I had no idea how much I've come to rely on my Le Crueset cast-iron skillet (pictured above). Were there ever to be a fire, it would be one of the first things I would grab (yes, I would get the kids and the dogs out first).A few weeks ago we went to my friend Brenda's house for a beautiful dinner. The main course was rack of lamb served with duck-fat roasted potatoes (Nov. '07). She supplied the lamb; I brought my cast-iron skillet and the duck fat. After a truly delicious evening of drinking and eating, I ended up leaving the pan at their house. Must have been the Mojitos, which her husband has turned into an art form (he seemed reluctant to have me put the recipe on the blog, but I'll work on it).
I called Brenda the next day and we discussed getting together for lunch so she could return the pan. We weren't able to pin down anything for the following week, so it was almost 2 weeks that I was without my beloved pan.
The first morning without my pan, I found myself in a pickle. I had recently ex-communicated my only non-stick pan because it had been scratched, and you know what they say about scratched Teflon... (you can read what they say on Google). Without my trusty little cast-iron pan, I was out of luck for our breakfast stand-bys and my kitchen seemed a like a sad place to be.
On Tuesday, I was meeting up with Brenda for the pan hand-over. I sent her a reminder email in the morning, something to this effect...
"I'm sure you have already put my pan in the car, but just in case, please don't forget the pan. Looking forward to seeing you (and my pan) for lunch. Love Moira Ps. Maybe you should run the pan out to the car now, while you're thinking of it. Strike while the cast-iron is hot! Ha ha ha... but seriously, don't forget the pan. Please."
The pan did turn up at the rendezvous restaurant (thank you, Brenda), and I'm happy to say it has been in use ever since.
The first item on the agenda was a frittata. I basically went through the fridge and a definite Greek theme emerged. One of the keys to a good frittata is take it out of the oven just as it is finishing cooking. Leaving it in too long will result in an over-cooked, rubbery meal that has very little going for it.
Greek Frittata
1 large Yukon Gold potato
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. fresh tomatoes, chopped with seeds removed
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. Kalamata olives, chopped fine
1/2 c. Greek feta cheese, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten with 1/2 c. milk
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potato and cut into small chunks. Place in a small pan with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Set potatoes aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in your trusty cast-iron skillet (mine is 8 or 9 inches across) over medium-high heat and add the cooked potatoes. Turn occasionally, cooking until the potatoes are golden and sort of crisping. Add the tomatoes, parsley, green onion, and olives. Cook for two minutes over medium heat.
3. Pour the egg & milk mixture into the pan. Sprinkle with the cheese and place the pan into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Remove the pan from the oven and cut into wedges. Serves 3-4 people, depending on how hungry they are.
*Leftover potatoes are perfect for using in this recipe. Just skip the part about boiling the potato.
