What are you Cooking the Week of May 10, 2026?

[Joan Simpson]

Last night I had a ham and cheese sandwich and watermelon . Tonight going to poker so probably be finger foods at the game.

[BakerAunt]

We got back home Friday morning after spending Monday afternoon until today at Scott's cousins' reunion in Cassopolis, Michigan in a house on Stone Lake. Before we left, on Monday, I made Sloppy Joe filling and Sloppy Joe Vegan filling for Scott's brother. I was almost done with the beef one, when the electricity went out. I went outside to find NIPSCO had cut the power in order to replace a transformer, and we were not told. I made clear my displeasure to one of the workers who claimed they knocked on doors. Well, no one knocked on ours. We later found out that Scott had an email, 30 minutes before the electricity was turned off, but he was off at physical therapy for the shoulder he hurt when he fell on the ice last January. As we have a gas cooktop, I was able to keep cooking, although I did have to open the refrigerator once. I trusted the heavy pots to keep the contents warm and to cool them gradually until the power was turned on again after about two hours. Had I known about the planned outage, I would have made the two kinds of sloppy joe the night before.

Scott's cousins sent us home with some leftover asparagus--about 1.6 lbs., so we made a stop at the grocery once we got to our town, and I bought mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. I roasted them with the asparagus for dinner tonight and will use the leftover for a frittata tomorrow. I also found a pack of four reduced price chicken thighs, and I braised them in some apple juice from the freezer (left over from applesauce making in the fall) and cooked a mixture of brown and wild rice. Scott microwaved some fresh broccoli for himself, as he is not an asparagus fan. It was a very nice dinner after our time away.

[Italiancook]

Len, I still appreciate your instructions for freezing pizza dough, but I haven't done it yet. My husband's back went out, which led to a flurry of activity. There's now a new orthopedic mattress in the house, and we're in search of a recliner more friendly to his back. I had also wanted to make and freeze 5 pounds of mashed potatoes. The mini-bread pans I planned to use are clean and wrapped, but the 5 pounds of gold potatoes for the project is being used for meal-at-a-time mashed potatoes.

In the meantime, I also bought KABC's pizza book. I don't plan on using it right away, because I have KAB pizza recipes we've tried and liked. I'm going to use those recipes for the dough freezing project.

[RiversideLen]

ItalianCook, I hope your husband gets better soon. Back problems can be difficult.

I'm going to have a burger and salad tonight.

[Mike Nolan]

We had pizza again tonight. Last night it was artichokes and mushrooms, tonight it was red bell pepper and mushrooms.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--I wish your husband as speedy of a recovery as possible.

I made a frittata on Saturday, using the leftover roasted vegetables, and had some of it for lunch. I have enough for another three meals. Directions on frittatas always say to serve immediately, but when I try to remove a slice immediately, it falls apart. When I move the rest out of the pan later, it stays together. Does anyone have any pointers on this for me?

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I make many frittatas. I never use a recipe, so I don't know if I have anything to offer you, but I'll try.

A. For 2 people, I use a 10" skillet. For 3 or 4 people, I use a 12" skillet.
B. I add the ingredients to the skillet in the order it takes them to brown or become translucent or soft.
C. If I'm using a watery vegetable, I let as much of the water evaporate before I add the eggs. In my estimation, the eggs will pull the frittata together while the water will loosen it.
D. After all the veggies are the color or consistency I want, I add the eggs. I whisk them well before I add them to the pan. In theory, I'd like the eggs at room temp just enough for condensation to be on the shell. In reality, I'm usually so busy chopping veg that I don't think of the eggs until I need them.
E. Usually, but not always, I turn the stove burner down a notch before adding the eggs. My theory is that this allows me to better use a spatula to move around the eggs from the edges so liquid egg can more into the sides of the skillet. Then I stand and wait.
F. When I think the eggs are cooked everywhere but on the top, I transfer the skillet to the oven. Make sure you're using a skillet whose handle can go in the oven!
G. I bake it at 350*, with the oven door closed, until I think the top and middle are cooked. I can't tell you how long; it really depends of how many eggs you have & how much cooking there was on stovetop. Generally, I look for some browning on the top & when pressed with a finger, it seems set. But I often don't use the finger test, because the frittata is extremely hot & I don't want to get burned.
H. If I'm in a hurry, I'll put the frittata under the broiler to finish cooking. Usually, I put the rack in the upper middle. I'd never put it right under the broiler, but I've also been known to put it wherever the racks are at the time -- I don't like moving racks around. I broil at the highest broil setting, with the door ajar. Again, with broiling, I also look for some browning & for it to look completely set.
I. When the frittata is cooked completely, I let it sit for a few minutes on a cool stovetop burner or a rack, maybe 5 or more. Then I cut it into serving pieces. I've never made one with cheese in it, but if I did, I'd let it sit for closer to 10 minutes.

I don't know, BakerAunt, if any of this helps. I'm just not sure what's causing your frittata problems. This has never happened to me. If you're using a recipe, it may be a problem with the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you, Italian Cook for the detailed description of how to do a frittata. I plan to copy it and put it in my binder cookbook. I pretty much do what you do, but I am riffing off of an online recipe that does not use as many vegetables as I do, and which uses potatoes. I usually dollop goat cheese over the top of the frittata before I put it in the oven. I think that I need to let it rest for 10 minutes, as you suggest. Five minutes did not do it.

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