I say Fri-ttate-A, You say Fri-ttat-A!

Being a Chicagoan, I head out to brunch at least once a weekend. It's an awesome tradition most people have adopted. And what a great tradition it is. You can pop open a bottle of champagne, add a splash of orange juice, and voila! Mimosas. At 10am if you want. Without judgement.

This weekend I headed to Southport Grocery for my brunching festivities. I always love it there. I love it even more when it isn't miserable Chicago weather. Anyways, it was wonderful as always.

Sunday morning, I was feeling less inspired to go out to breakfast (since the weatherman told us it would be up to 30mph winds and cold!). So, I raked through my fridge to find what I could use to make a frittata! You'll recognize most of the ingredients from my past few posts (dill...mushrooms).

A frittata is an Italian version of a quiche, but without a crust and is usually started on the stove-top and transferred to the oven. You can basically dump whatever you have left in your fridge into this dish...I guess like any egg dish you prepare for breakfast. Here's my version of a frittata!

Mushroom, Dill and Gouda Frittata

6 large eggs

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 shallot (chopped)
1/4 green pepper (chopped)
7-10 button mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
1/2 cup smoked Gouda (grated)

2 tbsp dill
2 tbsp unsalted butter

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the eggs and half-and-half in a medium mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients and combine in the bowl.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat and add butter. Make sure it coats the whole pan. Pour in the eggs and cover. Don't touch it after that!

Let the frittata cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Check periodically to see how it looks. Once the egg has fluffed up to about 1/2 inch in thickness, it should be done! My frittata didn't get put into the oven, which I suppose makes it less traditional, but it's just as easy, and basically comes out the same! I served mine with a bit of sour cream!

Variations to try out:

1. Cook vegetables in pan before adding the egg. (just pour egg over ingredients in the pan)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After adding eggs to pan, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, and then transfer pan to oven for about 12 minutes.
3. Use cubes of cheese rather than grating so there are gooey pockets of cheese!