Frittata Al Formaggio

Egg dishes, especially ones like this, are often easy to make and delicious. I recall Mom making eggs often, but once we got our first microwave, Mom made Egg McMuffins more often than dishes like this frittata. Even though eggs can be made in a microwave, don't give up on this recipe. Because a good frittata results in an extra delicious egg dish.

This recipe is a very basic frittata that can easily modified to add in any extra veggies or meats that you would like to use up. Just like omelettes, the customization options are seemingly endless. Next time, I might add bacon and spinach or sausage and tomatoes. But, for this one, I stuck to the recipe and kept it simple. For the grated cheese, I used parmesan, but any cheese would work fine. I used a cast iron skillet because I like the way it heats up, but any skillet can do. My skillet is a seven-inch diameter skillet, but you could use a smaller or larger skillet and adjust the number of eggs based on skillet size.

Frittata Al Formaggio

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1 Tbsp. minced parsley
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Beat the eggs well and add parsley, salt and pepper. Fold in the grated cheese. Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium heat. Pour in egg mixture. Keep heat moderate and do not stir. When eggs are brown (about 10 minutes), turn over the frittata. Cook the other side for a few minutes, until cooked through. Enjoy!

Eggplant Delight

This recipe is a great way to use your garden's eggplant in the late summer. I am not sure where the recipe's name came from, but it is basically eggplant parmesan. The result is a delicious and filling meal. The only flaw is that this recipe does take a bit of time, so it is more of a weekend meal than a weeknight meal.

The recipe calls for using a 13X9 pan, but I used a 9X9 pan, so I used a little bit less of each of the listed ingredients. I used Mom's classic gravy, but you can easily substitute a basic marinara and even save time by using store-bought sauce. It think it is worthwhile to make Mom's gravy because it adds so much to the dish. It is pretty easy to make the gravy while preparing and pan-frying the eggplant. I also used shredded mozzarella cheese rather than sliced, but only because that is what I had on hand. I also did not have Italian-style bread crumbs, so I just added a bit of garlic and oregano to the plain bread crumbs.

Eggplant Delight 

• 1 large eggplant (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1/2 to 1 cup olive oil
• 4 cups gravy
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch slices; do not pare. Sprinkle slices with salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Pat the slices dry with a towel. In a shallow dish, place flour. Combine egg, water and pepper in another shallow dish. Place bread crumbs in a third shallow dish. For each eggplant slice, drop first in the flour, then in the egg mix, and then into the bread crumbs to coat. Heat the oil on a skillet to medium heat. Brown the eggplant slices on both sides until lightly brown (about five minutes per side).

Spread one cup of sauce on the bottom of a 13X9 pan. Layer half the eggplant, top with half the mozzarella and all the parmesan. Spoon half the remaining sauce over, then the remaining eggplant, sauce and finish with the mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

For my Mom's family get-together this Labor Day, I brought along this pie. It was so popular, that it entirely disappeared. As you can see in the picture, Ava and Amanda loved it. Now, it looks like Amanda is wearing eye makeup, but it is just face paint from her panda costume that remained, despite the rest washing off during her build-your-own boat regatta at the Riverside Swim Club from earlier in the day. I suppose the remnant face paint gives us all a preview of Amanda as a teenager, which is not too far in the future.

This pie is so simple to make: just graham cracker crust and chocolate pudding. I made a homemade crust because it is so easy and tastes better. But you could use a store bought pie crust. The recipe calls for making the graham cracker pie crust, but also using some of the crushed graham cracker to create a layer within the pie. If you want, you can skip this graham cracker layer within the pie. As for the chocolate pudding, you could mix in some whipped cream into the pudding. I prefer to use the whipped cream on top of the pie. I did learn one important lesson: keep the pie in the freezer until just about ready to serve. This pie was out of the freezer too long and was more pudding than pie, but, delicious nonetheless.

Chocolate Pudding Pie 

• 1 1/2 graham cracker crust
• 2 boxes instant chocolate pudding
• 3 cups milk
• whipped cream for topping

Prepare the graham cracker pie crust, reserving some of the graham cracker mix. Refrigerate the crust for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile mix the chocolate pudding mix with the milk until well-blended and refrigerate at least 15 minutes. Pour pudding into the pie crust until about half full. Sprinkle in the remaining graham cracker crust to form a layer. Pour in additional pudding until the pie is full. Freeze for at least 20 minutes, and keep in the freezer until just before you are ready to serve. Top with whipped cream. Enjoy!