500 Posts Old

WOW! I had no idea Eat With Me would be 500 Posts Old today! Sweet. We just celebrated our second year together and now this. Reason to celebrate.

Well, today was commencement at the U and with all it's excitment, I'm a little pooped out, so how about we have dinner together?

On Sunday, I caught an episode of Giada on the Food Network. She was making lunch specials and one particular dish caught my eye. I had most of the ingredients to try Chicken and Orzo Frittata, but not all, so we'll call this a variation on a theme. And it tasted like MORE!

Pasta Frittata

1 cup tubetti pasta (or other small shapely pasta)
3 eggs
1/4 cup marscapone cheese
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 small onion, diced and sauted until soft
Small handful of fresh garden herbs
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 2 TB (reserved)
Salt and Pepper
Heavy pinch of cayenne pepper

Boil your pasta until al dente. Preheat your oven to 375.

Whisk together the eggs, marscapone, creme fraiche, parmesan, salt, pepper and the herbs you choose. Set aside.

Shredd or chop cooked chicken into bit size pieces.

When pasta is cooked, drain and allow to cool. When cool, fold together the egg/cheese mixture, chicken, onions, tomatoes and pasta.

Pour into a square baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved parmesan on top. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn on your broiler and cook for another 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

I don't know if I've seen this pasta before. It looked fun, so I picked it up!

Eggs, marscapone and creme fraiche.

Assembled and ready to bake.

Ready for dinner!

This was pretty easy and great basic casserole ready for whatever your pantry and fridge have for you. Giada's recipe called for orzo; I used the tubetti. Use what small pasta you have. Giada called for ricotta; I accidentally bought marscapone. Scallions; sauted onions. Parsley; fresh herbs from the garden (basil & thyme). Roasted red bell pepper; diced tomato. I added the parmesan on my own. As much as I dislike it, broccoli might be good. Or even, yuck, mushrooms. Artichoke hearts? All sorts of veg will work well. Mozzarella instead of parmesan. Sour cream instead of creme fraiche. Vegetarian; take out the meat. Thaks for the headstart Giada.