Quiches

I've been sitting here for about 15 minutes debating over whether or not to put pictures on this post.  They are horrible so I decided against it, also because all the folks that asked me for the recipes saw them all in person.  Seriously, very un-appetizing photos.

I prepared 6 different quiches for my daughter's baby shower and they all turned out great!  I will give you here the basis for the quiches and the list of ingredients I used.  You can change of the ingredients to your liking.  I used two different crusts.  A hash brown crust that I was afraid was going to permanently adhere to the quiche dish.  Thankfully it did not, and came out like a dream and tasted great!  The other was a plain pastry crust, I cheated and picked up the store bought variety.  Unroll it and toss it in the dish.  Normally I would prepare the crust from scratch, however I had 6 of these facing me so I took the short cut.

Hash Brown Crust

The Chef In My Head

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Store Bought Pie Crust Preparations

The Chef In My Head

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Gently press pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and prick with fork multiple times.  Line pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 12 minutes.  remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before adding filling.

Fillings

The Chef In MY Head

Cheese/Cream/Egg Ratios:

3 Eggs

1-1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half-n-half  (I love heavy cream, but if you want to save on calories you can use milk)

1 to 1-1/2 Cups shredded cheese (Gruyere is my favorite, but you can use Swiss or Cheddar or any combination)

Salt/pepper/herbs of your choice

Beat eggs, cream and seasonings together.  Add shredded cheese to this mixture.  Set aside.

Flavorings/Seasonings/Meats/Vegetables Options:

The Chef In My Head

Here, just pick your favorites and toss them in!  I usually will serve a vegetarian option as well.

Fresh thyme

Fresh cilantro

Fresh basil

6 oz bacon sliced in lardoons (love jalapeno bacon and peppered bacon), saute until crisp and drain well

6 oz ham, cubed or sliced (I will quickly saute just to eliminate some of the water from the ham)

1 medium zucchini, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 pound mushrooms, diced (experiment with different mushrooms, shitake, button, cremini etc), sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 cup sliced green onion, do not precook

2-3 cups fresh spinach, diced, do not precook

2-3 cups kale, diced and sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 poblano pepper, roasted and skin removed, finely diced

Red and/or yellow pepper, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

Avocado, peeled and sliced (a favorite of mine, spiral slices in pie dish, very rich and delicious!)

Optional Toppings

The Chef In My Head

3 oz goat cheese, crumbled on top

Poblano pepper strips (as prepared above)

Pimento strips

Fresh parsley

Layering and Baking

The Chef In My Head

Baked, cooled pie crust

meat/vegetable fillings

Pour cream/egg/cheese mixture over fillings

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.  Watch your crust for over-browning.  Cover with ring of foil if necessary.

Allow quiche to cool about 10 minutes and serve.

The point here is to be creative and use the ingredients and seasonings you love!

Just drop me a line if you have any questions!

Bon Appetite!

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Chilled Avocado Soup

Chilled and creamy served as an appetizer

I love this recipe and it is a breeze to make.  Lovely flavors with just a touch of cayenne and oh so delicious fresh lime juice.  This is my sweet Mom's recipe and it's one of my favorites, just perfect for spring time.  Or summer for that matter, as it happens to feel like in Texas already.  I searched until I found just the right over sized shot glasses to serve this for the girls in my bunco group.  This is an easy recipe to double or triple.  Just allow for 1 avocado per person.  The recipe below serves 4 regular soup bowl servings or a bunch of single appetizer servings.  Don't get the idea it is just for girls, my husband gobbles it up too!

Chilled Avocado Soup

4 avocados (1 per person)
2 C heavy cream
2 C chicken stock
2 T lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
healthy dash of cayenne

Process all ingredients except heavy cream, in food processor or blender until smooth.  Stir in cream. Taste to adjust seasonings.  Allow to chill in refrigerator.  Garnish with lemon or lime slices.

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Vegetable Pot Pie

This version of my vegetable pot pie has flavorings from Provence but with a touch of poblano, I couldn't resist. I began with a recipe from our buddy Ina Garten but it morphed into something far different. We loved it and I especially love Puff Pastry, it's right up there with cream sauces in my book. This is simple to make ahead if you are expecting company, just store them in the freezer and you can have them anytime.

Serves 4

12 Tbl unsalted Butter (1-1/2 sticks)

2 C sliced Onions (2 onions)

1 large Leek, carefully washed and sliced

1 Tbl Tarragon

1/2 C Flour

2-1/2 C Chicken Stock

1 Tbl Pernod (Pernod is anise-flavored liqueur from France)

Pinch of Saffron threads

1-1/2 tsp Grey Salt

1 tsp freshly ground Pepper

4 Tbl Heavy Cream

1-1/2 C peeled large-diced Potatoes (1/2 pound)

1-1/2 C peeled, 3/4-inch-diced carrots (4 carrots)

1 large Poblano Pepper- roasted, peeled & diced

1 sheet Puff Pastry

1 Egg

Grey Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper for garnish

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and leeks and saute' until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour and reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, Pernod, saffron,tarragon, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Poblano, the heavy cream and sea on to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the carrots to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes and carrots to the large pot with the rest of the sauce and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Roll out the puff pastry slightly and cut into 4 circles large enough to overlap sides of bowls by 1/2-inch on all sides. In a small bowl, make egg wash by beating a small amount of water into beaten egg. Brush the top edge of each bowl withe the egg wash. Cover each bowl with the circles of puff pastry, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with the egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with the Grey Salt and Pepper. Place on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Gorgonzola with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes & Cremini Mushrooms

This is one of my favorite dinners. Truly, in my opinion, EVERYTHING taste good with a cream sauce. If you need to reduce the calories in this recipe, you can cut back on the amount of butter and the heavy cream, but why? What if that truck has your name on it tomorrow, look what you would have missed? If you are a caper lover, go ahead and add them! I have made many variations of this recipe such as, skipping the pasta, lightly bread the chicken (as for picatta), omit the cream and up the lemon juice. Easy enough for week-night dinner and elegant enough for a dinner party. For a dinner party, I would probably add Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms for an appetizer, serve with a Ceasar Salad, Crusty French Bread and a Lemon Tart for dessert. Let me know what you think!

Serves 4

1/2 C Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I use dried ones, you can also use oil-packed, drained well)

2 Chicken breast, skinless, halved & lightly pounded out to about 1/2 inch thick

1 pound fettuccine pasta, cooked according to pkg directions

3 Tbl Olive Oil

2 Tbl Butter

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 pound Cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 C canned artichoke hearts, drained & quartered

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp dried tarragon

Salt & Pepper, to taste

1/2 C dry white wine

1/2 C chicken stock

1/2 C crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/4 C Heavy Cream

1/4 Parmesan, shredded for garnish

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and saute' until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate, do not clean skillet.

Cook pasta until just tender, Drain and drizzle with tiny bit of olive oil and toss to keep it from sticking together.

Meanwhile, reheat skillet to medium-high heat, add butter. Add garlic; saute until tender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tarragon and salt & pepper; saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice, white wine and chicken stock. Return chicken to pan together with vegetables, cover and reduce heat to medium, for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Uncover, add Gorgonzola and heavy cream, stir to combine and heat through.

Serve over pasta and garnish with Parmesan. Enjoy!

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