Spaghetti Fritatta

Eggs are a supreme comfort food.

Cheese? Pepper? This sounds like a cacio e pepe...just wait. We're gonna add pasta.

Pesto pasta, crisped in a pan which will now not really ever be the same for the power of cooked-on starch. But, your taste buds will thank you for crispy pasta suspended in perfect, soft, comforting egg. It's like the best part of rice-a-roni, you know those cooked pasta bits which have been sauteed in butter...

This fritatta isn't fancy. But it feels beautiful, steaming and messy and crispy and delicious.

The recipe comes from a book called Twelve Recipes, a book which is teaching me how to cook this summer.

Spaghetti Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream (the original recipe calls for olive oil, but I had cream and thought it a better idea)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pepper
• leftover pasta (greens are also nice!)

Method:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, put a thin sheen of oil and then all your leftover pasta. Saute, pressing down into a cake to get the bottom crispy.
2. Meanwhile, whisk all other ingredients until smooth. 
3. Once the pasta is crispy, pour the egg mixture in and cook until the edges are cooked and the center is still a bit wet, about 6-8 minutes. Then, flip the frittata out onto a plate (yes, you can do it!), re-oil the skillet, and slide the wet mess of fritatta back into the skillet. If it breaks, just nudge it back together.
4. Cook another couple of minutes, or until you peek in with a knife in the middle and it is cooked to your liking.
5. Slice and serve! (Or serve cold later, or room temp...it's really good however you have it! The leftovers make good breakfast.)

BONUS: I also made Joy's Brown Butter Banana Skillet Cake with Strawberries and Pecans! It is awesome and a great way to make friends with your landlords. Invite them up for cake...don't nobody not like cake.

Sautéed Chicken with Cream Sauce

This is the sort of thing I imagine French kids eating in the school cafeteria for lunch. And it so surprised me!

This is comfort food, man. Throw in what you like! I did onions because I like them, you could make it without. It all came together in under 30 minutes, and made me feel somewhat successful as a cook...see, my dad's the kitchen master and usually makes dinner, so when my chicken came together like his dinners do, it was super exciting! Still couldn't manage to have everything hot at once, but at least I didn't burn the frozen green beans!

The meat was moist, the sauce seasoned right and tangy/spicy in a very tame kind of way from the mustard.

They may be kinda ugly, but cream sauces taste darn tootin' delicious.

Here's the recipe!

Sautéed Chicken with Cream Sauce


Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
½ cup half and half or heavy cream (don't use milk, the sauce will curdle)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried tarragon

Method:

1. Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Add the olive oil to the skillet, swirl to coat, then add the chicken. Sauté until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to rest.
2. Add the onion to the skillet, sauté until it just starts to turn translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the wine/chicken broth into the hot skillet. Let reduce by half, scraping off the crusty bits on the bottom of the pan if you have any (it is full of flavor!). Whisk in the half and half or cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour any accumulated chicken juices from the plate back into the sauce. Serve chicken with the sauce drizzled liberally over. 

Leftovers of this are awesome, too. 

From Great Food Fast.