than called for. I had so much fun doling out dollop after dollop... I couldn't control myself!

Dave and I shared this for dinner, and while I can't see us having it for breakfast, I think it would be perfect for brunch. Just make sure you take it easy on the ricotta. :)

Pea, Pancetta, Leek and Onion Frittata
c/o Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 32

20g (3/4 oz) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 brown onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
6 eggs
1 cup (8 fl oz) (single or pouring) cream
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
200g (7 oz) fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
5 slices pancetta, roughly chopped

Heat a 22 cm (8.5 inch) frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and swirl around the pan to coat. Add the onion and leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Place the eggs, cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. Reduce the heat to low pour over the egg mixture and cook for 5 minutes or until the edges just start to set. Top with ricotta, peas and pancetta and cook for 15 minutes or until the egg is almost set. Place under a preheated hot grill for 5 minutes or until the egg is set and the top is golden.

Serves 4.

See the recipe...

My "I Got Canned" Pancakes

Ok, ok, they aren't my pancakes. (Though you probably guessed that.) Sure, I made them, but the lovely Kickpleat at Everybody Likes Sandwiches provided the recipe. She only posted about them a few days ago, so I won't totally steal them. Click through to her site, you won't regret it.

These pancakes are delightful little things. I've really been into citrus zest lately... the luscious, clean scent and flavor really speaks to me. I know this is true for the rest of you, too, I think I just wasn't listening before. The pancakes are dainty and fresh, and just the thing to start me on the first day of the rest of my life. I topped them with a little butter and maple syrup, but then I had more un-topped, and I can't decide which way I like better. I'll def. have to make these again... ya know, for research.

I got canned, you ask? Sortof. I got the "you aren't a good fit with our firm" talk yesterday, and I have 30 days to find a new job. I knew I wasn't a good fit for the firm. Well, moreso, I knew the firm wasn't a good fit for me. At all. But this happening isn't an altogether bad thing. I've been miserable there for a long time, which has seeped into the other areas of my life (I've been totally disinterested in cooking and blogging, for one, and I LOVE both!!), so I feel free now. Liberated.

Check back in with me in 30 days, and we'll see if I feel the same way. :)

See the recipe...

Grandpa Day #2 / Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto Pasta

Today marks the anniversary of my grandfather's passing, so we're having beans, franks, and potatoes for dinner. You've seen that already (but this time I got some hot dogs from the butcher) (my grandpa would have LOVED my butcher, btw), so I thought I might try to tempt you with a delicious pasta dinner we had earlier this week.

For this installment of Presto Pasta Night, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, my second in as many weeks (go me!), I give to you: Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto Pasta!!

I found this recipe in the August issue of Bon Appetit magazine... It isn't something that normally would have caught my eye, but belonging to our CSA and making regular trips to the farmer's market on weekends... we've had a lot of tomatoes in our house... so the lack of tomatoes really appealed to me. That, and I had a giant tub of ricotta in the fridge (from all those SBD-friendly desserts!)

See how there aren't multiple paragraphs of instructions? Its that easy. Process it all (in their order, of course) and boil some pasta, and you're done. Seriously. I wasn't sure I wanted to toss the whole bowl into the pasta (and I'm glad I didn't - more later), but I should have used more than I did. The moisture in the pesto was soaked up into the pasta itself, which make the whole thing really really sticky. On future helpings, I added more pesto, and it was fine. I almost want to compare it to the crumb layer in frosting... let the pasta soak up the first bit, add more and its perfect. Anyway... do what you'd like, the stickyness was a little weird, but it made it easier to cut and eat with a fork! ;)

The reason I'm glad I didn't use up all the sauce is this: Its awesome on a pizza! I went online to grab the recipe for the blog, and I saw that a reviewer suggested using the pesto on pizza - and since I'm currently in love with all things White Pizza, I had to try it out. I toasted a whole grain flat out wrap (thanks, Marcie!), then smeared the pesto on. I added a few spoonfuls of ricotta, and then put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. O my gawd. Its now become the only thing I want to eat anymore. If I had a toaster oven at work, I seriously could eat this every day of the week. No photo, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure you can all imagine it.

I still have all of the ingredients at home, so you betcha that I'm pulling them all out this weekend!

Hazelnut, Ricotta, and Lemon Pesto
Bon Appetit, August 2007
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/239059

This can be tossed with a pound of pasta (serve warm or chilled), used as a topping for grilled chicken, or spread onto toasted slices of baguette or focaccia.

Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (from one 15-ounce container)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated lemon peel
3 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Fine sea salt

With processor running, drop garlic clove into machine and blend until finely chopped. Add hazelnuts, basil, and 2 tablespoons olive oil; process until hazelnuts and basil are finely chopped. Add ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon peel, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil; process until well blended. Transfer mixture to small bowl and stir in Pecorino Romano cheese. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

See the recipe...

Zucchini Ricotta Frittata

It's seriously as much fun to eat as it is to say! I just adore Elise's site, Simply Recipes. Not just for all her tasty food (though, thats enough!), but because of her engaging commentary. I feel like I know her family, understand why they eat what they eat, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with on a daily basis! Sure, you all read what she has to say, too, but I can still get my Elise fan-girl going. :)

So. Where should I start? This is an excellent way to use up all of your stray zucchinis and yellow squashes AND!!!! if you don't eat it with bacon (like we did), its pretty healthy! We had this meal right before we left on our trip to Vegas a few weeks ago... and I'm hoping I get more zucchinis in our CSA this week, so I can make it again!

Another reason I liked this recipe is because it gave me an excuse to use my mandoline again. I don't know what happened. For the longest time, I saw so many recipes that would have benefited from my having a mandoline, so I got one... and now, I barely use it. (I hope this doesn't happen with my nifty new torch!!!!)

The recipe says it serves 2 to 3, and it means it. Yah, it looks big, but its thin... and delicious... so the less of you there are, the less you have to share!!!

You can find the recipe on Elise's site - I didn't change it one bit!

See the recipe...

Old Favorites, Part One: The Way We Were

(No, we aren't robots. Just a little bit on autpilot.)

We here in the OPF Household have been revisiting old favorites lately. Before this blog happened, I would find a new recipe, make it, and then if we liked it, I would make it another 3 or 4 times. Not all in a row, mind you, but over the next few weeks. At that point, I'd have learned something else, and we'd be eating it over and over until the next New Thing came along. It was a trend, sure, but I was ok with it. (Until Dave complained, anyway.)

And then the blog... and the desire/need to produce something new and different and yummy on a regular basis - and we both LOVE it! I love having this giant sheaf of recipes I can personally vouch for.

However, when we got back from vacation, all I wanted to make and eat were things we were already in love with... a true Coming Home, if you will. We had the steamed halibut, the chicken and polenta with fruity sauce, those yummy blueberry muffins, and we're having the swiss chard and ricotta roll tomorrow night!

Anyway, I have a slew of tasty, amusing things to show you. Some new foods (and non-south beach diet, for a change), and some old, but they turned out a different way... which was a little weird.

For now, I'm off to bed. G'night!

See the recipe...

Creamy Lemon-Vanilla Ricotta Soufflés

OMG, I need a set of ramekins! I totally wasn't thinking, and made these cute little souffles in a giant muffin tin - and when it came time to eat them.... omg! I need ramekins! Dave and I stood there and blinked at each other with "what now?" looks on our faces! Its a good thing we aren't fussy, because we huddled together over the tin with our spoons and ate right out of it! (It was actually pretty cute!)

One of the non-food things I miss during our SBD phase is baking desserts. I might only bake once a week, or every other week, but I miss knowing that I could whip up a batch of brownies or cookies or more of that Winning Hearts and Minds cake just because I felt like it. Its even harder with all of the tasty sweets you guys have been cooking up lately! Know that I have a full file folder full of them, so that when I'm free, I can bake up a storm! (My new work people had better watch out!) :)

These souffles were light and dainty and very refreshing. While I really dug them as they were, I imagined them being even better with a nice sauce! On top of that, the flavoring was so easy, I think I'm going to try to fiddle with it, to give us some souffle dessert options.

I'll keep you posted! In the meantime - do you guys have any flavoring suggestions?

Creamy Lemon-Vanilla Ricotta Soufflés
From: The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons granular sugar substitute
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon lemon extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat 4 (4 ounce) ramekins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk ricotta, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar substitute, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla until combined.

In another large bowl, with an electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar substitute and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into ricotta mixture until combined. Repeat with remaining egg whites.

Spoon ricotta mixture into prepared ramekins and bake until soufflés have risen and are set and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 (1/2 cup) servings.

Per serving: 130 cals, 7 g fat, 4 g sat fat, 10 g protein, 5 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 180 mg sodium

See the recipe...

Baked Polenta with Swiss Chard and Cheese

My CSA Farmer, Ellen, includes a little bulletin with each delivery. The very first week, she asked that we learn to like swiss chard, as we'd be seeing it a lot throughout the course of the summer. I'd neither purchased nor knowingly consumed swiss chard, so I had no preconceived notions on it. First impression - its enormous. People should warn you. I mean, I could fan myself with one, should the AC go out. Whilst I'm fed cool grapes.... I digress. Friends with chard, got it.

I've noticed a trend with the two chard recipes I've used thus far - both had ricotta cheese. I don't know if that means something... it could just be that I gravitate to ricotta cheese.

At any rate, this dish is polenta based, and its built in layers, like a lasagne. I credit (blame) my friend Stephanie with our new-found-love of polenta. I don't how how I got by 31 years without it. The creamy polenta was mixed with the ricotta and layered with the sauteed swiss chard and fresh mozzarella cheese, once repeated. Baked in the oven and then given a chance to rest and meld. Please please please give it the resting period. If you don't, it will ooze all over and not hold up enough to be scooped out. Trust me. (As someone that's only recently learned to wait. ;) )

I didn't do anything fancy with the chicken breasts we had along with the polenta/ricotta/chard casserole, just roasted in the same oven with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I purposefully neglected the chicken, thinking that the mix of flavors in the polenta would make up for it - and I was right!

Baked Polenta with Swiss Chard and Cheese
Bon Appetit Magazine, November 2002
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107270

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 pound Swiss chard, thick stems and ribs removed, leaves cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips 3 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) or yellow cornmeal 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
2 cups coarsely grated low-fat mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 2-quart glass baking dish. Heat oil in a heavy large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper, then chard; cover and cook until chard is tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Uncover; stir until any excess liquid in skillet evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups water and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan. Gradually stir polenta into boiling water. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk ricotta and eggs in bowl; whisk in 1 cup hot polenta. Stir ricotta mixture into polenta in saucepan. Spread half of polenta mixture in baking dish. Spread half of chard mixture over. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Repeat layering with remaining polenta, chard, and cheese. Bake until puffed and brown on top, about 45 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: calories, 259; total fat, 12 g; saturated fat, 5 g; cholesterol, 79 mg

See the recipe...

Pork-and-Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

For Father's Day, I wanted to make a nice manly dinner. As our dad's aren't local, it was just the two of us, but that doesn't mean we couldn't get into the spirit of things! :)

After a successful first try with meatballs, I wanted to give them another go. I'd saved this recipe from the April issue of Food & Wine magazine because it struck me as interesting - 1/2 lb of bread? Ricotta - in a meatball? What? Now, you Experienced Meatballers might not have found that mix of ingredients captivating (I knew about breadcrumbs in meatloaf... but... this seemed different... I mean... HALF A POUND DIFFERENT!!!) :)

We'd had a nice, lazy afternoon of pooltime and video games before I thought to check on how long these meatballs were supposed to cook (2.5 hours), so at about 4:30 pm, I dashed into the kitchen to get started. Seriously, the prep took about 5 minutes. Maybe 7. I processed the bread, then blitzed the pancetta, herbs and spices, hand mixed it, balled it, and boom, into the oven. After the first 30 minutes, I added in the sauce and put the whole mess back into the oven for 2 hours.

I found the meatballs to be light and flavorful. Because I'd only lightly hand-mixed them, each ball had slightly different seasoning, and I thought that was pretty cool. We did think that the sauce was a little boring and already have plans to use different sauce on the leftovers. I def. recommend these, just sass up the sauce. (And I can't wait to use these in a sammich!!)

Pork-and-Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Food and Wine Magazine, April 2007
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pork-and-ricotta-meatballs-in-tomato-sauce

1/2 pound sliced white bread, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch dice (4 cups)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
3 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, minced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (5 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
Two 28-ounce cans peeled Italian tomatoes, crushed
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons shredded basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a food processor, pulse the bread to coarse crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl and add the pork, pancetta, eggs, ricotta, parsley, oregano, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Mix well. Shape into 24 meatballs, using about 3 rounded tablespoons of the mixture for each. Transfer the meatballs to an oiled medium roasting pan.

Roast the meatballs in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until firm and just beginning to brown. Using a spatula, loosen the meatballs from the bottom of the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Lower the oven temperature to 325° and cook uncovered for about 2 hours, or until the sauce is very thick and the meatballs are very tender; turn the meatballs once or twice during cooking.

Transfer the meatballs and tomato sauce to a large platter. Garnish with the basil and Pecorino and serve hot.

MAKE AHEAD The cooked meatballs can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat and garnish just before serving.

See the recipe...

Rainbow Chard and Ricotta Filo Roll

Filo success! The first time I used filo, it was super-easy. Second time, catastrophe. This, the third time, was a dream! Why the difference? The first and third's dough was from Whole Foods. The one in the middle was from Wegmans. While I am mostly spoiled by Weggies, I'll stick to Whole Foods for my filo.

When I saw this recipe on Haalo's site, Cook Almost Anything, I knew it would be a perfect dinner this week. A large bag of swiss chard was delivered in our CSA, and as I've never used it before, I was hungry for ideas. I immediately printed it out and added the necessary ingredients to my grocery list. (And if any of you have swiss chard recipes, I'd love to have 'em!!)

Sure, we've been on a South Beach Diet roll, but we can go back to those books tomorrow. Tonight, its all Haalo! The filling was nice and creamy, punctuated by the pine nuts. The sesame seeds weren't, to me, as noticeable as a flavor, but the aroma they gave off was earthy and wonderful.

I won't post the recipe, but you can find it on Haalo's blog, here. Her site is just fantastic, so check it out!!

See the recipe...

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 16 - Something New

Sara at I Like to Cook's Weekend Cookbook Challenge 16 is all about Something New. Sara and her sites are new to me, blogging is still mostly new, and I have a couple of new cookbooks, so I thought, why not?

This dinner itself added up to a couple of new things, actually. Lentils and individual pies. And considering I didn't have individual pie dishes and therefore used an over-sized muffin tin, I think it only gets me half credit.

I wouldn't suggest deviating from the pie dishes. Once these babies were done, it made more sense. Couldn't get them out of the muffin pan without breaking them, so we ate them directly from the tin. I'd hoped for a nice pretty picture with the wee cute pie on the plate with the pretty salad... no dice. Dave and I both found them really tasty, though, so even if you don't mind sharing eating from the tin, go forth.

Lentils are nice. They boiled away happily as I fought with the phyllo dough. Let me tell you... don't get phyllo from Wegmans, get it from Whole Foods. (I can't vouch for anywhere else.) I thank the cooking spirits that my first phyllo experience was flawless, because tonight... omg... If tonight had been my first night, I'd've never gone back. The sheets were all stuck together... which just lead to more tearing... bleh. Nightmare.

I even want to liken tonight to sports. When the super kick-ass team is playing the crappiest... and they walk in all puffed up, like its in the bag.... and then they lose. I thought I had this. Goat cheese, awesome. New lentil experience, check. Phyllo, rockin... 'cept... not so much. In the end, I just buttered and stuck broken sheets together... cause, really, what CAN'T butter fix?


Lentil and Goats Cheese Tarts
From “Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry” by Donna Hay

150 g (5 oz) du puy lentils
6 sheets phyllo pastry
50 g (1 ½ oz) butter, melted
500 g (1 lb) ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1 ½ cups (12 fl oz) milk
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
cracked black pepper and sea salt
180 g (6 oz) goat’s cheese, sliced ▪

Place the lentils in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 160° C (325° F). Cut the pastry sheets in half to make squares. Lightly brush the pastry squares with the butter and make piles of 3 sheets each. Line 6 greased 1 cup (8 fl oz) capacity dishes (or large muffin tin) with the pastry, folding to fit the edges in the dishes.

To make the filling, mix the ricotta, eggs and milk in a food processor until smooth. Place in a bowl and stir through the cooked lentils, parsley, pepper and salt.

Pour the mixture into the pastry shells and top with the goat’s cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is set. Serve warm.

Serves 4.

▪ You can also use blue cheese or aged cheddar.

See the recipe...