happenstance

A happy coincidence, meant to be, just by chance, lucky, a fluke, a quirk, or a twist of fate… whatever you call it, I like it! And I love that word, happenstance, awesome word! What, by chance, was the fateful occasion for me?

I had about 1/2 head each of green and orange cauliflower from the Colorful Cauliflower Purées of 5 days ago and was trying to decide what to do with it. Of course, I could just make a vegetable side dish or purée and freeze it for later use, but that felt mundane. I was leaning toward cauliflower soup, but it’s so dang hot outside. Instead of pondering it any longer, I decided to waste time on Facebook and, as luck would have it, there staring me in the eye was a recipe for a frittata using cauliflower, delivered directly to my home page from my Facebook friend, Food & Wine! Problem solved, and proof that perusing Facebook isn’t always a waste of time.

Before the recipe, how about a couple of quick tips?

#1. If you don’t have a lid the correct size for a skillet, pot, or pan… use a baking sheet.

#2. If the skillet or pan you are using doesn’t have an oven-safe handle… double or triple wrap the handle tightly in aluminum foil and presto-chango, it’s oven-safe.

Cauliflower Frittata

(inspired by Food & Wine)

4 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 5 cups)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
8 large eggs
1/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded Parmesan or Fontina cheese
2 or 3 tomatoes, thinly sliced and drained on paper towels

In a 12-inch oven-safe nonstick skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Add the olive oil and butter to the skillet and heat until the butter is melted. Add the cauliflower and salt and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the cauliflower is lightly browned 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.

While the cauliflower is cooking, beat the eggs, half-and-half, basil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the drained bacon. Pour the egg mixture over the cauliflower, stir to combine, and reduce the heat to low.

Sprinkle the cheese on top, cover and cook until the bottom of the frittata is golden brown and the top is almost set 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the broiler to high.

Remove lid and top frittata with tomatoes, broil about 6 inches from the heat, until the eggs are set about 2 minutes. Cut it into wedges and serve hot from the oven.

Serves 6