As promised, here’s another creation from my Mother’s Day smoked salmon gift, this time coming to you in the form of a frittata. I just recently started making frittatas again after a couple year hiatus. I used to make them once a week when my husband and I were first married and had very little money. We called them “Frittata Fridays” because by the end of the week we’d be out of groceries, out of cash, and out of creative ides for dinner. The only thing we’d have left in the fridge were some eggs (which we somehow always had plenty of), a leftover piece of chicken or a few uneaten shrimp, and a couple of sad looking veggies in the crisper. Tired and discouraged, I’d whip everything up, throw it into the oven, and 20 minutes later we’d be sitting down to eat. Now no longer poor, (although still tired and sometimes discouraged), my love for frittatas was renewed when my daughter became a toddler. Her obsession with eggs (fried, scrambled, hard boiled, you name it!) made me want to cook up this old favorite and share it with her. I guess distance – and a picky toddler – makes the heart grow fonder.

{Hardboiled eggs are always the first thing to disappear off my toddler’s lunch plate.}

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Frittata

• 8 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk or half-and-half
• 4 oz. smoked salmon, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4-6 oz. cream cheese
• 3 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped, divided
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly mist an ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, and 2 Tbsp. chives until blended, then pour into hot skillet. Allow to cook for a couple minutes until the egg starts to set at the edges. With a rubber spatula, gently lift the edge of one side of the frittata and tilt the pan so that the uncooked egg spills into the skillet, continue working along the entire circumference of the pan. Once the egg begins to set in the middle but is still slightly runny, evenly divide salmon in a single layer over the egg, then top with dollops of cream cheese, dividing evenly. Place pan in the oven and cook until egg has completely set, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of chives and fresh cracked pepper. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately. [*Note, when smoked salmon cooks down like this it loses some of its moisture and can become very salty, therefore I recommend 1) not adding any salt to the eggs, and 2) distributing the salmon in a single layer, not in little piles as I did in the photos above and below.]