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Frittatas were on the menu Sunday afternoon at Y&H’s house. It sounded like a good idea, both simple and satisfying. I started with a recipe I pulled from Mario Batali‘s Molto Italiano, which, thank God, somebody else has already added to the internets.
I figured I could easily find all the ingredients at the local farmers market, even this late in the year. I was correct on that count. I even picked up some porcinis and applewood-smoked bacon to add a little texture and flavor (and bacon!) to the recipe.
What I neglected to remember, however, are two important factors:
Blanched spinach requires that you dry those wrinkled little mofos so that they don’t add too much moisture to the frittata and prevent it from setting correctly. Y&H consumed a lot of time and paper towels drying those suckers. There must be an easier way, yes? (Insert plea for help from readers.)
The other issue is our old Calphalon 9-inch saute pan, which lost its stick resistence six years ago in a terrible kitchen accident. (I lie, of course, just to cover for the fact that I forgot to treat the pan before adding the egg mixture, which I always forget to do.) It makes one step in Mario’s recipe all but impossible:
Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook until the bottom has set, about 5 minutes. Hold a flat plate over the pan and invert the frittata onto the plate, then slide it back into the pan. Cook until just set, about 5 minutes more, and serve hot.
Yeah, right. I had a better chance of prying that drink out of Lindsay Lohan’s hand. I finally fell back on a technique I learned awhile ago: Stick the whole saute pan in a very hot oven for a few minutes until the top sets.
Worked like a charm, if I say so myself. The lunch, in the end, wasn’t so simple. But it was quite satisfying — almost as satisfying as eating it in front of the telly as the Redskins pulled off that Sunday miracle.