Back in the days when I was just a young foodie – not knowing I was destined for food bloggerism and an intense interest in handmade pasta! -- I decided to flex my newly found cooking muscles by hosting a brunch with friends. As is still my habit 15 or so years later, I spent a good amount of time carefully planning our menu, and asking myself important questions: Were my friends Team Pancake or did the lean more towards the side of Team French Toast? How should I go about composing the fruit salad (whose sole purpose by the way was to balance out all that maple syrup and butter,) and namely: does anyone even really like honeydew melon? Would I be expected to make coffee? Did any of us even drink coffee?

The verdict: pancakes, bacon, omelets and fruit salad (sans honeydew melon). As I made my shopping list and did my calculations to feed a group of six, I imagined myself serving up stacks of golden brown pancakes and fluffy omelets to my impressed friends, alla Nigella Lawson.

My sixteen year old self hadn’t yet worked a job in admin – one where she would be expected to pay careful attention to detail, planning, and timing! -- and while I had been extremely enthusiastic about selecting the menu, I hadn’t quite worked out the logistics of the actual brunch. Flipping pancakes for a group of six hungry people is no easy feat; cooking a big pan of bacon adds up to a lot of grease that can splatter on to the stove and possibly even the cook. Nothing, however, proved to be as time consuming as cooking six omelets, one by one.

While my friends enjoyed their slightly cold pancakes, I dodged bacon grease pan in between preparing individual ham and cheese omelets, sweating over the hot stove and refusing help, as a good host should (“Me? No, I’m fine! Really! Just 5 more to go!”)

Nigella Lawson I was not.

Thank God for the fruit salad.

I’m happy to report that following my baptism by (brunch) fire, I’ve since learned how to more practically and realistically plan and host meals for friends. I’ve also learned to make a frittata.

On the off chance you’re not familiar: a frittata is Italy’s answer to the French quiche or the Spanish potato tortilla, a sort of baked open faced omelet of sorts. Had I known how to make a frittata at the time of my brunch for six people, I would have saved myself a lot of time and energy, as the frittata is cooked in the oven, can be made in advance, and is simply sliced and served (translation: a lot easier than making individual omelets). It can be served hot or at room temperature, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or, of course, brunch, and, many hat-wearing dish that it is, can even be sliced up and used as a filling for sandwiches.

My favorite frittata is made with with two kinds of cheese (Parmesan for punch and fontina for flair) plus wholesome spinach and cubes of golden brown potatoes, making for a greens/carbs/protein sort of frittata — note however that this recipe is flexible, a blank canvas on which you can paint your very own frittata, adding any cheese, vegetable, herb, or meat your breakfast-loving heart desires. Bonus: this is another recipe that keeps with the basics, one that has made its way on to the blog via my sister Alexandra as she takes her first tentative steps in the kitchen.

A couple of notes: I used a 9.5 inch oven safe pan. If you don’t have an oven safe skillet, you can use a cake pan; while your vegetables are cooking, let your cake pan heat up in the oven. Grease it with a little butter (it will melt instantly, so swirl it around and grease the pan) and then fill it with your cooked vegetables. Pour over the egg and cheese mixture. Since the pan is nice and hot it will set your frittata around the edges and then keep cooking in the oven. It will take about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F/170 degrees C, and then about two minutes under the broiler to get a nice brown top. I have used this method before with good results. Again, feel free to be creative here and add your own ingredients — sweet potato would be nice instead of the regular potato; feta might be nice in place of the Parmesan if you want a spanakopita style frittata; pancetta would be a lovely addition here, too.

Looking for more easy recipes like this one? Click here.
Looking for more brunch appropriate recipes? Click here!

SPINACH, POTATO, AND CHEESE FRITTATA

Serves 6.

Ingredients:
9 eggs (I used medium-sized)
2 tablespoons milk
4 ounces (112 grams) Fontina, grated
1/3 cup (30 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large potato (mine was 350 grams), peeled and cut in to small cubes
8 ounces (225 grams) fresh baby spinach
Olive oil
Pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cheeses, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a few generous grinds of freshly ground pepper: Set aside.

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in an oven-proof skillet on medium heat. Add the potato to the skillet, season with a bit more salt and pepper, and sauté until cooked throughout, about 20 minutes. If you’re not in a rush/if you’re me, you might cook them even a bit longer to get them nice and golden brown. Remove them from a pan using a slotted spoon (you can place them on a paper towel lined plate to drain off a bit of the oil) and add in the onion. Cook the onion until translucent, seasoning it with salt and pepper, then add the chopped spinach a handful at a time. As the spinach cooks down and wilts, add more of it until all your spinach has cooked down (this will happen quickly and rather magically). Add the potatoes back in to the pan.

Next, pour the egg and cheese mixture over your veggies. Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath. Lower the heat to low and let the frittata cook on the stovetop 10-12 minutes, until the frittata is starting to cook around the edges and seems set, with the exception of the center. Pre-heat the broiler.

Broil for 3 to 4 minutes until the top is golden. Remove your frittata from oven and let cool for several minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.