Thursday, February 3, 2011

French Friday with Dorie: Basque Potato Tortilla

BASQUE POTATO TORTILLA GARNISHED WITH CRISPY BACON
My grand kiddies have choir practice every Thursday afternoon close to my neighborhood which means that I get to be the waiting place.  First my four year old has her turn, and then my 8 year old... and my 3 year old gets to stay and play with me the whole time while Mother chauffeurs the older two back and forth.  My brain was fried due to  office paperwork so I was ready to cook and make ready for time with my kiddies.

The Basque Potato Tortilla was perfect for them.  A healthy snack with kid friendly ingredients.  Their Frolicking Night Owl mother had made the dish the night before so they knew all about it when they arrived.  But theirs had been more glorious with mushrooms and cheese, and they had made breakfast for dinner adding special French toast to go with their French tortilla.

BACON FRYING, GARLIC AND ROSEMARY INFUSING THE OLIVE OIL, POTATOES AND ONIONS READY TO ADD
But I had a surprise waiting for them...a tea party.  I got out the special  miniature dishes, put on a table cloth, and got into the chocolate mood.  The chocolate mood is a natural, just happens every day.  I was thinking ahead for Super Bowl food when I made 2 gallons of triple chocolate pudding .   (I’ll be filling football shaped eclairs), and, of course, my kiddies were very willing tasters.  And we wanted hot chocolate for our tea cups, and spoons dipped in white chocolate and crushed peppermint sticks for stirring.  We added little sandwiches and there we were...entertainment that lasted for a couple hours.  It’s good we had the tortilla or we would have all flown away to sugar heaven.  You just need that “real” food to keep you grounded.

ALL TOGETHER, COOKING ON LOW UNTIL THE EGGS SET
Daddy and my hubby appeared after their work and when I turned around the entire tortilla had vanished!  So, I guess that means that this recipe is good and they’ll want it again.

The tortilla is easy to make, the ingredients are normal for my pantry, and everything went well until I transferred the tortilla to a serving platter...a little of the bottom stuck to the pan.  But, that was my best part.  That crispy bottom still in the pan was all mine!  I did not share one piece.  It was right up there with the chocolate.  Instead of sliding the tortilla out of the pan, I tried just dumping it (because the bottom was just not coming loose), which worked OK and no one mentioned that it looked flawed...I just crisped up some bacon to garnish the platter.  Next time I will add just a bit more olive oil to the pan bottom , especially since I used more than double the called for potatoes for this recipe...it just sounded really good to me to add more potatoes to all those eggs, and they were.

OUR TEA PARTY IS READY WITH THE TORTILLA CENTERED IN A PLACE OF HONOR






MY LITTLE PEACOCK HAS LOADED UP HER PLATES
Next time I’ll add some veges...some asparagus or bell peppers would be good and I do love mushrooms with potatoes...and cheese.  And some salsa for the top would also be really good...today the kiddies added some ketchup.  


MY NUMBER ONE STEELERS FAN HAS FINISHED THE MAIN COURSE AND IS ENJOYING DESSERT
Can’t wait to see what everyone else did.  Always a pleasure to see all your blogs!

14 comments:

  1. I like how Peacock's chocolate pudding is the closest to her! Lol. And, I definitely like your pan of bacon and bacon perimeter around your dish! Yum!

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  2. I love how you presented the bacon surrounding the dish. I tossed cook pancetta in mine, but I think the egg dulled its flavor. I should've left it on the side like you!

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  3. This looks good, but I can't help thinking about that two gallons of pudding!

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  4. What a fabulous tea party ! And I too like the bacon on the side -nice job.

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  5. Wow nothing better then seeing a dalring little tea party in action!! It brought back memeores wehn my kids, mom and I would have them! Im glad you shared the yuumy FFWD dish with them!! Cute kiddos!

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  6. Oooh, that bacon looks wonderful! And I love the idea to serve this with salsa! Fun photos :)

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  7. The tea party is absolutely adorable!

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  8. Oh urrr tea party is super cuteeee , and ur angels even more:-)
    Ha ha , i love they already knew about it :-)
    And looks soo wonderfully delicious!!
    The bacon garnishing is soo wonderful too!

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  9. What a sweet tea party! Just adorable photos of your grand kids. I love the look of the crispy bacon ringed around the tortilla.

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  10. You are so lucky to have your grandchildren so close. Mine are on Long Island and in Georgia. My granddaughter loves tea parties! Yours looks so lovely with your little tea sets! Your photos are wonderful! Enjoyed your post!

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  11. Such an adorable tea party!!! Everything looks great and the grandkids look completely happy. My store is a Dream Dinners (I now own two). :)

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  12. oh that bacon! I'm wandering into the kitchen for a snack!

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  13. A chocolate mood! Can there be anything more exciting for the kiddies? I love the looks on their faces, so happy!
    I made this tortilla and had the potatoes and onions stick to the bottom (I scraped, washed, and everything came out OK afterwards, although, I would not have minded a bit of crispy skin left on the bottom of the skillet:)
    I did not have the time to write a post about it, but it was not one of my favorite Dorie's recipes. Now, looking at all that crispy bacon, I think that some additions can definitely make it more special:)

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