For the “end of spring break” brunch yesterday we had home fries, also known as breakfast potatoes, along with our frittata. I generally add diced red bell pepper to my potatoes, but since those were already prominent in the frittata, I left them out this time. Feel free to use 1 diced pepper in your potatoes though, you’ll just add and sauté it along with the onion.

Most recipes for home fries, such as these, call for the potatoes to be boiled first. I’ve found that this leaves the potatoes too waterlogged and they do not brown as well when later sautéed, so instead, I use the microwave to steam them… a far better end result! How long to steam them all depends on your own microwave, and you know it best, so use your judgment.

My microwave is, by far, the worst tool in my entire kitchen… as my kids say, “it sucks!”  Every single time they come home, they are shocked to see that it is still here. I do not know why I am so resistant to just go get a new one. I’ve had to purchase several in the last few years for the kids’ dorms and apartments, so why not just get a new one for myself? Maybe I feel I need to have just one thing in my kitchen that isn’t “all that.”  I mean, I am so fortunate to have all the latest and greatest and, in many cases, (because of the cooking school) more than just one of each of those latest and greatest…  Three KitchenAid standing mixers (all the big model); four Cuisinarts, including the new super-duper one; a Vita-Mix and two Waring blenders; more than two dozen silicone spatulas in every shape, size, and color; a dozen whisks… you get the picture. So if I have to suffer from an inferior microwave that literally takes twice the time to cook something, so be it!  I honestly don’t use it that much for actual cooking, more often than not, it is used to melt chocolate and butter or to soften something. Although it did take a full 17 minutes to get these potatoes tender! But if you have a “good” microwave, it may only take 6 or 7 minutes.

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Today is the last day of spring break… I am sad. Connor has been home all week and that has been wonderful. And after five days in Mexico, Marissa arrived home on Friday to spend the weekend with us, which always puts a smile on my face. But today, that is over… Marissa is getting ready to pack up her car and drive back down to Tucson for her last semester at UA and then I’ll drive Connor up to Flagstaff to finish off his freshman year. For the sendoff, we invited my dad over for Sunday Brunch. Nothing like eating outside in March on a gorgeous sunny but mild Arizona day! Today I’m sharing our frittata recipe… tomorrow the breakfast potatoes that accompanied it.

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The best thing about this breakfast or brunch dish is that it can be prepped the night before. In the morning, just fill the cups and pop them in the oven while you leisurely make the coffee and read the newspaper. Plus it may easily be doubled or tripled. Add a layer of cooked chorizo, and mix in roasted poblano or red bell peppers, green onions, or whatever floats your boat!

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There are some dishes that should be saved for the company, just like some people save the good towels for the guest bathroom. This is one of those dishes, it is a treat and should only be had on rare occasions to keep it that way. We’ve had a special guest for the weekend, so I made this for the family on Sunday morning. So nice to have you stay with us Albert, have a great semester at UA and practice up on the ping-pong!

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Quiche is such a versatile dish. It is perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. It’s wonderful on it’s own or alongside a salad, drizzled with a vinaigrette. Delicious served hot from the oven or at room temperature… No wonder real men not only eat but love quiche! Bake this the day ahead, reheat and enjoy on Christmas morning as gifts are being opened.

Believe it or not, I’ve never used a frozen pie crust before. I really enjoy making crust from scratch, but a friend told me that the new pie crusts at Trader Joe’s were as good as homemade, so thought I’d give them a try with a quiche recipe.  Here’s what I’ve discovered; the frozen crusts look great, you can see the little bits of real butter in the dough, just as with homemade dough, a good start! After reading the ingredients, found there is palm oil… not good… but it is the third to the last ingredient listed with only water and salt after it, so I’m hoping it isn’t too much in there. The crust shrunk quite a bit more than a homemade one would during the blind bake, but the real test – the taste? Pretty darn good, I’d give it about an 8 out 0f 10, with the homemade crust being a perfect 10.

So what exactly is blind baking? It is when you bake and brown a crust without the filling. Blind baking a crust is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling or when the filling has a shorter baking time than the crust needs to become cooked through.  Blind baking also helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy from its filling. To accomplish this you can either poke the uncooked pastry with a fork or line the pastry shell with foil or parchment paper and weigh it down with ceramic or metal pie weights. This allows the steam created by the butter to escape in the case of poking or prevents the crust from puffing up, when weighted. If you do not want to invest in pie weights, no problem, just weigh down the shell with dry beans or raw rice.  You can use the beans or rice a couple of times for this purpose, but after that, toss them in the trash. As they bake over and over, they will lose their natural moisture and no longer be heavy enough to be effective.

The technique for caramelizing the onions for this quiche is different than the methods I’ve posted here before. Adding water and bringing the onions to a boil, allows the onions to completely soften without a chance of burning. Once the water has dissipated, the onions caramelize evenly and easily.
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Key To The Cure 2009

In October 2006, I co-chaired Key To The Cure. It is an event that is near and dear to my heart. The proceeds benefit women’s cancer charities. This year, two of my darling friends, Kathy Brown and Cathy Keenan are co-chairing.

You may recall that last week I was making dishes for an addressing brunch, those were for this very event. A picture of the buffet is below. Remember, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so fight back by being mindful of your own breast health, donating to a breast cancer organization, or walking in the Race for the Cure. There is so much we can do, even if it is just being grateful for those in our lives who are survivors by telling them how much we love them or remembering those who have passed. And thank you Kathy and Cathy for taking on this wonderful event! xoxo

Key to the Cure Addressing Brunch Buffet

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Kim’s beautiful salad – October 2008

In late October of last year, Barbara Fenzl of Les Gourmettes Cooking School celebrated the school’s 25^th anniversary. As her proud assistants at the school, Kim Howard and I threw an Anniversary Brunch and invited all the teachers who had taught there those past 25 years. I prepared the breakfast side of the meal and Kim handled the lunch side. One of the salads Kim made was so delicious and so beautiful to look at, that I am going to make a version of it for a brunch I am doing this Wednesday. Kim’s salad was inspired by a Tyler Florence recipe…and since this recipe was inspired by Kim – I think that it is about 2 degrees of separation from the original…right?

There is an ingredient in the vinaigrette that you may or may not have in your pantry.  Sherry vinegar is one of my favorites, it lends a unique and wonderful tone to dressings, it can be found at Cost Plus World Market. Both of these fabulous staples are worth adding to your inventory.  But if you need to substitute – use red wine vinegar in place of the sherry vinegar.
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