Advice, please, from our catering experts. A friend organizes dinner once

M

marilynfl

Moderator
a month at the women's homeless shelter in Orlando, funded and staffed by her church volunteers. The homeless shelter clients' favorite family meal is quiche and hot soup. However, buying the pie shells can be quite expensive, so I suggested an Italian or Spanish potato frittata. That would require no crust, less eggs and more veggies.

They cook for 200, serving at least 150 women and children and they cook in 2" high steam pans.

To our experts in this kind of thing: Can a frittata be made in this kind of pan? I've only made it in 9" cast iron skillets.

Also, any good recipes would be greatly appreciated.

 
Yes, frittata can be done for the group. I recommend lightly greasing the hotel pan bottom and sides

with oil to prevent the eggs from sticking. I also highly recommend ever so slightly undercooking the frittata IF IT WILL BE HELD FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME in a chafer/steaming tray. When left too long the eggs/frittata will become tough and rubbery and turn green (seriously, they WILL turn green -- I've seen it over and over at breakfast buffets I work). If the frittatas won't be held very long then it's okay to cook them to desired doneness though I still recommend only cooking them just until they're set as the residual cook time once the frittatas are removed from the oven then covered and "held" in a hot box until service time will continue to cook the eggs.

Also, if the frittatas will be baked offsite then transported to another location for serving I recommend placing a piece of parchment paper over the hotel pan once it comes out of the oven before covering with foil. This will help minimize condensation (which will drip down and make the baked frittata soggy). The condensation generally occurs if only foil is used to cover the hotel pan.

 
I totally agree w/ Pat-NoCal. My frittata REC is done in a 9x13" pan which is close 2 what they use

Frittata (from a cooking class taught by Marie Huntington on October 18, 1988.)

3/4 cup minced green bell pepper (or red or yellow or a combination)
1-1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1-1/2 cups diced zucchini
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 pound Philadelphia cream cheese, cubed
6 eggs beaten
1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups seasoned croutons (Marie used Pepperidge Farm brand.)
1 teaspoon salt (or a little less) to sprinkle on sauteeing vegetables.

Saute vegetables in oil. Season to taste. Cool slightly. Combine half-and-half with eggs and mix well. In a 9x13" baking dish (I spray with PAM), put a layer of croutons, then top with the sauteed vegetables. Pour egg mixture over previous layers so vegetables are covered. Place small cubes of cream cheese on top. (I have found it better to melt and spread melted cream cheese as thinly as possible to cover entire top surface of vegetables evenly.)

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.*

Bake in a preheat 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 8 to 12 servings.

*Note from Wigs: I prefer to leave the cheddar cheese off and bake the frittata for 20 minutes first. Then sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top of the frittata and bake it for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=156037

 
Another thing to consider is that fritata can be served warm, or at room temperature. Obviously,..

...it should be held according to food safety guidelines at all times, but it is one of those dishes that I've made for crowds and refrigerated ahead of time and taken out and allowed to come to room temp. It's even good cold!

M

 
Besides the crust, the only difference between a frittata & quiche is the cream,

yes? I love quiche because it has more of a luxurious mouthfeel. Especially the one by David Liebovitz that has cream cheese in it. I whip the cream cheese and add it to the eggs. So good!

 
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