Waking up in the morning should not be a dull affair.  Anything with a copious amount of Mexican chorizo can never be dull.  See where I’m going here? why not start your day with a zesty punch of flavors that will keep you going all day long. (Or at least until lunch time.)

This dish was directly inspired by my friend Ben at What’s Cooking and his recipe for Huevos a la Mexicana. One look at that glorious image and I wanted something similar as soon as I could get it cooked.

My version relied on what I had hanging out in the house.  I’d bought some Mexican chorizo and Anaheim peppers a few days before. I had some salsa and I always have cilantro, tomatoes and seasoning blend vegetable mix in my freezer, so I was on my way to a dish that I’ll most definitely make again.

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I think I was 19 the first time I tried this dish. I think I had it at don Taylor’s Omelette Express in Santa Rosa California, but if so, it’s no longer on their menu. No matter where it was that I tried this dish the first time, I was an instant convert.

Omelets are one of my culinary weaknesses.  For me they are on the same order of obsessive magnitude that some people hold chocolate.  The very nature and versatility of the omelet is mind boggling. Whether it be the classic folded French version or the currently more popular Italian frittata, there seems to be no limit on the flavor combinations possible and I think I may have tried them all.

Even after years of experimenting, I always come back to this simple dish. It satisfies a craving for me. Even though it’s been years since I last made this it instantly took me back to a time in my life where the world was exciting, my culinary horizons were expanding and the road forward didn’t seem like it was going to be paved with as much blood, sweat and tears as it has been. Food can do that.

This one is comfort food folks.  Make it with love and share it with someone you care about.  It will make memories.

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Weekend breakfasts are one of the things that my family looks forward to.  Weekdays are a grab-and-go affair with the school bus showing up before 7:00AM and three kids to get out the door, so taking the time to sit and enjoy something together in the morning is something special.

Of course that doesn’t mean I want to spend hours making that breakfast. Weekends have a way of being more work than weekdays.  There’s always something going on, whether it’s for fun or just cramming everything out hat couldn’t be done during the week.

This recipe is one of my favorites for a quick yet satisfying weekend breakfast.  It’s been a favorite of mine in restaurants for years but it’s so simple to make that I rarely see a need to spend that kind of money on it.

I will say in advance that my Mexican friends and readers will probably take offense at my use of chunky salsa over a standard warm salsa rojo. In my defense, I grew up in Northern California where the standard salsa is a Pico de Gallo, a chunky salsa, so it fits for where I am in the world, and it’s available anywhere.  The more traditional version is wonderful as well.

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I’m enamored with frittatas.  Not only do you get all of the possibilities of an omelet, but you don’t have to worry about flipping it at the end.  Whatever you happen to have hanging out in the fridge or the pantry is fair game, work is minimal and the result is good hot from the oven or at room temperature. Frittata can be breakfast, brunch, an appetizer, a starter or the main course of any dinner, they are that versatile.

While all frittata recipes are similar, each variation has its own special little variations, which is why you’ll see so many different recipes for this dilectable dish out there.  This one came from two distinct needs.  The first was to get some food in me because I was starving.  The other was to find a use for some bacon left over from some wraps I whipped up the night before. In both cases this dish was imminently satisfactory.

If you’ve never thought of pairing eggs with broccoli, give it a whirl!  Broccoli and cheddar frittatas are one of my go-to early morning meals, both because I love them and because they can be baking away while I deal with morning dishes and my son’s breakfast.  By the time I’m done, breakfast is ready for Dad as well.  You can’t beat that for simple and convenient.

Do you have a favorite frittata recipe? If so, why not share it in the comments, there’s always room for another great frittata recipe.

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Frittata…  It sounds so alien, so elegant, so scary and difficult!  But if you think of it as what it really is, you’ll quickly learn to embrace the wonder that is a frittata.  you’ll find yourself eating them far too often.  You may make your family sick of them in a hurry, but you’ll never look back.

While the word Frittata may conjure some air of elegance and difficulty, it’s really just an Italian version of the omelet.  The basic ingredients are eggs, milk and perhaps a little cheese, and while I’ve seen some versions that looked very difficult to produce, for the most part the frittata is far easier to construct than a french omelet will ever be.  If possible, they taste better, too.

The only tool you really need for a perfect frittata is an oven-safe pan or dish that you can get screaming hot with nothing in it but a bit of oil.  The real secret is to start with a hot pan and a hot oven.  The rest of the work is done by the liquid and the eggs.  Basically all you as the cook have to do is stir a few ingredients and then peek at the oven every once-in-a-while.  In about 20 minutes, you’re done. (Note: larger frittata’s have longer cooking times.  That’s where the jiggle-test comes in as described in the recipe.)

The frittata is the perfect vehicle for any leftovers you might have on hand.  it gladly accepts meat, pasta, cheese, sausage, cooked greens of any type, vegetables or just about anything else you feel like tossing at it. One of my personal favorites is simply made with broccoli and some shredded cheddar and occasionally some leftover ham.  The fact that they are good and good for you is a bonus, especially considering the versatility of the dish.

Make them for dinner, make them for brunch, eat them for breakfast, my goodness they’re fun. I would eat them in a train. I would eat them in a plane. I think I’ll make up one in green. Or do you think that would cause a scene? *ahem!* OK, enough with that.

Enjoy the recipe, folks.

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We continue on today with our Halloween series and yes, I’ve come up with another use for cookie cutters. This is a variation on a “toad in the hole” (Also called a Camel’s Eye, Egyptian Eye, Bird in a Nest and a slew of other things. Not to be confused with the British “Toad in a Hole”, which is a batter cooked sausage and equally yummy.   Know of another name for this dish, a comment.) I’m calling “Ghosts in a hole”.  This dish is basically an egg cooked inside a slice of toast.  In this case it’s cooked in the cutout shape of a wee little ghostie who has wandered onto your breakfast or brunch table.

My thought on this was that it would be fun for the kids.  How neat would it be to have a Halloween themed breakfast, especially on the morning of the big event?  For parents, this is one of the simplest things in the world to make, so you won’t have to be rushing to do something complicated on the same day you’re still trying to keep the young ones on track (or distracted, if Halloween doesn’t fall on a school day for you.)

Either way, it’s a fun little way to start the day.  I hope you enjoy.

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First of all, let me apologize for the lack of photos of preparation. Unfortunately I was alone at home when I made this, so there was no one to hold the camera, and anyone who’s ever cooked any variety of stir-fry knows well that once you’ve started, there is no “pause” or “stop”, both of which immediately equal “burned”.

Fried rice is one of those foods that most people get when they eat out, but I don’t know too many people who make this dish at home. That’s a crying shame, in my opinion, since true fried rice is something that can be prepared by any home cook and tailored to his or her family’s tastes in seconds. Why go out and pay $4.00 for a side of fried rice when you can make it for less than $2.00 at home with perfect results each and every time?

Simply put, if you can make rice (and with the availability of rice cookers nowadays, there is no reason anyone can’t make perfect rice), you can make fried rice. Turning plain white rice into amazing fried rice takes only a few minutes and I guarantee that anyone in your family that enjoys takeout will adore this recipe.

A note. I’m going to give the basic recipe for fried rice, then I’ll give my take. It really is best to start making this the traditional Asian/American/Canadian way first, then put your own twist on the subject.

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If you’ve spent any time at all hanging around this blog you’ll know that I love frittata. Just like the omelet, frittata’s offer a nearly unlimited choice of ingredients and variations on a theme. Anything this versatile should be celebrated, and I do every time I’m offered the chance. This time was no different.

This dish features some of the ingredients I had lying about the fridge in need of usage. The spinach was nearing the end of its days, the feta was getting close to expiration and the bacon… Well, let’s just say what wasn’t used here went to the local trash collector. They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. In this case necessity was the mother of inspiration, and I thank her profusely for the nudge.

Regardless of the nudge from my cooking muse, I wasn’t too sure this particular combination ws going to work well. I shouldn’t have worried. The salty taste of the bacon played incredibly well with deep rich flavor of the feta and the spinach just served to tie everything together into something amazing. If you happen to have this combination of ingredients around, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

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Deviled eggs have come a long way since my mother used to make them. Top chefs all over the world have revisited this rather classic dish and added new twists along the way, and so have I. In the past, I’ve added tappenade, pepperocini, artichoke and cayenne to mine, all with great results. This experiment was to see if the classic breakfast combo worked as well. it did, in fact it worked better than I expected.

Originally I thought that bacon would be the dominant flavor in these eggs and it was in a way, but not in the way that I expected. The first flavors that you pick up on are the tang from the mustard and lemon juice, then from the salad dressing. Next there is a hint of onion and egg, which is wonderful. Only after all of these things grace your palate does the bacon flavor come into the mix, starting of as a subtle backdrop to the other flavors, and in the end standing on its own. The bacon becomes the crescendo in a wonderful finale of flavors and textures that I will happily serve again and again.

These eggs could easily be made the day before and kept in the fridge for a quick breakfast, or served at any brunch, so feel free to use them as you see fit.

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Coming up with ideas for a simple yet hearty meal during the holidays can be a bit difficult, so why not try this approach?

I’d made some farfalle with broccoli, cauliflower and a sour cream sauce a few nights before, and was looking it over for lunch, but I wasn’t feeling any love for the dish as a leftover. since we’ve been doing holiday meals over the past week or so, I also wasn’t in the mood to find yet another way to recycle more turkey or ham. the simple solution…

Make a frittata!

Any pasta will work for this application, though I personally tend to stick to those with a white sauce. Amounts will vary depending on the amount you’ve got on hand, but this is a good general guideline.

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