Veggie Fritatta, Sunday Morning (any weekend morning really)
Key ingredients:
Eggs...now let us take a moment to talk about these most useful of edible items...chickens lay them. Chickens are birds. We love birds. While we are especially found of those who live with us (more on that later) and migratory birds such as the Scarlet Tanager and the Cerulean Warbler, and those crazy Loons (I could go on)...we actually like all types really. So if not for the love of the animal...I make the following recommendation, with your taste buds (and health - both yours and the birds) in mind. Free Range is better than the "industry standard" eggs. Humane Certified (this goes beyond cage free as defined the USDA)...but we think the yummiest eggs that came from the Happiest Chickens are those that say "Pastured" on the carton. This basically means that the
animal got to go
outside and do natural things like eat bugs. Again, simple idea, but big differences behind all the egg jargon that gets smeared on the side of a box now-a-days. Yeah, they cost more and yes, it is worth it.
Okra...perhaps y'all have been passing this one by thinking if only I had one of those authentic southern recipes to put it to good use. Let it be known, it goes better with a fresh egg then possibly any other dish. Molly, I am looking at you here...is she rolling her eyes?
Cherry Tomatoes (some pretty dark colored heirloom variety)...why we ask ourselves all too regularly...do all tomatoes lack that good old tomato flavor? Hothouse, heirloom...beefsteak and so on - it seems to matter little these days. You see them, you expect to experience a taste you remember (hopefully from those homegrown childhood days), you feel (decent firmness), you bite (Sookie!)...AND NOTHING. Like air filled mush. So hope next year's home crop is blight free, cause, brother, we're coming for your red ones!
Some additional ingredients, and thoughts on the meal...
Pepper. Personally, I can not get enough of it. Come to our house for a meal and you quickly realize that garlic, cinnamon, and pepper make their way into just about every possible dish.
Cheese...while pictured here with perhaps a little too much...I find that some plain goat cheese (like okra) can turn a good egg into an amazing one! If you have not yet had goat cheese from Coach Farms -
www.coachfarm.com (located in the nearby Hudson Valley region of NY for all you hyper local foodies out there), you should do so. How, where, you ask...my introduction (and what a fine one it was) to this artisan quality, genre defining cheese was at the Union Square Farmers Market in NYC about five years ago. I believe they can still be found there on Saturdays. It is worth the trip. And that is coming from someone who once worked making artisan goat cheese in the high desert of New Mexico (photos will be provided for proof in upcoming posts).
Technique...I find that that the void space in the thinly sliced okra somehow assists in adding air to the eggs when beat (rapidly in a bowl with only a fork) and makes for the fluffiest of fritttas...omelette...whatever you care to call it...depending on where you place the cheese, I suppose.
Fresh Veggie Fritatta Recipe: Eggs (quantity up to you)
Okra (sliced about 1/4" thick)
Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
Pepper (to taste)
Goat Cheese
Butter (in pan)
The accompanying music...well I have been dwelling on this one for some time. Anyone of you, what is it?... almost 9 million people, whom live in NY may well appreciate that there is perhaps nothing finer in this world than a pristine crisp blue sky autumn weekend morning in New York City. It is simply magnificent. It is one of the very few events that (for me) can make this city live up to it's idyllic Carrie Bradsaw, Woody Allen kind of feeling...or the cover to Dylan's The Freewheeling Bob Dylan (yes this was a cold winter photo, that's not the point)...you know the "it looks like life couldn't get any better then this moment kind of feeling"...add into that mix, the sense of calm that autumn brings to me, and you've got the song Oriental Folk Song by Wayne Shorter. Off the fine Blue Note jazz album
Night Dreamer. Truly killer line up on this one...Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reginald Workman, and Elvin Jones. A RVG recording, no doubt. If you dig Coltrane -
Check it out. Bliss...makes me want to be in Union Square eating goat cheese. Enjoy!
Here's our turkey from last year which was delicious. To impress Ryan's family we followed recipes from Gourmet magazine (back when there was such a magazine) and one of my favorites, The Southern Living cook book. My favorite dish was the blue grass salad. Yum. And my pecan pie. The secret to the best pecan pie is to make it with 5 eggs like a custard. 
