Stuffed Omelettes and Homefries

[phaelon56]

We never had anything nearly so radical and adventurous as omelettes in my household growing up but what with the Irish thing going on - potatoes were a daily occurrence. Boiled, baked, mashed, creamd, scalloped - never saw rice or pasta. Boiled potatoes were always cooked in excess amounts on Thursdays or Fridays to allow enough for Saturday morning home fries. If we had excess boiled potatoes on other days they were used to make creamed potatoes. Home fries by definition were crispy and nicely browned - even charred in places. Here in upstate NY we have the occasional independent diner that offers the real thing but one has to specify extra crispy and even that sometimes fails to yield the desired results.

Leftover baked or mashed potatoes were reserved for a different treat - potato burgers. A generous amount of butter and if necessary, a bit of flour or milk were added to achieve the right consistency for making a patty. Fried in butter or shortening until golden brown.... I still dream about these on occasion. My parents long ago shifted to healthier eating habits - I haven't had one of those potato patties in at least thirty years.

Frittatas are great. Around here (central NY state) they are cooked with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in - potatoes, broccoli, Italian sausage, green and red peppers, onions pepperoni.... sometimes a few other vegatble sif somehtign is available. We even have a greasy spoon diner around here (Mother's Cupboard) that has a a "Wall of Fame" Polaroid photo gallery of the people who have ordered and eaten an entire frittata by themselves - they're that big! I just split one with my dining partner(s). I'm doing the foodblog this next week and intend to include a Mother's Cupboard visit as a stop on my journey.... do they make grease-shields for digital cameras?

[mags]

I made a great omelette recently that was filled -- over-filled -- with some broccoli that had been long-stewed with olive oil, garlic, and onion, a little crumbled feta, and some tiny croutons. That was seriously good, and I cried when it was gone.

I'm also fond of an omelette recipe I snitched from Sophie Grigson, which involves fresh chevre mixed with a little marscapone, a tiny spoon of sugar, and fresh mint.