Hakuna Matata Apple-Onion Frittata

When I wake up on Saturdays--particularly during the winter--without a brunch plan in mind, I get a little depressed. Before I even grind beans for my french press coffee, I pull on a hoodie and some thick wool or cashmere socks, and pad into the kitchen doggedly determined to whip up something tasty, plan or no plan.

On this particular Saturday, things weren't looking good. I had apples, onions, eggs, various cheeses, and bacon--and pantry essentials, like flour--but I wasn't in the mood for ANOTHER set of pancakes with maple syrup. I ran through the other options quickly in my mind--popovers with sauteed apples, caramelized bacon (again??), an omelette (boring), or perhaps some eggs in purgatory--but I wanted something special. I also knew that I could do a frittata, but I've never been fond of the frittatas that I've had in restaurants. They tasted like quiche, sadly separated from their buttery crust, and seemed to overcompensate with butter and too much cheese.

I grumpily narrowed down our options. "Frittata or pancakes?," I hollered at Chris, still underenthused. "Frittata!" was the answer from the living room couch, where Chris was ensconced in multiple blankets, eyes and hands peeking out for the purpose of internet perusing. I sighingly turned to my trusty Bittman cookbook, flipped to the frittata section, and was immediately hooked. Sauteed apples and onions? In a frittata? With bacon? With that mix of fillings, I knew I wouldn't miss the pastry crust.


Now that I've made my first frittata, I've come to love how versatile they are--as long as you follow the general formula of 5-6 eggs for every 1-2 cups of filling, you should be golden. I prefer my frittatas with cheese in the filling as well as on top (parmigiano or gruyere to grate for the filling, and then another cheese to grate or scatter over), and with some sort of breakfast meat in the filling (bacon, ham, canadian bacon). If you fill your frittata with veggies, keep an easy hand with the cheese, and use some egg whites, you can easily make it light, as well.

Sweet Apple-Onion Frittata with Bacon and Goat Cheese (serves 4 or more as part of a larger breakfast spread, or 3 alone)

Ingredients
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 sweet onion, or 1 one regular onion with 1-2 tsp sugar, sliced very thinly
Bacon, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup, chopped, optional
Goat cheese, 2-4 ounces (or gruyere, if preferred)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano or other cheese
5-6 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp butter or olive oil, if not using bacon, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Saute the bacon in a large, preferably nonstick skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan onto a plate lined with paper towels. Drain off all but 1-2 tbsp of the fat (if not using bacon, heat the butter or olive oil in the pan at this point), and keep it over medium heat.

3. Add the onions to the pan, and saute until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the apples and continue cooking til tender, about another 3-4 minutes. Take the pan off the heat to cool slightly.

4. Beat together the eggs, parmigiano, salt, and pepper. Once the apple-onion filling has cooled slightly, add the filling to the beaten eggs along with the bacon, mixing gently. Return the pan to medium-low heat, and pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata is firm.

5. Scatter the goat cheese (or whatever cheese your prefer) over the frittata.

6. Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake, checking every 5 minutes or so, just until the top of the frittata is no longer runny, 10-20 minutes more. Served hot or at room temperature.

Spicy Orange Margaritas

Hello, dear friends. It's been a very long time since I last blogged, I know--life was crazy with graduate school applications and general post-wedding madness. But now I'm back, and armed with creations whipped together during the DC Snowmageddon. I've got a yummy frittata and wild blueberry pancakes with homemade maple-blueberry jam to share--and later, 16-hour slow-cooked carnitas--but first, *alcohol*!


It being so cold and all, I began craving a winter cocktail that would help me imagine myself on a beach somewhere, toes buried in delicate white sand, and also be somehow seasonally appropriate. I think this spicy orange margarita is a perfect blend of seasonality and tropicality--the heat from the chilis makes it tough enough to combat the winter doldrums, while the orange and tequila put me squarely in the vacation mindset. It doesn't hurt that oranges and tangerines are in season in the dead of winter! The first time that I made these, I used slightly underripe tangerines from my parents' tree--the intense sourness was a nice counterpart to the chili heat. Since then, however, I've made them with regular OJ, with no complaints.

The best part of this drink is that it is so easy to make, and to make it bulk for a winter dinner party. All you need is regular tequila; tangerines, tangelos, oranges, or orange/tangerine juice; cointreau or triple sec; limes; and chilies to add heat. Oh, and at least a few hours to let the chilies steep in the tequila.

This recipe was inspired by the Spicy Margarita served at La Sandia restaurant in Tysons Corner, VA.

Ingredients
Tequila
Cointreau or Triple Sec
Citrus fruits (tangerines, oranges, tangelos--slightly underripe is okay) or tangerine/orange juice
Limes (I use regular, but I can imagine key limes being very tasty here as well)
Chilies (My favorites are serranos and habaneros, but jalapenos work in a pinch)

1. Steep 2-3 chilis, chopped crosswise, in 1-2 cups of tequila. There is no need to be precise here! Let the tequila steep for awhile, preferably for at least a few hours or overnight. The tequila keeps in the fridge for at least a few weeks--I'm still using tequila that was steeped 3 weeks ago.

2. Mix the chili tequila (without the chilies it was steeped with) with the Cointreau or Triple Sec and lime juice, in the approximate ratio: for one margarita, 1.5 oz tequila, .5 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec, and the juice of half a lime (perhaps a little less if the lime is very juicy. We don't get very juicy limes in DC). If I'm making just one or two servings, I mix right in the glass, since the tequila is already chilled anyway. For more servings, mix in a martini shaker or in a pitcher. If you like salt with your margaritas--I stay away from it because of the sodium content--wet the lip of your glass with water and use a saucer covered in salt to salt the rim.

3. Add ice to your liking, and garnish with a chili cross-section if desired.

Kicked-Up Paprikash

Let's be honest here--I cook not only to feed myself, but because I love hearing the compliments of my friends and family when I cook for them (humility be darned). My number-one customer, of course, is my husband--so when he demands that I post a recipe to the blog because he loves it so much, I listen.

Paprikash, while a visually striking dish, is not exactly the most photogenic. The color of the sauce--bright red-orange--is pretty one-note, and the yogurt in the sauce adds a sheen that doesn't show well on camera. The buttered caraway noodles look oddly plain, and the chunks of tender meat are hidden by that five-alarm sauce. But the flavor--kicked up by at LEAST a quarter-cup of Hungarian spicy paprika (I had to journey all the way to Budapest to buy big bags of it, but you can certainly find large portion-sizes at gourmet food stores), red bell pepper, and plain greek yogurt--is unique and soul-satisfying in the way only stews with noodles can be. If you're a ghoulash-lover, or a fan of rich beef stews chock-full of root veggies, this one's for you.


My doctor-ed up recipe includes much more paprika, and I swapped out chicken for pork in this version, since I was in a traditionalist mood. So traditionalist, even, that we had this with a bottle of that classic Hungarian wine, Egri Bikaver. Like most stews, Paprikash tastes even better on the days after which it's made, so save some for a ridiculously satisfying midday meal.

Serve the paprikash with buttered caraway noodles: simply toss al-dente cooked egg noodles with a couple tablespoons of salted butter and a generous sprinkling of caraway seeds. If you don't have salted butter, use unsalted and add salt to taste.

Pork Paprikash
Adapted--quite freely--from Cooking Light

1 tbsp oil
1-2 lbs pork (use a style good for stewing, like pork shoulder or boneless country-style ribs) or chicken tenders, cut into chunks
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
minced garlic, to taste (I also threw in several cloves of smashed garlic--not very traditional, though)
1/4-1/2 cup whipping cream, 2% fat plain greek yogurt, or sour cream, depending on how you're feeling
4 tbsp (if you're a newbie) to 1/2 cup Hungarian spicy paprika
1 tbsp tomato paste (get the kind in a tube, next to the pasta at the grocery)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pork or chicken; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan, and keep warm.

Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Return meat to pan. Stir in your choice of dairy and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer minutes or until meat is done and sauce is slightly thick. If you are using pork, you may wish to simmer the sauce for 20-30 minutes more to get a more tender texture.

Caramel Saturday

Today was my first sleepy Saturday in months. This summer has been incredibly hectic--that whole getting married thing, and then 2 months of constant essay-writing for business school...


But--thank goodness--I've got three essays left and more than a month to write them--which just in itself was reason enough to treat ourselves on this cloudy, humid, drizzly August DC morning. And nothing screams "decadent" to me like a meal composed entirely out of caramelized breakfast treats...


In the usual Kari style, I forgot to check whether the camera battery was charged until after the puffed pancake you see was already out of the oven (and de-puffing itself quite quickly), so I'll have to content myself with these partially-eaten photos...


I'm pretty sure this isn't one of Chris's favorite breakfasts in the world, but it certainly is mine. A custardy, caramelized, cinnamon-and-clove scented puffed Dutch apple pancake, made with a simple caramel glaze that comes together in seconds on the stovetop and results in a two-layer treat: the first crispy, buttery, and eggy; the lower layer soaked in a heady brown-sugar sauce that clings stubbornly to even the best of nonstick pans...


And the bacon, crusted in dark brown sugar, cayenne, and cinnamon, tossed easily into a hot oven until the glaze bubbles and covers every portion of the cured meat's surface, turning the humble breakfast meat into something resembling a savory lolly...

And best yet, this breakfast is the kind made for puttering about while enjoying a cup of steaming french press and listening to the rumbles of thunder outside. These aren't fussy dishes that require precise measurement or constant attention to the stove, which is great for cooks like me who don't wake up fully until they've eaten something substantial. You *could* make this dish healthier by cutting down on the butter, or substituting Egg Beaters, or using center-cut bacon instead of the good, thick-cut stuff...

But what would be the fun in that?

Puffed Apple Pancake--serves 4-6, unless you are Chris and Kari in which case it serves 2, generously
Adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook

2 Jazz apples (or McIntosh or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or OJ in a pinch
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar (just eyeball it)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (eyeball)
1/8 tsp ground cloves (eyeball)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 whole milk (or, if you're like me, mix together some nonfat milk and half-and-half)
3 large eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (no need to weigh it)
Scant 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Optional garnish: confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 425
Toss apples with lemon juice (or OJ), brown sugar, 3 tbsp granulated sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl.
Heat 1.5 tbsp butter in an ovenproof nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer apples and any liquid to the bowl you originally used for the apple-soaking.
Heat the cleaned skillet in the oven for 5 minutes. Combine milk, eggs, flour, remaining 1 tbsp granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk/blend until smooth (Gourmet says to use a blender--but seriously?!)
Remove skillet from oven. Melt remaining 1.5 tbsp butter in a skillet over moderately high heat, then pour batter into skillet. Spoon apple mixture evenly over top. Bake pancake until puffed and golden, about 17 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired (I don't think it's necessary).

Caramelized Bacon--if using center cut, count on 4 slices per person; 3 slices for thick-cut
Bacon
Dark Brown Sugar (or Light Brown, if you must)
Cinnamon
Cayenne
Freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to somewhere between 425 and 450 (you'll just have to watch the bacon more closely at 450). Lay the bacon slices on a foiled cookie sheet, and dust heavily with the sugar, then sprinkle with cinnamon, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. Turn the bacon slices over, and repeat. Slide the cookie sheet into the oven, cook for 5-7 minutes, and then turn over and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving so that the brown sugar can harden into a nice, chewy, caramel coating.

Chris's Favorite Pasta #9

Chris and I first had this pasta at our friend Peter's dinner party (along with an incredible beef tenderloin, German chocolate cake, and multiple other delicacies!), and it's quickly entered our regular weekly rotation. The recipe, Scallop Sauce with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Hot Pepper from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, is a quick and remarkably delicious dish. Chris doesn't like scallops much, so we substituted frozen shrimp (try the Medium Contessa variety, uncooked, peeled, and deveined), with excellent results. Per usual, we quadrupled the amount of garlic in the dish and ramped up the spice factor. If you love parmesan, garlic, spice, and seafood, this is a pasta dish you definitely need to try!

I would recommend a chilled California or Australian chardonnay with this dish, unoaked if possible. Sauvignon Blanc would be another great option, as would my great Austrian favorite, Gruner Veltliner. Chris and I had this with Jacob's Creek Chardonnay a week ago, and it was a great match.

PS: if you use scallops, use the smallest ones you can find, and preferably ones that haven't been frozen. If you use bay scallops, cut them into pieces as small as the nail on your little finger.


1 pound fresh bay or deep sea scallops or shrimp
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp garlic chopped very fine (or more, if you're a garlic-lover)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Chopped hot chili pepper, to taste (we love using 8-9 serranos, or a bunch of Thai birds-eye chilis)
Salt
1 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta (spaghettini, or thin spaghetti, is the best choice here)
1/2 cup dry, unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted in the oven or in a skillet

1. Wash the scallops in cold water, pat thoroughly with a cloth towel, and cut up into pieces about 3/8 inch thick (or follow the instructions on the package of frozen shrimp)

2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the garlic colors a light gold. Add the parsley and hot pepper. Stir once or twice, then add the scallops/shrimp and one or two large pinches of salt. Turn the heat up to high, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the scallops/shrimp lose their shine and turn a flat white/pink. Do not overcook the scallops/shrimp or they will become tough. Taste and correct for salt and hot pepper. If the scallops shed a lot of liquid, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, and boil down the watery liquid. Return the scallops/shrimp to the pan, turn them over quickly, then turn off the heat.

3. Toss thoroughly with cooked drained spaghettini, add the bread crumbs, toss again, and serve at once!

Asian Cold-Eze

This recipe for Chicken Soup with Jasmine Rice and Ginger, from Food and Wine: an Entire Year of Recipes 2006, is the perfect remedy for anything that ails you. Chris recently came down with a case of the stomach flu, and he was able to keep this down better than saltines! The chicken broth and rice provide low-stress nourishment, and the ginger helps alleviate any nausea. The recipe requires very little work or prep--just a bit of time on the stove.

Don't be scared of the fish sauce--it may stink a bit, but you won't notice it (in a bad way!) in the broth. The Three Crabs brand is fantastic, and can be had at any asian or international grocery.

Instead of poaching individual chicken breasts, I prefer to just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat. If you'd prefer to prepare the meat yourself, take 1-2 chicken breasts and poach them in a bit of water or broth, then let them cool and shred the meat.





4 servings

1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp jasmine rice, rinsed if necessary
4 cups water
One 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled (you can do this easily with the edge of a spoon)
3 cups of chicken stock, preferably low-sodium and organic
1 tbsp Asian fish sauce
Pinch each salt and sugar
1/2-1 cup shredded cooked chicken
2 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise
2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the rice with the water. Bring the rice to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender and porridge-like, about 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut the piece of peeled ginger into matchsticks: thinly slice the ginger crosswise into coins, then stack the slices. Cut the slices lengthwise into thin slivers.

3. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, salt and sugar to the rice, bring the soup to a simmer and continue cooking over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in half of the ginger slivers and simmer the soup for 10 minutes longer.

4. Ladle the chicken soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the shredded chicken, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, and the remaining slivered ginger. Serve at once.

Make ahead: The recipe can be made through Step 3 and refrigerated overnight. When reheating the soup, add extra stock to adjust the consistency.

So Good We Forgot to Take a Picture

I know that one of my culinary adventures has been successful when Chris insists that I post it to the blog immediately, "so we don't forget about the recipe." For all of you who know Chris, you also know that this level of culinary dedication is totally out of the ordinary--so this recipe must be damn good. So damn good that we completely forgot to take a picture!!

Chris and I were ravenous when I made this Tagliatelle with Chestnuts, Pancetta, and Sage--from a 2005 issue of Gourmet--and it turned out even better than I could have hoped for. Yes, the chestnuts were remarkably expensive at the grocery store (11.99 a jar--I probably shouldn't have bought them right before Thanksgiving, when the price was probably jacked up), but the pasta honestly tasted like a 50-dollar creation. The combination of the sage and chestnuts creates a crumbly, heady sauce that enrobes every delicate strand of egg pasta. As usual, we didn't have pancetta on hand, so I subbed bacon, which was completely fine. I used all the sage that I had on hand, and it didn't overwhelm the other flavors one bit.

Beverage Note: Chris and I had a bottle of wine with this dish (per usual), but I honestly can't remember what the varietal was. The pasta blew my memory of the vino to bits. Yes, this pasta is that good--just try it!!!

Serves 3-4

3 ounces pancetta (Italian unsmoked cured bacon), chopped (scant 1 cup)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage (I used an entire package of sage. It was worth it)
8 ounces bottled peeled roasted whole chestnuts, coarsely crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
8 ounces dried flat egg pasta such as tagliatelle or fettuccine
2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook pancetta in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and 1 tablespoon sage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in chestnuts and remove from heat.

Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander and add to pancetta mixture in skillet. Add 1 cup reserved cooking water along with cheese and butter and cook, tossing constantly, over high heat until pasta is well coated (add more reserved water if necessary), about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve sprinkled with parsley and remaining tablespoon sage.