So it's cold and snowing here at the Bunker, my Sweetie was sleeping in and I decided to cook for her. Since I had some gold potatoes, sweet peppers and an onion, I immediately thought "Frittata!"
The problem is that I've always been sort of frittata-challenged. For those of you who don't know by heart the schedule of The Cooking Channel, a frittata is an Italian dish that is, essentially, a crustless quiche, or maybe a pan omelette. My issue has been the "crust" for the "crustless" dish…you need a golden brown crust for the dish to work.
I consulted my 2 favorite cooks, Alton Brown and Nigel Slater, then boiled the potatoes, chopped onions and sweet peppers and grated some amazing aged Welsh cheese I had around. When the potatoes were done I chopped them into cubes, added the cubes the to the sautéed-in-good-olive oil onions and peppers and cooked them at medium heat in a cast iron skillet for a bit.
I whipped the eggs with some designer oregano, the grated Welsh cheese, salt and fresh ground pepper. when my Sweetie got up, I "assembled" the frittata —I added the whipped egg mixture to the skillet, then cooked at a low heat on top of the stove to get that golden crust I wanted. When I felt the crust was almost there…remember, a cast iron skillet keeps cooking…I popped the skillet under the gas broiler for a couple of minutes to "set" the eggy mixture.
Definitely the best frittata I've ever made! A touch of Tabasco popped the flavors of the mild peppers, and the potatoes. I should'a taken a picture, but we ate it too quickly.
If you're not overcome in with cooking lust, WeaponsMan has a great article on the rise of optics as the choice for military firearms.
And a little something to make you think, from Herschel at Captain's Journal, titled "Obama Responds":
We enjoyed our usual this morning. Scrambled eggs (from our hens), bacon and biscuits all while watching the 4 inches of snow we got last night covered with 3 more we are getting today. Don't forget the coffee.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not convinced on mounting optics on handguns. I've looked at the modern versions as well as IPSC open guns which have a bigger view area. I think my problem is finding the dot. When it's not visible there is no indicator what direction you need to adjust your point of aim to see the dot. When that happens you do a waggle to try and find it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe co-witnessing iron sights could be that guide? But then why use the dot at all?
Boil the potatoes? Oh dear gods...
ReplyDeleteTry the same recipe, but follow the instructions of a Spanish omelet. The longer cut potatoes will give it a sound structure that will be harder to collapse.
Also, save yourself trouble and get a double pan for fritatas, make sure the second pan is hot before turning.
Here is a basic recipe for Spanish omelet. You can build upon that.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2738/real-spanish-omelette
If you can lay your hand on some truly good spanish chorizo, cop it and drop it in the mix with the onions and peppers.
As for cheese? get yourself a nice chunk of Manchego (If you like a hard & strong flavored cheese) and or Gallego (for soft and mild) alongside freshly baked bread.
Cheese shouldn't be inside an omelet. In fact, my dear Mother wants to have a couple of words with you and she is not looking happy, you have offended her Spanish sensibilities :)
McDonalds breakfast egg McMuffin.! If I have some extra cash I'll go for the Deluxe breakfast with scrambled eggs and hotcakes !! Can't beat that...oh and a hot cup of java !!!
ReplyDeleteDouble Pan... pish [posh! Learn to flip the eggs...next time your in town I can teach you...The Bacon pan goes over the egg pan instead of the broiler or double pan...
ReplyDeleteOverload: I'm still not convinced on mounting optics on handguns
ReplyDeleteYou can definitely get sights high enough to co-witness.
If the battery/sight $hi+s the bed, you have your BUIS.
As far as "finding the dot" Jerry M. has said that the handgun presentation is a bit different to maximize the dot pickup.
But then why use the dot at all?
It's faster! Same reason most GI carbines sport an optic of some sort. (of 1X to ??X)
Of course my info is second (third?) hand so take with appropriate amount of sodium chloride.
I only have my carbine red-dot to go on and it is MUCH faster than irons. I don't have an optic handgun 'cept for a TC.
Overload…just by way of comparison. my friend Chris Edwards, who has worked at Glock, like, forever and been a high-level competitive shooter for even longer has used the brutal Roger's Shooting School qualifier as a baseline for his shooting skills over the years. Chris is my age, and like all of us has been paying the "age toll"…a couple of years ago he went to a red dot on his Glock to experiment. Last year he shot his best scores on the Rogers' course ever, then went back and bettered it.
ReplyDeleteChris and I have talked at length about the differences in presentation on the red-dot handgun. There's a "transitional" period where you're going for you sights and, surprise, there's the red dot. But it's only transitional.
I sort of think of going to the red dot as similar to using a laser. I just filmed an episode of SG talking about Laser 101 (I was one of the trainers on both CT's landmark training DVDs). What I learned in shooting the CT Midnight 3-Gun matches is that, yes, you can see you sights for every shot even in the dark…but it's slow slow slow. When you commit to using the laser as your primary sighting system — that is, a target focus, rather than a front sight focus — both your accuracy and your speed go up.
Once again, you have BUIS if something happens to the laser. The key point is that you already know how to use iron sights and can revert back to them as needed. Same set-up as BUIS on a carbine (and my house gun does indeed have co-witnessing irons along with the boring military Aimpoint.
The red dot on the pistol really shines on longer shots…you can ask KevinC about that.
mb
kmitch200, Michael,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points, and know that IPSC open wouldn't use red dots if they didn't work. I assume they'd use lasers if they were legal.
(hmmm, I'd be interested to see a laser vs red dot shoot off)(different lighting, distances, string length, positions, experience levels, etc
But,
A pistol is already hard to use. It takes more training to become good with a pistol than a rifle. With training, I have no doubt that a red dot is faster. If you have a new shooter, which requires more training iron or red dot sights? Might red dots be better only for the top shooters or shooters willing to put in more time? On the other hand we know that using optics on a rifle, dot and magnified, improve shooter's speed and accuracy.
Then there's bulk and weight. Putting an 8oz optic on a 112oz rifle is less of a change than putting it on a 25oz pistol. Given how you carry it, the optic is more of a burden on a pistol.
I hadn't thought about aging eyes, that's a great point.
Mr. Leahy: No extra points for juggling a Spanish Omelet. Embrace technology. Get a double pan :)
ReplyDeleteFood luddites, I swear... LOL
Speaking of Alton Brown, he's a Hi-Power man...
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/altonbrown/status/266634294733205504
Trying to recall if I saw it on his twitter feed or if you posted it once.
:)