Thursday, September 14, 2006

company for brunch

I don't often make a brunch mid week but our friends werestopping by on their way back home to Ft Lauderdale. A brunch meal seemed like the perfect plan. They had been to the Panhandle of Florida to visit a new grandbaby. And yes they brought photos, as they are quite proud of the newest addition to the family.
When I spoke to friends last week I told them I would plan lunch so we could just sit and chat at home and not be rushed in a restaurant. They were only able to spend a few hours so we wanted to yak to share some gossip and of course eat.

I prepared a "go to frittata "that I have made several times in the past and so very easy. I had some leftover spinach from the previous nites dinner as well as some carmelized onions. Hoping for a red pepper in the refrigerator and there ya have the makings for an easy fritata. To accompany the mini frittatas I cooked up some hash browns, toasted some bagels, and sliced up what is probably the last cantaloupe of the season. Oh yes the adult iced cappucinno......recipe to follow.

Food and friends - what more could you ask for.



Adult Cappuccino

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
a little crushed ice - but not enough to dillute coffee
2 cups freshly brewed espresso, chilled
6 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
Stir the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Cool the sugar syrup completely.

I made this the nite before and added the amaretto and a dollop of whipped cream just prior to serving. Crumble a piece of amaretto cookie on top of the whipped cream.

Mini Frittata's

8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sauted spinach fresh or frozen chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper sauted
1/4 carmelized onions
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Litely oil your muffin tins (I use the 3" tin)
Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the spinach,peppers, onions, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the tins. I timed it to be about 18-20 minutes using this size of muffin tin. Use smaller tins and the cooking time would shorten. They will puff over the edge a bit.
Ham and asparagus is another good combo for this fritatta.

Let me know what combination of flavors and ingredients you use. It's that kind of a dish.

5 comments:

wheresmymind said...

That adult drink sounds GREAT! Still could use a plastic monkay though ;)

Laura Rebecca said...

What a great idea -- yum! I love brunch but rarely make it. (Fortunately, I can live vicariously through your post.)

maltese parakeet said...

i like the idea of the mini fritatas in the muffin tin. that probably makes for more even cooking on the fritata. my complaint with making pie sized ones is the middle often isn't done while the outside is burnt.

barb said...

and they do cook all the way thru. I am one that likes my eggs set and on the dry side.. This is so easy and keeps in the fridge for a day to reheat. Ask husband he did that today.

Annie said...

This is my kind of brunch! I've seen Giada making the mini fritattas this way and I want to try it.