To continue this week’s Mother’s Day Brunch recap I bring you the second recipe I prepared for that special day. A frittata is a type of Italian omelette, the main difference between the traditional omelette as many American’s know and the frittata is the way in which it is prepared.

A frittata was originally prepared by partially cooking on the stove and was finished on the grill. While this may produce a slightly better tasting outcome, now a days it is significantly easier to prepare fully on the stove. A frittata pan can be found at many retailers throughout the country; however, they are generally extremely expensive.

The difference between a frittata pan and a regular pan is the fact that it has two pans on top of each other which have been locked in the back on a hinge to make it easier to flip without spilling. I personally do not own one of these pans as I don’t feel that shelling out $150 on a pan that has only one purpose is a great idea. I like to take two pans (that are of the same size) and put them over each other. This is fully capable of yielding you the same final results only less expensive as you can see above.

I found this recipe a while back on the Williams-Sonoma website while I was doing a little online shopping for my kitchen. I made some slight adjustments and produced a result that anyone’s mother would adore! I decided to make this recipe for two reasons. The first being that asparagus is currently in season, and the second being that you can easily add or subtract ingredients within a frittata to create completely different flavor combinations without significantly changing the structured output. Experimenting is highly encouraged!

The first step in creating a frittata is preparing your egg mixture. For this particular frittata we used eggs, chives, tarragon and pancetta (oh how I love pancetta; the saltiness of this meat really adds great character to the dish!)

Once the eggs have been mixed thoroughly we add the goat cheese and asparagus. Adding this now instead of the step before will keep the goat cheese from becoming dissolved in the mixture as you beat the eggs and will give you small spots of cheesy gooeyness! You will then put this in your improvised frittata pan and cook for 8 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 10 minutes, then flip again…..

Place your fully cooked frittata on a serving platter and let it cool. Your frittata, or fancy omelette as my wife refers to them as, will be perfectly prepared and ready to devour. Bon appetite!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata
Adjusted slightly from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 3 oz. cubed pancetta
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed, spears steamed until just tender and cooled
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 leek, thinly sliced and rinsed well

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, chives, tarragon, pancetta, the 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir in 4 oz. of the cheese. Cut enough asparagus ends into 1/4-inch lengths to measure 3/4 cup and add to the egg mixture. Reserve the remaining asparagus spears.
2. In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leek and salt and cook until the leek is tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the egg mixture.
3. In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the egg mixture and cook, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more.
4. Remove from the heat, uncover the deep pan and arrange the reserved asparagus spears on top of the frittata in a spoke formation. Meanwhile, set the shallow half of the pan over medium heat and melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.
5. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Cook, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes. Flip the frittata back into the deep pan, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Top the frittata with the remaining cheese and serve.

For Mother’s Day this year I wanted to do something special for a mother, who to me, is completely amazing. She has always been kind hearted and loving even to those who sometimes didn’t deserve it. My mother is one who everyone should steal a page from. She has taught me many lessons in my life and has done it in a way that commands my utmost respect and admiration. So when my mother asked that we do a brunch to celebrate her day celebrating her I immediately pulled out all the stops!

What I love most about Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast is the simplicity in which it can be prepared and the awesome cinnamony (it’s a word now) goodness that makes you feel all warm and loved inside (similar to that of a warm hug from your mother on a bad day).

The first step in making this delectable dish is to whisk together your egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.

Next, trim the crusts off 8 bread slices and set aside. These will be used to top your French toast a little later on.

After you have your slices it’s time to go to work on the rest of the loaf. Cup the remaining bread slices into 1 inch cubes and toss together with dried apples, raisings, cinnamon and nutmeg (oh yeah baby). The smell of this will cause you to salivate (if it doesn’t you really should get that checked out).

Then in a 9”x13” pan coated with cooking spray pour your egg mixture on top of your bread mixture. Don’t use all of the mixture immediately. You will want to place your 8 crust-less bread slices over top and then finish pouring the remaining egg mixture.

Firmly press down the bread using the back of a large wooden spoon to make sure everything is evenly soaked in eggy goodness (this is so good you’ll start to make up words too!). Now the hard part comes. You have to put this in the fridge for at least 8 hours. This allows your bread to soak up all the flavors!

While you are waiting it’s time to whip up some praline mixture. Mix two sticks of butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg in a bowl. Eating some of this with a spoon while you wait is perfectly okay (just as long as you know that if you eat it all you will have to make some more).

Finally, after all your waiting, it’s time to top your dish with some dried apple slices and your praline mixture. You are officially ready for the oven! Doesn’t that just look fantastic!?!

After baking for 45 minutes at 350 degrees the top of your Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast should be golden brown and crusty. Your house will also smell of cinnamon and nutmeg (perfect for raising the zombies out of bed on a Sunday morning). Let this stand for about 10 minutes; then drizzle on some maple syrup. I can assure you this tastes as good as it looks! Happy Mother’s Day!

Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Ingredients:

• 3 cups nonfat milk
• 2 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites (such as Egg Beaters)
• 3 tblsp Honey
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 sliced Honey Whole Wheet loaf of bread
• 1 cup chopped dried apple rings (3 oz)
• ½ cup raisins
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Praline Mixture:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Whisk milk, egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl
2. Trim crusts off of 8 bread slices and set aside. Cut the crusts and the remaining bread slices into cubes. Gently toss the cubed bread, dried apples, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Coat a 9”x13” pan with cooking spray. Pour the bread mixture into the pan. Lay the 8 crust-less bread slices over top of the casserole evenly. Whisk the milk mixture one more time and then pour over top of the bread mixture. Firmly press down the bread with the back of a wooden spoon to make sure everything is evenly soaked.
4. Cover with parchment paper, then foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours…up to 24 hours.
5. Combine all of the praline mixture ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.
6. Uncover the refrigerated bread and egg dish and top with some apple slices and praline mixture before baking.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crusty. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving and serve with maple syrup.