This week’s recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

In our latest Master Class, Nancy Silverton, after a chance encounter with the perfect frittata at a restaurant, shares her newfound love for the classic egg dish:

“Being the Italophile that I am, I wanted to love frittatas, but they were one of my least-favorite egg preparations, along with the Spanish tortilla. The way I’d always had both egg dishes, they were so thick that, to ensure cooking them all the way through, you had to cook them in an oven until they were dry and spongy. I ordered the frittata that day at the restaurant because it was the only egg on the menu, and I’m sure glad I did.

“When the server put it down, my immediate reaction was: These are the most beautiful eggs I’ve ever seen. We all looked at it and then looked up at one another in awe. It defied all of our frittata expectations. First of all, it was not a slice, but a whole, round thing that covered the entire plate. The toppings were scattered beautifully over the surface, so it was like my pizzas, only with eggs in place of crust. And it was thin, so the eggs were cooked like perfectly soft-scrambled eggs, only flat. In that sense, it was like an omelet that hadn’t been folded.”

Nancy shares her basic frittata recipe with three variations.

And do you love French fries? Take everything you love about a French fry -- that crisp golden-brown crust enveloping an oh-so-fluffy interior -- and flatten it. Crunchy yet delicate -- and the perfect width for dipping into your favorite sauce -- smashed potatoes are everything you could want in a French fry and more. And they’re fun and easy to make at home. Try them just once and you might find the love affair with your favorite fast food joint has cooled.

This week’s recipes include:

• Frittata base
• Carmelized onion, goat cheese and olive frittata
• Cherry tomato frittata
• Onion, potato and bacon frittata
• Smashed fries
• Creamy ranch dipping sauce
• Poutine with short rib gravy
• Napa Valley Grille’s kale chopped salad

When you try one of this week’s recipes or any L.A. Times recipe, let us know! Upload a photo to the “Our Recipes, Your Kitchen” gallery to share your take on the recipe and tell us about yourself. Your photo will be posted online on our L.A. Times Food page.

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You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at noelle.carter@latimes.com.