Breakfast time! Britta has been working for an hour over this meal, hopefully with success. I would hate to have to disparage a meal which took so much of her energy and time. I do have to think of my marital bliss in these reviews. Today's meal is a sausage and veggie frittata with fried potatoes on the side. We are joined by our good friend, Bree, and my father-in-law, Homer. My wife made enough for all of us, a feat in and of itself.
The plate looks good, the frittata is presented in a triangle shape and the pile of potatoes is adequate but not extravagant. I dig in to the potatoes first, they are served with ketchup and a cilantro ginger chutney made with cumin and rapidura. Red potatoes were chopped into small cubes which fall apart in my mouth. The chutney is sweet and accentuates the warm moisture of the fried potatoes.
After I polish off my potatoes I start on the frittata. The conversation around the table takes a turn that is not uncommon whenever we eat with Homer, concerning the quality of Britta's cooking his paean ends with an exclamation to the effect that Britta should start a food establishment of some kind (Food Cart, is often his choice.) His vociferations were not as strong as usual, though. Was it the food or perhaps Bree's added presence?
The frittata was made with eggs from our friend's chickens. It had sausage, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, parmesan, colby jack, and green onions on top. Every bite was like a brand new culinary adventure; one bite would yield sausage, another broccoli, another spinach. The frittata was moist and satisfying, however the vast variation of flavours resulted in a different experience with every mouthful: sometimes divine, sometimes too concentrated in one way or another. When things went well I enjoyed the mixture of sweet and savoury and an herby tang, the juicy zucchini stood out particularly. If only there were a way to scientifically distribute all the ingredients evenly through the frittata.
The eggs were cooked well for the most part, very fluffy but a little burnt on the bottom. Due to this, the imbalanced nature of the recipe, and Homer's milder than usual enthusiasm I am giving this meal a 3.5. Hopefully, my wife and I can work through this little difficulty and move on to fulfilling Homer's dream of our being restaurateurs.
We start with the Long Strange Tripel brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company, a part of their smokestack series. It has a golden colour and very good head retention. It has a fruit smell, some lemon and some wheat. It has a strong honey character with a very slight hint of licorice. My wife says, "It doesn't seem as if it would have a lot of flavour from the look and the smell. It starts off very light at the tip of your tongue but develops a bite, some spiciness around the middle, and ends with a sweet fermented finish." I'd give it a four.
