Welcome Ellen Byron!

A very warm welcome to Ellen Byron, author of the Cajun Country Mysteries. Her latest book A CAJUN CHRISTMAS KILLING releases in two days! Not only is she sharing a fabulous recipe but she's giving away a copy of her book, too. Scroll down to enter.




When you’re coming up with recipes for a mystery series, some are riffs on a familiar dish, some may be treasured family recipes, and some are recipes that spring wholly from your imagination. This recipe from A CAJUN CHRISTMAS KILLING is the last with a hint of the first and I have to say, I’m very proud of it.

The Muffaletta Sandwich originated with New Orleans’ Italian immigrants. The sandwich consists of a variety of Italian cold cuts covered with olive salad on a round loaf of Sicilian sesame bread. I’ve always loved the sandwich’s confluence of flavors. But I also love making frittata. They’re quiches without the heavy crust, and can support pretty much any add-ons. When I began creating recipes for the third book in my Cajun Country Mystery series, I decided to marry two of my favorite dishes. Behold the recipe mash-up I created. Serve the frittata with a baguette and it’s a great breakfast or brunch dish. Make the pieces larger, add a salad, and you’ve got lunch or dinner. Whatever meal you decide to go with, laissez les bon aliments rouler! Let the good food roll.

MUFFULETTA FRITTATA

Here are the ingredients. NOTE: the dog in the background is not one of them.


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup diced hard salami

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. chopped pepperoncini salad peppers

1 (2 ¼ oz.) can sliced black olives, drained

¼ cup sliced green olives, drained

4 oz. Provolone cheese, diced

1 celery rib, finely chopped

½ red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 T. olive oil

2 T. cooking sherry

1 T. red wine vinegar

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

6 eggs

1 ½ cups egg whites

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper


INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Stir together the first twelve ingredients (everything except the eggs, salt, and pepper) in a medium-size mixing bowl. Cover and chill anywhere from one to twenty-four hours.

When ready to prepare the dish, grease a 9”x13” pan with olive oil. In a separate large or medium-size mixing bowl – it should be bigger than the first bowl - beat the eggs, egg whites, salt, and pepper. Spoon the Muffaletta mixture into the eggs and stir them together. Pour this mixture into the greased pan, making sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the eggs are firm. If they’re not firm, keep cooking until the are.

Serves 8.

To enter the giveaway of a copy of A CAJUN CHRISTMAS KILLING, please leave a comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win! Good Luck!