Tuesday, August 08, 2006

A Simple Summer Meal

Ah, the wonderful things that can be done with eggs! Last night's dinner was an absolute delight. We had potato & fontina frittata, steamed asparagus and bibb & Boston lettuces with garlic butter dressing. Dessert was the whimsically-named raspberry flummery, which somehow manages to taste like cobbler even though there is no dough.

Potato & Fontina Frittata
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
3/4 lb. fingerling potatoes (since the store was out, I used tiny Yukon Golds)
Salt & pepper
1/4 c. chopped herbs (I used a couple pinches of dried herbes de Provence & it worked out fine)
10 eggs, beaten
8 oz. grated or thinly-sliced Fontina

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil & butter in well-seasoned 10" cast iron skillet. Add potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook about 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add herbs. Season eggs with salt & pepper. Add cheese to skillet, then pour eggs over everything. Stir until the eggs start to set slightly. Cook until set on sides and bottom. Put in oven and bake until completely set, about 13 minutes. Cut in wedges to serve. This would be espcially nice with a dollop of sour cream & a sprig of a fresh herb on top.

Garlic Butter Dressing
1/2 stick butter
1 clove garlic, halved
4 tsp. lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Melt butter & cook garlic golden in the butter. Remove from heat & remove garlic. Add the other ingredients, swirling to mix. If you like to eat garlic, though, mince the clove rather than halving it & leave it in. It's yummy that way. Toss this with lettuces and serve pronto.

Raspberry Flummery
3 c. raspberries
3/4 c. cold water
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cornstarch

Cook berries & water, covered, on med-high about 5 minutes, until berries are tender. Mix the other ingredients together. Slowly add to berries. If you don't do this just a smidge at a time, you will end up with nasty clumps. Cook on low until thickened, about 7 minutes. Chill before serving.

We liked this dinner so much, when my Beloved came home for lunch today, we ate it again.



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