"The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook" - Holiday Frittata - Christmas

Date I made this recipe:  Saturday, December 26^th (intended for Christmas morning)

The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook – A Collection of Favorite Holiday Recipes from the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Published by:  Oxmoor House

ISBN:  0-8487-2739-8

Recipe:  Holiday Frittata – p. 82

If some of Martha Stewart is good, more is better, right?  So what if I just made a Pork Stew with Fennel and Olives by Martha Stewart for Christmas dinner.  It was from a completely different cookbook so that makes it A-okay to make!

Originally, I perused this cookbook looking for recipes for our annual holiday party but nothing leapt out at me.  And let's face it, some of Martha's recipes and long and involved and I don't "do" long and involved.  I like my recipes short and sweet and without much fuss and so for sure, this ruled out the complicated "Birch de Noel" (also known as "Buche de Noel" a/k/a Chocolate Yule Log) starting on page 358.  The basic Yule log is not too difficult to make but my gosh, the accompanying meringue mushrooms are another story altogether.  And only Martha would spend hours carefully drawing lines under the mushroom cap to resemble the actual mushroom top.  And then of course only Martha would dust the meringue mushrooms so perfectly with cocoa to make them look like they were just picked from her back yard.

I am not Martha.  I do not do Yule logs therefore, I do not also make meringue mushrooms.

What I did do though, was to make her Holiday Frittata recipe because it was easy.  But Martha would have likely failed me big time because instead of making it on Christmas morning as intended, I made it for Sunday dinner.  Because I can. 

Actually, Andy ended up doing most of the cooking on this thing.  I roasted the red pepper because I am very good at that (having a gas stovetop makes all the difference), and I chopped the vegetables and mixed everything but then had him do the heavy lifting on actually making the frittata figuring that if Martha inquired later as to how it went, he could tell her he screwed up, not me.  Not that Martha would call because we don't know her from Adam, but I always feel her lurking in the kitchen when making her recipes.  Happily, the frittata came out great and it was very good (because of course it was) and so we dodged a Martha bullet once again.

If you are in a Martha mood for breakfast items, you might also want to consider her "Frittata with Sausage and Pecorino" recipe on the same page as the Holiday Frittata.  Same instructions, different ingredients.

As is de rigueur (good manners) with Martha, she includes several menus to give you guidance over the holidays but feel free to pick and choose which items you want and for what holiday occasion.  Just don't tell her I told you that because she'll likely be mad at me and I don't want Martha mad at me.

Here then, is the perfect and I do mean perfect, Martha Stewart Holiday Frittata with the perfect mix of yummy "fillings" such as red bell pepper and goat cheese, made perfectly by my perfect husband, Andy, on a perfectly good night after Christmas when all through the house we were exhausted and so we made breakfast for dinner.  It's the new "thing" you know and I do believe Martha would approve although if she doesn't she can damn well come over to our house next Christmas morning and make this herself!

Holiday Frittata – serves 6

1 red bell pepper

12 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

¾ cup sliced scallions, white and light-green parts only (about 1 small bunch)

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, coarsely chopped, plus a few sprigs for garnish

1 teaspoon coarse salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

½ tablespoon butter

½ tablespoon olive oil

2 small red potatoes, sliced 1/8 inch thick

Ann's Notes:  I thought a dozen eggs was a bit much, but it was just right.  Also, I am not fond of tarragon but probably could have used basil instead.  It would have been cheaper than buying fresh tarragon.  And finally, I almost never garnish anything I'm serving and this is likely to earn me a major Martha demerit but I like living life on the edge.

Roast red pepper over a gas flame or under a broiler until blackened.  Place in a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let steam 5 minutes.  Peel and seed, then cut into ¼-inch-wide-strips.