Eagles, Dragons, Lovers, and Motorcycle parts. Bike Week '11

Leftover Creamed Spinach and Blue Cheese Frittata

It is pretty rare when I don't have somewhere to be in the morning. I absolutely love breakfast/brunch, but my morning routine usually consists of grabbing a granola bar or yogurt and hitting the road. Today, however, I had zero morning obligations and decided I would make something special for myself. Frittatas are SO easy. They are basically a giant omelette that you finish cooking under the broiler in your oven. And they taste good with any number/combination of ingredients. Any veggies or cheeses or meats that you would enjoy in an omelette, you will also enjoy in a frittata. At my house we try really, really hard not to waste food, so we are major leftover eaters. I made some creamed spinach the other evening that we didn't finish so that is how it ended up in my frittata breakfast this morning. I added some blue cheese before I stuck it under the broiler and JEEEZ, it came out pretty delicious.

Mmm, Pie

Fruit pies are so delicious, and I don't really feel guilty eating them because they are mostly made of fruit. The crust, however, is a whole different story. I got this recipe off of smittenkitchen.com, and the basis of its appeal was not only that it was an apple & plum combo (YUM), but also that it was a single crust pie (no bottom crust). Now, I know what you're thinking, "the crust is the best part of a pie..." But I'm telling you, you will not miss the bottom crust because the top layer of crust is SO delicious. It tastes like a buttery, sugar cookie. Yikes, so good!

Things to keep in mind when making this pie:

a) You WILL make a mess and get flour all over yourself

b) Your dough WILL stick to you rolling pin if not refrigerated long enough.

Happened to me twice! Beginner's luck

Behold, The Carnival Squash

I received this beauty in my bi-weekly produce delivery; I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to purchase something so exotic looking on my own. For the past week I considered keeping the squash as a part of my home's autumn decor, as it did make a fine napkin/paper weight on my kitchen table. But yesterday evening I mustered up the courage to cook this thing, basically because I found a fantastic recipe for it on my favorite food blog, smittenkitchen.com.

Here are the photos, as proof that I did dissect this dinosaur egg-ish looking thing, yielding a rather tastey product, something like that of a sweet potato drizzled with a spicy & tangy vinaigrette.

"Carnival Squash with a chile-lime-cilantro Vinaigrette"

The first bite...

Does he like it?

Still debating, maybe another bite...

"Ok, STOP taking pictures of me and sit down and eat".

Special Thanks to Nick Collins for his homegrown chile pepper that went into making this dish