Sunday, June 6, 2010

Basquiat Frittata


When Jean-Michel Basquiat died at 27, he left behind over 1,000 paintings and 1,000 drawings. I saw a great documentary about him a few weeks ago at the Seattle International Film Festival—and it lit a fire under me.

In addition to the art, he was a millionaire and had dated Madonna—that’s what I call a seriously accomplished 27 year old. 
 
In the spirit of trying to harness even the tiniest sliver of Basquiat's motivation (glossing over the fact that he developed a drug problem that lead to his death), I am trying to get some things done. This weekend, I finished a quilt that I started in 2007. It is not, mind you, a three-year masterpiece. But rather something I started a long time ago and stopped working on for 2 ½ years. What was I waiting for? No idea. And now it’s done.

So this morning when my friend Carolyn texted about brunch, I looked in my fridge. The remnants of a bunch of Italian parsley, 2 slices of ham, a week old tomato and half a red onion looked at me and said, what are you waiting for? Nothing! Let’s do it.

She came over and we had a simple and lovely frittata. And then we walked to the Capitol Hill farmer’s market for another week of inspiration.
What are you waiting for?

Simple Frittata 
2 T olive oil
½ an onion, finely diced
½ cup left over, prepared veggies (broccoli, sweet potato, tomato, etc)
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (Italian parsley, basil, chives)
1 cup grated parmesan or other hard cheese
4 eggs
4 T heavy cream
1t kosher salt

  • Turn the oven on to broil.
  • Sauté the oil and onion over low heat until translucent, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the veggies to heat.
  • Sprinkle half the cheese and the herbs over the mixture. Do not stir.
  • Beat the eggs with the cream and salt, and pour evenly over the veggie mix.
  • Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minute until the edges of the egg begin to cook.
  • Transfer to the oven (make sure you’re using an oven-safe pan) and broil for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is browned and the eggs are cooked.
  • Slice like a pizza and serve hot.
 

3 comments:

DES said...

the texture in the flag looks amazing! great post. i can't wait to see the flag in person.

Pleasant Company said...

Thanks, guys!

Kathryn said...

Hosting a birthday brunch this weekend. Now, no need to thumb through my books. Simple and healthy.