Poblanos Rajas for BFF

My BFF (that's Best Friend FOREVER) just asked me to post this recipe. I did not make it up. It's a classic Mexican thang. The ratio of onions to poblanos can vary depending on your taste and aesthetics.

1. Roast 3 or 4 Poblanos under the broiler, turning occasionally so they are totally charred and black. (If the cute boy next door is grilling, you can put them on the grill and char them there). Time varies depending on the shape of the peppers and your broiler. Once charred, you need to steam them. You can do this is a zip lock bag or in a brown paper bag. My favorite technique is in a bowl covered with that new amazing Press n' Seal. Let them rest at least 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice up a big white onion into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Mince a clove of garlic.

4. When poblanos are ready, remove from "steamer set up" and peel off the skin. This is where you will wish you really charred them, cuz if you got lame in step 1, it will be hard to peal here.
Remove the stem and seeds and then thinly slice.

5. Turn on heat under a pan and add some olive oil. Add the onions and saute until softer, but not brown or soggy. I think the dish tastes better when the onions still have a little crunch, so usually no more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add the poblanos strips and and heat through. Add some crumbled Mexican Oregano.

6. Remove from heat and when you are ready to serve, add a hit of heavy creme and good salt.

Onion and Potato Fritata

The key to making this is to have too many onions and potatoes. I use an All Clad Stainless Steal Saute Pan that can easily go from the stove top to under the broiler. This was the first pan Eric got for me when we started kicking it together.

1. In olive oil, saute up a big sliced white onion. (I have a preference for the quarter round slice). Remove onions from pan and put in a big bowl.

2. I add too much olive oil to the pan and then saute up thinly sliced potatoes. Adding chopped rosemary tastes really good. Do not crowd as they will not fry up nicely. I like them almost crispy. As cooked, remove with slotted spoon and add to onions. Last night I had 3 batches (4 small yellow potatoes) of these to get enough.

3. In a small separate bowl, whip together 6 eggs. Pour eggs over mixture and combine. Judge the ratio and add another egg if you need to, keeping in mind that the less eggs to potatoes and onions, the better. Add salt and pepper.

4. Heat up the reaming olive oil in the same pan over high heat and pour egg mixture in. Give a chance to set, then turn heat down to low. This next part seems to always take about 12 minutes. (At some point here, preheat your broiler). I like to use my favorite Cutco knife spatula to go around the edge. If the fritata pulls away easily from the edge, then it's close to done.

5. Grate some Parmesan over the top of the egg dish and stick it under the broiler until the top is a nice golden toasted brown.

6. You can serve it right out of the pan, or loosen the firtata with a knife and then flip it onto a plate and then onto another plate so the pretty golden brown side is up.

Last night I served this with a Salsa Verde (garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, red wine vinegar, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper) sauce, herb jam, and tomato jam. A sour creme chive sauce can also be good. Sometimes Eric and I will have something like this with a simple green salad for dinner.