Last weekend our good friends Joe and Sara came over, and instead of serving dinner, we made a meal out of appetizers.
We ate grilled Italian sausage sliced in chunks and tossed with roasted green peppers, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and a splash of sherry vinegar; bruschetta made with organic grape tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar; and tuna with olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, basil, capers, and two minced anchovies, all served with a crusty French bread.
And since I can’t seem to stop myself when it comes to cooking, we also enjoyed hummus with warm pita triangles and baked mini red and orange peppers stuffed with herbed goat cheese. Generous servings of wine and beer rounded out the menu, which we savored on the screen porch, thanks to an unseasonably warm April evening.
Sunday morning, the leftover sausage, stuffed peppers, and bruschetta made their way into a fantastic frittata. I sautéed a few baby portabella mushrooms that needed to be used and half an onion that was in the fridge; chopped the sausage and stuffed peppers and added them along with the tomato bruschetta to the mix; topped the frittata with grated Swiss and yum! Great appetizers became a great breakfast. And leftovers landed in our stomachs instead of–as they too often do–in the trash.
How to make a deliciously frugal frittata
Choose whatever ingredients you like, fresh, not so fresh (it’s a great way to use up wilting vegetables) or left over. I’ve used leftover roasted potatoes, roasted peppers of all kinds (poblanos are a favorite), onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, ham, sausage, green beans, bacon–you’re only limited by your tastes and imagination.
Sautee ingredients in olive oil or butter from pastured cows (that’s my latest food obsession, thanks to Nina Planck’s Good Food) to your preferred degree of tenderness in an oven-proof skillet.
Add herbs of your choice.
Add lightly beaten eggs (I usually use six or more, depending on size of skillet and number of people eating) with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir just enough to distribute eggs among ingredients; cook over medium-low heat until eggs start to set.
Add grated cheese of your choice on top and put under broiler for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly golden.
Remove pan from oven and let frittata rest for five minutes. Slice and serve!
