Frittata

A Frittata. OK, so I have never heard of one until I watched a movie on Netflix one Saturday evening while Eric was at work and I was bored. In the movie, a tv news anchor (Harrison Ford, who was a egotistical jerk thru most of the movie), made Frittatas for himself, but refused to make one for a cooking segment to help ratings on the newscast. It was a fun movie over all, but if it was the only thing I knew Harrison Ford from, I would detest the man. But I digress.
So a Frittata is an egg based dish much like an omelette or quiche. It is enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, veggies and herbs, and also things like pasta or potatoes. Where an omelette is cooked and then ingredients folded inside, a frittata has the ingredients mixed through and the egg is baked around them. Generally, it is cooked partially on the stove top, to set the mixture, and then turned and baked in the oven to finish cooking things through. This is traditionally done in a cast iron skillet, which can be put directly in the oven after flipping.
I have a cast iron skillet, but I have never seasoned it (it was used, from a family member, but I do not know when it was last used/seasoned). That being said, i did not use it for the frittata, instead i used a plain old skillet and then transferred to a casserole dish
Let me tell you what I did. I peeled and diced one baking potato. I probably had about 1 1/2 C of diced potato pieces. I boiled them with butter and pepper til tender but not overly soft. In a small mixing bowl I combined bacon crumbles, corn, minced red onion, dried sweet basil, & dried parsely. In a measuring cup I whisked together two eggs. Once the potatoes were cooked, I put my skillet on the hot burner and put first the egg and then the bowl of ingredients, and finally I scooped the cooked potatoes in, using a slotted spoon, but I was not overly careful about draining the potatos. I mixed things around in the skillet and let it cook for just a bit, maybe 2 or 3 min. Then I transferred it to a greased casserole dish, topped it with shredded cheddar cheese, and baked it for about 8 min, til the cheese was melted and bubbly.
I will say it was very tasty, and I will be trying it again sometime. However, I made a few miscalculations.

1.) My chunks of potatoes were too big. Next time, they need to be MUCH smaller. Think 1/4" or so.
2.) Not enough egg for the other ingredients. I reduced a much larger recipe to make just enough for me, and obviously, I was not careful enough. I had too much potato and not enough egg.
3.) The recipe I was following called for the cheese on top. Next time I would mix the cheese throughout.
4.) I was too skimpy on the spices. It definitely needed some good old salt. I am not a salt person, so I tend to skimp on that, and this needed at least some.

Overall though, this recipe is extremely easy, and could be made any number of ways. It is worth an experiment, just use what you have on hand and run with it. I really doubt you could screw it up. Add what sounds good, and it probably will be good.
If I do this again, as I hope to, I will post a better recipe. What I am posting tonight is what I actually did, and as I mentioned, there are several areas for improvement.

~Kristina

Basic Frittata
2 eggs, beaten
1 potato, diced
2 TB bacon crumbles
2 TB minced onion
1/2 C frozen corn, thawed
1/2 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar
1 tsp Dried Sweet Basil
1 tsp Dried Parsley
1 TB butter
Black Pepper

Boil potatoes with butter and pepper til tender. Put whisked eggs in skillet over low heat. Add all other ingredients, stir slightly. Let cook for 2-5 min, til bottom is set. Transfer to casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake @350 for 5-10 min, or until cheese is bubbly.