Fare Exchange: Want to empty your fridge? Frittatas are a great choice

Welcome to the conversation, a to-be-continued exchange of food inspiration. Today we are looking for brunch menus and recipes, as well as for Greek yogurt recipes and perhaps shopping information.

From one side of the metaphorical room comes a call for brunch recipes; we can’t identify the voice. On the other side the topic is Greek yogurt, again an anonymous request. The reader wants to know how to make Greek yogurt, plain as well as flavored.

“Do I need an electric yogurt maker? And can one make the 0 percent fat version, or otherwise cut calories when preparing this delicacy?”

And now the how-to begins. Enter Mr. and Mrs. Sunday, the correspondents who don’t believe in recipes but instead in guidance. And sure guidance at that.

FRITTATAS

“We’re convinced that frittata is Italian for ‘Empty the fridge,’ just like hash, fried rice and curry in other cultures.

“The only constant in frittata is eggs; everything else is up to you. There are often aromatics – leeks, onions, shallots, peppers of all sorts, maybe celery and all sweated down or left over from other dishes – and one or more cheeses. But none of it is required. Got some extra cooked veggies about to go bad? Toss in asparagus, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, herbs, finely diced truck tires, whatever. Cooked meats? Sure.

“You’ll need a skillet. Nonstick is best, but heat some fat in it if you don’t have one. You’ll also need a bowl and a pot lid or maybe a broiler. See below.”

FRITTATA

Gather all the non-egg ingredients and, if not cooked already, cook them.

Beat enough eggs to cover the non-egg ingredients when put into the skillet. EggBeaters also work well and don’t need beating or measuring.

Put all the non-egg ingredients in the skillet and heat them on medium heat.

Cover the non-egg ingredients with egg and cook, no stirring needed, until the bottom is set.

Here’s the tricky bit: The top of the frittata needs to be set as well. You have 2 basic choices:

* Slide the pan – but not the handle – under the broiler until the top is set.

* Flip the frittata and finish cooking on the stovetop.

Again, two choices on flip technique:

With a deft flip of the wrist, toss the frittata in the air and catch it in the pan; this is not recommended unless you’re a professional line cook at a restaurant, or:

Grab a pot lid, hold it handle down, slide the frittata onto it, turn the skillet upside down over it, invert both together so that the lid handle is now on top and the frittata falls back into the skillet.

Finish the frittata on the stove top.

Slide the frittata onto a cutting board and cut into wedges for service. Hint: Frittatas work very well cold. Another hint: Cook in buttered muffin tins in the oven – fill the cups about 1/2 full, let cool and save in the fridge in a ziplock bag for grab-and-go meals.

Yet another hint: Use mini-muffin tins – cups 3/4 full to full – and you have an unusual hors d’oeuvre. Probably insulting hint: If you’re using mini-muffin tins, don’t use ginormous chunks of ingredients.

COOKBOOK CORNBREAD

Here are two more recipes from the growing collection of Payne Chapel United Methodist Church; a cookbook is in the offing, and Debbie Pataky would love your help.

Angie Pace’s Squash Cornbread Dressing

2 cups crumbled cornbread

2 cups chopped fresh yellow squash

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 chopped red onion

1 beaten egg

1 stick melted butter

I tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour in a 9-by-11-inch pan. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Phyllis Stevens’ Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

3 cups elbow macaroni, cooked el dente

1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

1 3/4 cups milk

1 can evaporated milk

3/4 cup melted butter

3 beaten eggs

Combine all ingredients in your greased, 5-quart slow cooker. Cook, covered for 2 to 2 hours. Stir midway through cooking.

MOM’S MEAL

Linda Leake of LaFayette, Ga., included this recipe from her family’s history.

Mother’s Chicken Tetrazzini

8 ounces spaghetti

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup light cream

1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 tablespoons sherry, optional

1 (6-ounce) can or fresh sliced mushrooms, if canned, drain

2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, diced

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

Melt butter in a large saucepan and blend in flour. Gradually add broth and cream. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.

Mix in cheese, sherry and pepper. Heat and stir until cheese melts. Add mushrooms. Remove from heat and stir in chicken. Add spaghetti to sauce. Turn into a 2-quart shallow, flame-proof casserole.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Broil 2 to 4 inches from source of heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until light brown. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

FRUIT IDEAS

There was a famous cateress in my hometown (Fort Worth, Texas) who was known simply as Lou-Ida. Her chicken spaghetti was much like the version by Leake’s mother, and she served it with light-as-a-feather rolls and a salad. I don’t know if she offered another catering menu. What would the point be? It was so good I don’t even remember the dessert.

And that seems like an idea worth copying. Slices of melon, a bowl of berries or a dish of raspberry applesauce seem to be more than enough. Now that it’s fall, apple desserts come to mind. What do you do with fall fruit that’s simple and fitting for meal’s end? Please let the rest of us know.

So let’s celebrate, with or without sweets at the end. And let’s meet again here next week.