How Do I Love Thee?... Dozens of Ways

There is something so elemental about eggs. The shape is so pleasing to the eye, especially when there are three or more eggs together. Put a dozen, especially a dozen beautiful multi-colored eggs collected by the generous Elise, in a basket and you have a thing of beauty.

Each of those eggs could have a quality written on them to extol the virtues of someone dear: generous, kind, thoughtful, observant, patient, humorous, joyful, handsome or beautiful (or both), silly, sensous, and best of all, loving. Maybe we should decorate eggs for our Valentine with those things, or 'be mine' instead of using candy or saving the eggs for Easter.

Guess that won't happen, but there are still 12 eggs to be used for something delicious. How about a frittata? Something rustic and savory and full of robust flavors would be great for my Sweetie. My Big Fat Greek Frittata from Perfect Recipes for Having People Over was such a hit that I barely was able to take the photos before it was all gone.

Below you'll find the original version and the additions that I made. I did also delete the ham, but made up for that by adding bacon. As you can see in the photo, the vegetables are all at the top (which was the bottom of the pan) so they really were cooked both on the stovetop and in the oven. Next time I might mix them up with the egg mixture so that more egg is on the bottom of the pan. The fragrance of all those yummy ingredients was out of this world and it was rich in flavors. Go ahead, break some eggs!

My Big Fat Greek Frittata

12 large eggs
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 package (10 oz.) frozen leaf spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and chopped
6 oz. ham, cut into small dice

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.
1n a large bowl, whisk eggs, cheeses, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste).
Heat oil and garlic in a large (12-inch) ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until garlic starts to sizzle and turn golden. Add spinach and cook until excess moisture evaporates, about 1 minute. Add ham, shaking skillet to distribute evenly. Add egg mixture. Cook, without stirring, until eggs start to set around edges, about 1 minute.
Transfer pan to oven and bake until frittata is puffed and set, 10-12 minutes. Slide or invert onto a large plate, cut into wedges, and serve.



My version:
In a small skillet, cook 2 strips bacon, cut into roughly 1 inch pieces, 3-4 mushrooms, diced, 1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced, half a small red onion, diced in ¼ inch dice. Saute until vegetables have softened. Add to the pan at the time you start cooking the garlic. Don’t use the ham. Continue with the recipe as above, including using the spinach. If I make this again, I might stir the vegetables into the eggs, then pour over the garlic and oil in the pan. That way more of the egg would be on the bottom of the pan and less of the vegetables.


How Do I Love Thee
Frittata
eggs
Valentine