Feta and Ricotta Cheese Skillet Pie

This dish is simple, fast and delicious. Add a salad or a bowl of soup and you've got a quick weeknight meal. I've made it several times now, but I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. The dish is handsome enough for company, especially if you have a cast iron skillet, which I don't. I think it is pretty enough for company even if you cook it in a plain dish. I usually cook it in a skillet that I can put in my oven. It is also high in protein, thanks to cheeses and eggs. It's so fast that you literally have to wait for your oven to warm up. It's also quite forgiving about the quantities. When I made it yesterday, I only had about 1/2 pound feta, and 2/3 pound ricotta, so I just used fewer eggs to get a consistency I thought would work.

Let's Get Started

Preheat the oven to 375º. Butter a 10" cast iron skillet or an earthenware baking dish.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 pound feta cheese and 1 pound ricotta cheese. You want some chunks left, so don't mix for too long. Stir in 4-6 eggs. Then add 1/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup milk. Season with salt and pepper, and 1 T. chopped dill.

Pour the batter into the buttered pan or dish. Crumble 1/4 pound feta over the top. Bake until golden, 35-40 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Mushroom lovers rejoice

Tonight I made a recipe that I made a long time ago and it was fabulous again. This was a "what do I have in the fridge?" night and what I came up with was the sauteed mushrooms over croutons with an egg recipe that can be found here. This time I followed the instructions and left the egg to cook in the 400º oven for exactly 15 minutes. It was perfect. I served it with brussels sprouts and pistachios cooked in garlic butter. (I have George addicted to these now!)

I also tried making it in 2 oven-proof bowls this time, which cut down on dishes and the recipe was perfect for 2 people.

The combination of mushrooms, rosemary, red wine, croutons, and eggs is simply inspired. This dish is fast and easy and super tasty. A must try. I need to memorize this one so I can pull it together quickly any old time.

Scrambled Eggs in a Tortilla

Here's a super fast and easy supper! This is one of those things to fix on a night when your refrigerator looks a little bare. I love having eggs for supper, but as vegetarians, we have to be careful about how many eggs we eat in a week. This is still a quick hit of protein and ready in about 5 minutes - if you have sauces already made.

The recipe recommends serving this with salsa cruda with avacados (pico de gallo with chopped avocado added) and with Salsa Ranchera. I didn't have home made versions of these on hand, so I just used some salsa and green sauce I had in my refrigerator. I've made both home made sauces and they are delicious, so if you've got time to make them, they are both wonderful.

Basically, you just scramble 6 - 8 eggs in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of water to make them fluffy. Melt 3 T. butter in a wide pan. When foaming, add the eggs and let them cook to your liking. Toward the end add a handful of feta cheese and some cilantro. (You could also use goat cheese or jack cheese.) While the eggs are cooking, warm 4 flour tortillas in a pan and wrap them in a towel to keep them warm.

Divide the eggs among the tortillas, wrap them up like a breakfast burrito, and serve. If you make ranchero sauce, you can smother it over the outside of the tortilla and top with more cheese.

I served this with hash browns (grate half a yukon gold potato per person into hot oil, season, and let it brown without moving it. When brown, flip the whole thing over and cook the other side. Cover with a lid to steam the potatoes.) I started this before starting the eggs and they were all done at the same time. I put some of the potatoes in the tortilla with my eggs and sauce.

Things I'd do differently next time: The quantities above serve 4 people. I used 3 eggs, which we divided between 3 smallish tortillas. I think next time, I'd make 4 eggs for the 2 of us and stuff our tortillas a little fuller.

Approximate cost to prepare:

6 eggs - $1.50

handful of feta - $.50

handful of cilantro - $.25

4 tortillas - $1.50

3 T. butter - negligible

Salsas - depends

TOTAL - $3.75 + sauce

Zucchini Skillet Cakes

I made these when the first zucchini showed up in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box. Now I have zucchini coming fast and furious from the garden, so I'm trying them again. There's zucchini bread in the oven right now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

The first time I made these it was with cute little tiny zucchini, but this time I'm using one of the giant, monster zucchini from my garden. This worked really well and is a great way to use the big zucchini. The capers and pine nuts in these give them a nice tang, and the fresh herbs provide a clean, summery aroma. You can serve these with cherry tomatoes on top, or with ranch dressing. This time I used some of the mustard cream left from another recipe, and it was a perfect match. We ended up with 3 leftover cakes, so I'm going to try freezing some. I think they'll make excellent "veggie burgers". I'll let you know.

You start by grating 4 cups zucchini (about 2 pounds). Sprinkle it with 2 teaspoons salt and set it aside in a colander to drain while you get everything else ready.

Beat 2 eggs in a large bowl. Add in 3 T. snipped chives, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1/2 cup parsley, 3 T. chopped marjoram, and the grated zest of 1 lemon. Toast 1/2 cup pine nuts and set aside to cool. Rinse 1/4 cup capers and set aside to dry a little. Rinse the zucchini that you left draining in the colander, and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Toss the zucchini with the egg mixture. Stir in 1 cup dried bread crumbs, the pine nuts, and the capers. Season with salt and pepper.

Film 2 large skillets with olive oil. When hot, fry a little dab of the mixture to see if the seasonings are right. Scoop 1/2 cup of the batter into the hot pan and fry on both sides until golden.

A rice pilaf or a quinoa dish would go well with this. Tonight we had it with Curried Couscous Salad and it was terrific.

Chard and Onion Torta

This is an extremely tasty dish and not too difficult to make. It does have to bake for 30 minutes, but the prep time is about half an hour and then you can relax. The saffron in this dish really adds a lot of flavor. This is a great way to use the chard that is in season right now.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 and buttering a baking dish. Cut the crusts off 2 slices of bread and put the bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Press the crumbs into the buttered dish to make a crust for the torta. Set aside any extra crumbs.

Heat 2 T. butter in a skillet and add 1 large, thinly sliced onion. Crumble 2 pinches of saffrom threads over the onion. Cook until onion is very soft, about 15 minutes. Add a little water or wine to the pan to keep it from crisping, if needed.

Add 1/4 cup slivered basil leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves (or 2 pinches dried thyme), and 2 big bunches of chard leaves that have been separated from the stems and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook until the chard has wilted and is tender, about 7 minutes. While that's cooking, smash 2 garlic cloves in a mortar with a pinch of salt to make a paste. Add the garlic and some salt and pepper to taste to the onions and greens. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in any extra bread crumbs. Add 1 cup grated gruyere cheese, 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan, 3 lightly beaten eggs, and 1 cup milk or light cream. Stir until just combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared dish, grate a little extra parmesan over the top, and bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Poke a knife in the top to make sure the eggs are set. Let rest a couple minutes before serving.

Approximate cost to prepare:

2 slices bread - $.60

1 large onion - $.40

1/4 cup slivered basil - $.50 (?)

2 bunches chard - $5.00

2 garlic cloves - $.40

1 cup gruyere - $2.00

1/4 cup parmesan - $.25

3 eggs - $1.50

1 cup milk - $.50

saffron - ??

mint, garlic, salt, oil - negligible

TOTAL - $11.00 for 4-6 people

Good potluck dish.

Potato Skillet Pie

This potato skillet pie is kind of a cross between mashed potatoes and a frittata. It's fast and easy to prepare, though it needs 45 minutes in the oven and 10 minutes to cool before serving. It's much prettier than I expected it would be for such a simple dish. This would be great to take to a potluck.

It is also yummy. We ate less than half of it in the first sitting and we enjoyed the leftovers for the next few days. It was even good for breakfast. It's a great dish to make on a winter evening (or a cold, rainy spring evening) when all you can find in your pantry is some potatoes, some eggs, some onions, and some butter. You could even do without the onions.

There are several variations suggested, and I chose to top mine with caramelized onions. You could also saute some artichokes and cook them in with the potato mixture. You could add any kind of cheese you like, or chop up some green garlic, simmer in a little water, and then add to the potato mixture before baking.

Begin by preheating the oven to 375. Put an oven-proof skillet (such as cast iron) in the oven with 1 tablespoon of butter until melted. Slosh it around the pan, then scatter 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese over it to make a crust for the potatoes. (Bread crumbs would work instead of the parmesan.) Peel and cut 2 pounds of yukon gold potatoes into chunks. Put them in a big pan, cover with cold water, add a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are soft - about 20 minutes.

While they're cooking, finely chop a couple cloves of garlic with 1/2 t. salt until a paste forms. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, add the garlic paste and 3 T. butter and mash the potatoes. Taste for salt and pepper, making sure the potatoes are highly seasoned. Stir in 4 eggs (lightly beaten), and 3 T. chopped sage. (I used dried sage, so I cut it back to 2 teaspoons or so.) When nicely mixed, transfer the whole mass to the skillet, smooth the top, and bake until golden - about 45 minutes. The edges should be dry and pulling away from the pan. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes or so. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and unmold onto a plate.

While it is cooking, you can chop 3-4 onions and fry them in some butter. Ten minutes should be enough time, but if you keep cooking them over low heat, they'll just get more and more sweet. I added a little sage to mine. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over the potato pie. I garnished with chopped parsley, which was a fresh and festive addition.

Things I'd do differently next time: I'd like to experiment with this one some more. I like the idea of the green garlic, if I can find it at the farmers market.

I didn't know an egg could do that (Sauteed Mushrooms & Croutons)

January 15, 2010

Well, I finally had a mini-disaster. This wouldn't be any fun without something going wrong, right?

Last night I made Baked Eggs Over Sauteed Mushrooms and Croutons, which was absolutely delicious, but I screwed up the eggs. Now, I really want to make this again to get the eggs right. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I can't seem to get the camera ready at the same time as the dish coming out of the oven. Maybe I should put George in charge of that.

So, here's the basic recipe. It serves 2 but can be multiplied for serving more people.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil or butter small dish that can go in the oven. I made this all in one dish, but next time, I'm going to try putting it in individual bowls that can go in the oven. Cut 2 slices of bread into cubes. Melt 1 T. butter over low heat and toss bread cubes in butter. Let brown (8 minutes or so.) Put croutons in oiled dish (or dishes). While the bread is browning, chop 2 small or 1 large shallots, 1 T. parsley, 2 t. rosemary, and half a pound of crimini mushrooms. Melt another tablespoon of butter and 1 T. of oil in the same pan. Saute the shallots for a couple minutes, then add the mushrooms and herbs and saute until mushrooms start to brown. Add 2 t. tomato paste and 3/4 cup red wine. Simmer until only a couple teaspoons of liquid remain. Put sauteed mushrooms in with croutons and mix a little. Break an egg or 2 over each dish and bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Here's where I went wrong. After 15 minutes, it looked like the whites weren't cooked, so I turned the oven to broil to finish cooking the eggs. The eggs got this hard skin on top that resembled plastic and was inedible. The yolks were beyond hard boiled, but the whites were still edible. What I thought was uncooked egg white was just too thin to turn white. Since the egg white goes down into the nooks and crannies, some of it is just very thin over the croutons and mushrooms.

Anyway, it was SUPER yummy. The rosemary made the whole house smell wonderful. Despite the egg problem, George said this was his favorite dish so far. I could just imagine how this dish would taste if it had the addition of egg yolks running into the bread and mushrooms. It seems like it would work just as well and be faster to just fry a couple eggs and put them on top of the mushrooms and croutons, but it wouldn't be as pretty as the sunny-side-up eggs. I don't think this would make good leftovers, so plan for about a slice of bread, 1/4 pound of mushroom, and one egg per person. Along with a salad and a hearty red wine, this is a fairly quick and easy weeknight dinner. I would definitely make this for guests because it is just so incredibly tasty.

This meal still took me an hour to prepare, including making the salad and setting the table. I think you could probably make the dish itself in about 40 minutes, including the 15 minutes of baking time. Maybe even faster. I made a spinach, endive, red cabbage, goat cheese and pecan salad with a dijon vinaigrette, which stood up nicely to the hearty mushroom dish. The recommended wine was a "working man's red", so I just pulled something out of the wine pantry - a nice spicy zin. Of course, this is the wine I used in the dish, too.

What I'd do differently if I made this again:
- Bake for exactly 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven and just trust that it would all work out.
- Use separate serving dishes for each person

Approximate cost:
- 2 slices of bread (the good stuff from the local bakery) - .50
- 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms - $3.00
- herbs - $.20
- 2 eggs - .50
- 3/4 cup wine - $2.50
- shallot - .30
TOTAL without wine - $7.00 for 2 people

You've got to try this one!