Blog - Proud Italian Cook

Spring Vegetable Frittata with Brie

April 3, 2013 by Marie 20 Comments

Over Easter weekend I made three different frittatas, one with potatoes and eggs and another with every vegetable you can think of, but this spring vegetable frittata is by far my favorite one of the moment!
Everything about it reminds me of spring, fresh shaved asparagus, tiny fresh peas and those cute baby zucchini. I also like to add in tomatoes and chopped green onion, delicate flavors that really pack a punch!

I always cook my frittatas in a nonstick oven safe skillet. My aunt taught me how to make frittatas, she never flipped them and neither do I, I tried it once and it wasn’t a pretty sight! The key is to let the eggs set in the skillet on the stovetop forming a slight crust on the bottom and then you finish it off under the broiler, but you can’t walk away, you have to keep opening the door and checking so as not to burn it!

I always flavor my eggs with grated parmesan or romano it gives a nice base for all of the other ingredients, and with the addition of Brie here it really takes it over the top!
By placing it under the broiler for a few minutes your frittata will become perfectly golden as well as puffy and fluffy and that’s exactly what you want!

While the frittata is still warm I like to dot it with additional brie cheese because it melts so fast and besides I love how it looks when it oozes out.

I served my frittata with fresh pea shoots tossed in a lemon and olive oil dressing with shaved parmesan. The perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch, or midnight snack!

Spring Vegetable Frittata with Brie

Ingredients

I used a 10" nonstick skillet
6 eggs
⅓ cup or more grated parmesan or romano cheese
2 tablespoons of water
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to coat pan
4 asparagus shaved with a vegetable peeler
3 baby zucchini cut into rounds or the smallest zucchini you could find
¼ cup of fresh or defrosted peas
2 scallions, sliced
5 or 6 grape tomatoes cut in half
3 oz. of Brie cheese, rind removed
parsley for garnish

Instructions

Beat your eggs in a bowl with the water, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat skillet on medium high with a nice drizzle of olive oil and very quickly saute the zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, peas and scallions. Leave half of the veggies in the pan, remove the other half.
Pour in egg mixture and reduce heat to medium low and let the eggs set so it's not so runny, then place the rest of the veggies all around with half of the Brie.
Make sure your broiler is on and place the whole oven safe skillet under it, this will not take long, a few seconds maybe a minute or so, keep checking, sometimes I turn the pan to make sure it is evenly cooked.
When frittata is nice and golden remove and dot with the remaining Brie and garnish with parsley.
You can eat this hot or at room temperature.

20 Comments Filed Under: Eggs, Spring Tagged: Brie cheese, frittata, pea shoots, shaved asparagus, spring vegetables

Limoncello Cookies Made From Homemade Limoncello

March 25, 2013 by Marie 39 Comments

Oh my, I’m so excited to share this cookie recipe with you! If you don’t have a bottle of limoncello in your home right now please go out and get one so you can make these cookies for Easter. Let me see if I can describe them to you, buttery, crunchy, refreshing, bright with an explosion of lemon flavor! The perfect cookie to welcome in spring.
Fortunate for me I still had a bottle of homemade limoncello that my daughter, her friend and her cousin made back in September. It was quite a project and fun for me to watch since I’ve never ever made it myself. Much planning went into it beforehand, she was on a mission to find the best organic lemons she could find, lemons free of chemicals and wax because the peels would be soaking in alcohol for weeks.
Peeling the yellow skins off the lemons take time and patience, it’s something you can’t rush because you have to be careful not to get any of the white pith beneath it otherwise your end result will be bitter, and you don’t want bitter limoncello. Their goal was to have it all completed and ready to sip for the holiday season. I’m happy to say they reached their goal.

As you can see even her dog was there for moral support!The essential oils of the lemon peels infusing with the alcohol is such a dynamic combination, creating the most vibrant liqueur. I don’t want to sound like a bragging mother but this was the best limoncello I’ve ever had! It tasted so fresh with a wonderful smooth finish to it. After giving out some bottles as gifts they now have people begging them to make more. I hoarded one last bottle, it was hidden away in my freezer, making limoncello cookies was a good excuse to bring it out! Of course I had to sip some while I was baking! Look at that color, liquid gold, slightly thick and perfectly sweet. It screams blue skies and sunshine!The limoncello is mixed right into the frosting so with every bite you take you’ll have a burst of lemony flavor. I promise you, these will be devoured if you make them for Easter, but you need to double or triple this recipe for sure!
The dough is shaped into a log then refrigerated for a while, sliced and baked. I tried to shape my log into an oval so they would look like eggs, or you could just cut them rounds.Melt in your mouth goodness! Happy Easter to all!

Limoncello Cookies Made From Homemade Limoncello

Ingredients

1¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
grated lemon zest of 1 lemon
ICING
1½ cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons limoncello
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon for garnish on frosting

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine salt and flour. Set aside.
With a mixer cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined, then vanilla and the zest.
With mixer on medium low, slowly add the flour/salt combo. Mix until the flour starts to incorporate. Don't over mix, cookie will be tough.
roll dough into a 2"x 12" log, ( it will be soft at this point) or oval to resemble eggs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. ( refrigeration is key, dough needs to be firm).
When ready to bake remove wrap and slice dough into ⅓ thick cookies, place on parchment and bake at 350 for 13-17 minutes. You want the edges to become golden. Cool before icing on wire racks.
FOR THE ICING:
In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, limoncello and lemon juice. Stir until fluid but thick.
Brush or dip cookies into frosting, garnish with zest and allow to dry about 10 minutes.
Makes 24 cookies but I would double or triple this recipe!
Recipe adapted from, In Sock Monkey Slippers

39 Comments Filed Under: Cookies, Drinks Tagged: Easter cookies, homemade limoncello, lemoncello cookies, limoncello cookies, making limoncello

Pizza Bread

March 19, 2013 by Marie 32 Comments

Soon after a dear cousin of mine past away, family members handed down to me an old metal box containing priceless recipes of my aunt, their mother, it was like I won the lottery!

A simple gray slightly rusted box stuffed full of yellow stained index cards, some typed but the majority handwritten treasures by my aunt. I spent some time going through them all recently, what I found were decades of her cooking, some magazine and newspaper clippings, but in between it all were some of our most cherished family recipes. Needless to say it brought back many happy food memories of my childhood. I also came across some unfamiliar recipes that I couldn’t wait to try.

Like this pizza bread recipe, sort of a vegetarian version of sausage bread, something we would have each year at Easter time when I was a kid. Pizza bread mimics the makings of a pizza but it actually gets rolled up and baked as a savory bread.

You can make your own pizza dough which is provided in the recipe or buy a good quality one like I did to make it really quick.

I made the filling exactly as the recipe stated but you can certainly be creative and add other ingredients or change up the cheese to make it your own.

Make sure to leave about a one inch edge all the way around free of sauce to make the rolling and sealing easier. After all the filling is placed on the dough your going to roll it up jelly roll style. Brush the top with olive oil, sprinkle with romano cheese and crushed black pepper.

The smell in my house was amazing and it lingered for a few hours, much better than potpourri! Just make sure to let it rest before you cut into it with a serrated knife.

This is a keeper, thank you Aunt Eileen!

Pizza Bread

Ingredients

DOUGH
1 small cake compressed yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
FILLING
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
½ onion, minced
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
2 cups of canned tomatoes
1½ cups of shredded mozzarella
½ cup of grated romano cheese
salt and pepper

Instructions

For the DOUGH, dissolve yeast in water, make a well in flour and add yeast mixture. Knead for 10 miniutes, add oil and knead until smooth. Place in bowl cover with wax paper and towel and set in a warm place. Let rise for about 2 hours. Spread dough in a circular shape about 14 inches in diameter
For the FILLING, saute garlic and onion in oil. Remove garlic and add tomatoes, salt and pepper.cook over medium about 20 minutes, crushing tomatoes with a slotted spoon. Let it cool then cover dough with sauce.
Arrange mozzarella over the tomatoes. Sprinkle grated cheese and oregano on top. Roll pizza like a jelly roll and place on a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal or polenta.
Bake in a 425 oven for 10 minutes. Lower oven to 375 and bake for 35 minutes more.
NOTES;
I opened one 28oz can of whole tomatoes and just used the tomatoes without the juice.
I crushed the garlic and left it in.
You could easily increase the mozzarella to 2 cups.