Vancouver, DaVinci, and Smoke Salmon Frittata with Hollandaise

The wind is whipping madly about the eaves but the sun is shining and a black squirrel just scampered across the yard and dashed up a cedar tree. :-) It's going to be a good day. :-)

How was your weekend, dear ones?

I had a grand weekend, comfy, cozy and adventurous with dear friends. Saturday morning Deb, Darren, Selwyn and I drove up to Canada to attend the Leonardo DaVinci: The Mechanics of Man exhibit in Vancouver.

The exhibit was fantastic, each carefully preserved piece of manuscript suspended in glass so we could see every detail of DaVinci's incredible drawings and lovely Old World script. What a brilliantly talented man.

Also on display was an exhibit called Visceral Bodies which elicited shudders and groans of revulsion. Blechy. We were delighted to get back out into the sunshine and indulge in "Crazy Canadian Watching" - which was much more inspiring. ;-)

Normally my fellow countrymen are quite dignified and polite, but somehow the sunshiny weather brought out a more diverse crowd. Take the extremely well-endowed, scantily clad hoola-hooper who invited passers-by to join her in hoola-hooping very badly to their hearts content. :-) Or the Cannabis crowd who gathered on the front steps of the museum, flags waving, joints smoking, in preparation for their "No Prison for Pot" parade. People are so interesting, aren't they?

We had a scrumptious brunch in an Old World-ish cafe: smoked salmon frittata with Hollandaise sauce and lovely salty, crispy potatoes. Mmm.

Then we were off to Stanley Park, driving along the coast and delighting in the fresh sea air, white-clad cricketers in a green field, and the beauties of towering trees and sandy beaches.

It was a good day. :-)

Smoked Salmon Frittata
(From Ina Garten)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 extra-large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
1/2 pound smoked salmon, chopped
3 scallions, chopped, white and light green parts
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Saute the onion and butter in a 10-inch oven-proof omelet pan over medium-low heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the heavy cream, goat cheese, smoked salmon, scallions, dill, salt, and pepper and combine. 
4. Pour the mixture over the onions and place the omelet pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata for about 50 minutes, until it puffs and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve hot directly from the pan.