8.30.2011

Secret Recipe Club: Potato Parmesan Frittata Irene

Amy writes:
Thursday: A hurricane is coming?!?
Chris is at his first day back to school, professional development for teachers. I sit, somewhat depressed about the end of such a fabulous summer, unmotivated to do those last few things I should be doing, and instead zone out in front of the t.v. The entire 11 a.m. news broadcast is dedicated to Hurricane Irene, predicted to reach us this weekend. Having lived in New Orleans, I, 1.) don't mess around with hurricanes, and 2.) have an idea of what I should to do prepare, regardless of what they are saying. I head out to the store. Already, there is little water on the shelves (I buy 4 large bottles, leaving some for the next person) and they are out of D batteries (bummer). Figuring my pantry has plenty of non-perishables, I get cash (just in case), eggs, milk, fruit, and a few other things. I head home and wonder if my basement will flood.

Friday: What should I do?
I'm still pretty unmotivated to do anything I should be doing, but now I have a mission: a hurricane is coming. Still, our basement hasn't flooded in the ten years we've lived here, and we are far too inland to get the kinds of winds that would destroy windows. Why am I so worried? I text Chris (in his second teacher-only day at school): "Should I tape the windows?" A reply: "Only if you want sticky windows." I text again: "Should I start moving stuff up from the basement?" He replies: "Are you that bored? I really doubt our basement will flood, but if it makes you feel better." Last text I send: "I should clear the garage though, right, so we can put our cars in." He's all about me doing that. I spend the rest of the afternoon doing just that. Hurricanes are a pain in the butt!

Saturday: Battening down the hatches.
We spend the day clearing our yard, porch and deck of anything that could become a projectile. Then we have to do the same for our neighbors, D and J, who are in Minnesota at a wedding. We spend the evening watching the news and calling friends and relatives to make sure everyone is ready, and fall asleep watching the 24-hour hurricane news.

Sunday: Irene arrives. She's a Tropical Storm.
We had a lot of wind and rain overnight, but according to the news, the worst is yet to come. Around 8:30, a neighbor's uprooted tree knocks their garage off the foundation and crushes another neighbor's above-ground pool. There are leaves and branches all over our yard, but that's about it. Chris thinks we'll be losing power any minute, so I start breakfast. I want to use up the stuff in the fridge before we lose power. It's Secret Recipe Club week, and I've been eying this beautiful frittata created by "Owen's Mom" at my assigned blog, "Adventures in All Things Food." She has a lot of great baking recipes, but our latest baking attempts haven't been very successful. She raises chickens, therefore has plenty of egg recipes, and this particular recipe will use up a lot of what I could lose in a power outage - eggs, milk, and cheese. Plus, she suggests making it in a "big cast iron skillet," which we love to cook in. I make a few adaptations, since I don't have a couple of the ingredients she calls for. I put it in the oven; it has to cook for an hour. Forty-five minutes later, we lose power. I figure if I leave the oven door shut, my gas oven will stay warm and continue to cook the frittata. It does and it's delicious!!!


We eat the fluffy frittata, drink mimosas, and use our cell phones to check in on our loved ones. School is called off for tomorrow (yay!). Our next-door neighbor has power, so Chris runs a string of extension cords and plugs in one light, our television (still no cable or network), and alternates power between our refrigerator and chest freezer. Our neighbor across the street jealously watches our t.v. from his window. I think I'm going to miss the reveal for Secret Recipe Club...


Potato Parmesan Frittata Irene
adapted from "Simple Supper Idea: Potato Basil Frittata" by Adventures in All Things Food

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 potatoes (Yukon Golds are great in this)
8 large eggs
15 ounces of ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Dice the potatoes and toss them in one tablespoon of olive oil. Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Cook the potatoes until they are nicely browned and tender, stirring often. In the meantime, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the ricotta and 1 cup of the parmesan; stir to combine. Gently stir in the flour and baking powder to the egg mixture. Pour the melted butter over the potatoes in the skillet and allow to heat for a few seconds. Then pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and shut off the stovetop heat. Top the egg mixture with the basil and the remaining parmesan cheese and put in oven. Bake at 350 for one hour, until set. Enjoy!







Monday: The Calm After the Storm
It's a beautiful 70-degrees and sunny. Everyone we know is safe and sound and has little property damage. We spend the day cleaning up the debris in the yard and wishing for power. We drive to the nearby Dunkin Donuts, for we've heard tell that their free WiFi is up and running, and you can get it from the parking lot. I download another book on my Kindle, and we pick up some takeout. The fabulous guys at the electric company arrive around 6 p.m. and fix our power amidst a round of cheers from everyone on the street. No cable (thus no internet) yet. Chris has to go to school tomorrow, but since 80% of the town where I work still has no power, I do not. I secretly revel in having one more bonus day of summer and stay up late watching The Untouchables, which I TiVo-d during A and E's "Mob Week." Life is good and we know how lucky we are. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who weren't as lucky.

Tuesday: A New Day
Another gorgeous sunny day off. I have power AND cable, and need to get this post done asap because it's very late. My apologies to the Secret Recipe Club, and many thanks for your flexibility and understanding. Hope everyone out there is making a good recovery from Irene.




22 comments:

Amanda said...

So glad you are safe and sound! The frittata sounds marvelous, I love my cast iron pan too. Your note about the neighbor jealously watching your TV cracked me up!

Plain Chicken said...

This looks great! I am going to have to give it a try - I love all the ingredients!

Angie - Big Bears Wife said...

So glad that you two are safe! I love your Potato Parmesan Frittata! Looks wonderful!!

TinaRBK said...

Glad everything is back to normal! You did make a great pick when you decided on the frittata, it looks delicious. Bookmarked.

365daysofbaking said...

What a dedicated SRC member you are! Glad you're safe and had no damage. Irene could have been MUCH worse. The frittata looks good - glad the power waited as long as it did to go out!

365daysofbaking said...

Glad you're safe and had no damage! Irene could have been MUCH worse! And what a dedicated SRC member you are, that's awesome! The frittata looks good. Good thing the power waited as long as it did to go out. ;-)

Tiffany said...

Haha... I love the part about running the extension cord through the window. That's AWESOME! ... ALMOST as awesome as this frittata!

Lomo said...

Happy to hear everyone is safe. Frittatas are such a great meal (and a great way to use up leftovers!) Looks wonderful!

Andrea Kruse said...

So glad you were able to find something you could make! I love that recipe for it's simplicity and ease to make. ...I also love it cold for lunch or breakfast the following day.

Glad to hear you are safe and well. Thanks for posting when you could.

-Andrea
from Adventures in All Things Food

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Good to hear all is well, with you. We felt like you did. Being kind of aimless in preparations, not sure what to expect......then wondering, thankfully, what happened to the results of the hurricane. We got off easy. Not everyone did.

I did not know what to make for dinner tonight. I had it planned out but it is totally uninspiring. This is more than inspiring and I am off to cut up potatoes and use up the Ricotta, I planned to use before the hurricane.

Tina @ MOMS CRAZY COOKING said...

WOW, dedication! What an awesome story, because I am so glad you are all safe!

Visitng from SRC - Group B

Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. said...

Glad to hear you are okay! Frittatas are so great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've never made one with potatoes before!

Lindsey@Lindselicious said...

Glad you are safe and sound! This looks super yummy, I love fritattas.

Peggy said...

Glad you all are safe and sound! This frittata sounds absolutely delicious - well done for the SRC =)

Manu said...

I love frittata! This one looks great! What a story! I am glad to hear you guys are safe!

Cathy at Wives with Knives said...

You are a real trooper, Amy, for getting your post published during the storm. Your timing on cooking the fritatta was perfect.
So happy to read that you didn't have more damage and that your power is back on. The devastation from this storm is heartbreaking.

heidi said...

Loved your story - and a storm/loss of power has to be one of the best excuses for not posting on time :-)

Tiffany said...

Thanks for sharing your Irene story and for sharing this fantastic recipe! Glad you are OK!

Cheryl and Adam @ pictureperfectmeals.com said...

Love that your frittata made it through the power outage. It must have tasted even better just for the fact of having triumphed over the circumstance!

jck said...

So glad you have gas!...vs. electric, that is.
;-)

Juanita said...

My goodness, what a dramatic story behind your frittata! I'm so glad you and your family weathered the storm safely, and think that it was amazing of you to clear your neighbours' yard while they were out of town.

Cheese and potatoes are one of my favourite duos in the world of food, which makes this frittata really special in my eyes. Bravo and foodbuzz buzzes all round!

marla {family fresh cooking} said...

Glad to hear you got this lovely frittata completed before Irene hit.
Stopping by from SRC Group C. Awesome to be in the Secret Recipe Club with you. Here is my post for September :) http://su.pr/1Sizv9
Also: I would love if you added this and any other links to my "Happy Post" today. http://su.pr/1bZ8fp