What's cooking at Jerk Castle . . .

Jalapeno Jack and Spinach Omelet

We had a bit of an omelet disaster a few weeks ago, basically, an omelet that ended up scrambled eggs (we've all been there).  . . well steven (the resident omelet chef) was not pleased. 

He decided his downfall was due to too much stuff in the eggs and no big spatula. . .so when we went out to the Tanger Outlets last weekend, he picked up this bad boy at Le Gourmet Chef (http://www.legourmetchef.com/)- 4 bucks for a mario batali spatula- not bad. . .   

 

And let me tell you- it did the trick- see for yourself:

 

Here were the steps used to make this perfect omelet:

1) crack and wisk three eggs in a bowl and salt and pepper to taste

2) grate a healthy pile of cheese

3) sautee one thinly sliced shallot and then add chopped spinach in a non-stick skillet

4) when spinach is soft but still bright green, pour in the eggs

5)   let eggs cook for a few minutes until the bottom is cooked and take spatula around the outside edge and lift the edges of the eggs from the skillet

6) pull the edge of one side of the omelet off the edge and tilt skillet so some of the uncooked egg mixture gets underneath and let that cook.  do the same on the other side.

7) after going around the edge again with the spatula, work the spatula underneath the eggs and flip it over

8) while that side is cooking, add the cheese to one side

9) fold over onto the cheese side 

Plate and serve!

Banana Bread

After eating at Peter Luger's last night, i woke up this morning thinking i should eat a light breakfast. . . banana bread wouldn't normally fit within that definition, but the bread was fluffy and light with a wonderfully flavored moist crust. . . and just a perfect ratio of nuts to banana.

Famous for their sticky buns, this recipe is from flour bakery in boston. . . 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giadas-weekend-getaways/flours-famous-banana-bread-recipe/index.html

having seen a footnetwork tv show where bobby flay challenged flour to a sticky bun throwdown, i was eager to visit. . . so last year my sister and i visited my friend pam who lives outside of boston. i forced us to walk miles to the bakery for a sticky bun. . . unfortunately, as would be my luck, they were sold out-we did however, have a great lunch and i bought this very cute mug:

 

Moving back to the banana bread- here are some pics of our lovely breakfast:

 

 

tip: i had put some ripe bananas in the freezer a few days ago to save them for when i had time to bake- last night i took them out of the freezer so they would defrost by the morning. i was nervous at first at the mushy banana situation this caused but in the end it just eliminated any need to mash the bananas.

tip 2: i used reduced fat sour cream and i doubt you could tell the difference.

Red pepper and Spinach Fritatta

We finally had a Sunday morning at home to enjoy breakfast at the apartment so i decided to use my new cast iron skillet and make a fritatta. My friend Pam is famous for her fritatta but i actually had never really made one. . . looked up a few recipes and came up with this one printed in The Boston Globe.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/06/25/spinach_and_red_pepper_frittata/

It came out wonderfully fluffy and savory- we used jack cheese instead of parmesan and added some orange peppers because we had them. My only tip is that next time I would use a bit more cheese.  what can be better? sunday morning with coffee and eggs with cheese. . .and we watched Michael Clayton (Sunday morning with George Clooney ain't bad either).

Here in all its glory:

If you have any favorite fritatta recipes please comment and include them. . .