How a Real Man Makes Quiche

Quiche. The first time I ever encountered the word, I was told it was something real men didn't eat. I had no clue what it was or why real men didn't eat it, only that it must something gross with lots of vegetables and no meat. The first quiche I ever saw was a runny, undercooked nastiness that did nothing to inspire me to ever want to try a bite. It was not for many years, in fact, that I actually tried quiche and found it to be "not that bad."

Lately, however, I have discovered a new passion for this dish. It's perfect in its simplicity. Eggs, cheese, cream. Add to this base whatever flavor combinations you like. Bake it in a pie shell. Perfect. It's fantastic for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche with Feta

I have recently taken to making a quiche on Sunday evening and eating it for breakfast all week (though I never seem to get past Wednesday!). The versatility of the dish allows for such a wide variety of flavors and ingredients that I never get sick of it.

Today, I am posting a couple of different quiche recipes. Really, they're the same recipe with different ingredient combinations. I typically use an all butter pie crust, the same one I discussed in my Dec. 19, 2010 post. I will usually cut back a bit on the sugar, though I still add a teaspoon or so. I find it's best to make a double crust and then freeze half of it for later use. If you are going to use the other half in 2 days or so, keep it in the refrigerator. Otherwise, you can freeze it for up to a month, if you wrap it well in plastic wrap and wax paper. If you freeze it, be sure to thaw the crust completely before you try to roll it out. The crust for the quiche is not pre-baked though lately I've considered experimenting with that, just to see what happens.

The quiche recipe I prefer calls for 4 large eggs. There are some recipes I've encountered that only call for 3 but I like the eggier version better. Most recipes call for cream or half-n-half. You may certainly use these ingredients if you choose. Seeing as how I make quiche so frequently, I have substituted these with a combination of evaporated milk and low-fat milk. Okay so it's still got some fat going on, I realize, but cutting out 2 cups of cream is never bad for the waistline!

Southwestern Quiche
Preheat your oven to 425°. Roll out the pie crust and line a 9" pie dish. Cover this with plastic and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.
In a large saute pan, heat
2 T olive oil
until the oil is hot and add:
1/2 onion, diced fine
1-2 red or green jalepeños, seeded and diced
Cook over medium heat until peppers begin to soften, about 5 minutes or so. Add:
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Stir into onions and peppers and cook for a minute. Remove ingredients from the pan and set aside.

Southwestern Quiche

In a large bowl, mix together:
8-10 oz ground pork
1 t table salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t dried oregano
Return the saute pan to the heat and cook sausage over medium heat until lightly browned. At the last minute, toss in:
1/4 c cilantro leaves
Stir leaves into sausage and remove from heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together:
4 large eggs
1-12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 c milk
1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
When well combined, stir in onions and peppers along with sausage and
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Immediately pour into chilled pie crust. Sprinkle the top with:
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
Place in 425° oven for 15 minutes. Turn the quiche halfway and lower the temperature to 350°. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the quiche has set up but still barely jiggles in the middle. You can also test it by carefully inserting a knife blade in the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.
Allow the quiche to cool for a bit before cutting into it. I usually try to hold myself back for at least a half an hour but an hour is better. The longer the quiche sits, the firmer it will set up.

This recipe obviously makes a spicier quiche, the jalepeños giving it enough of a kick to make any real man proud. Still, sometimes a kinder, gentler approach is best. There's nothing wrong with going meatless on occasion, like for example the quiche I made this evening...

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche with Feta
As before, we begin with the oven at 425° and a pie shell in the fridge. In our saute pan we will combine:
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
We'll cook this until it softens and add:
1 garlic clove, minced
Stir the garlic into the onions and cook for a minute, then remove from the pan and set aside. Place the pan back on the heat and add:
2 t olive oil
1 c sliced crimini or portobello mushrooms
1/2 t salt
Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add:
1-1/2 c baby spinach leaves
Stir and heat until the spinach leaves have wilted. Remove mushrooms and spinach from the pan, leaving behind any liquid.
In a large bowl, whisk together:
4 large eggs
1-12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 c milk
1-1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
dash of nutmeg
Whisk until well combined. Stir in onions, peppers, mushrooms and spinach along with:
1 c crumbled feta cheese (about 4-6 oz)
Pour into chilled pie crust and sprinkle the top with:
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
Bake as above, first at 425° for 15 minutes, then at 350° for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through. Let it cool on a rack for an hour.

So many flavors, so many possibilities! Perhaps next week, I'll do a classic Quiche Lorraine with bacon and swiss cheese. Or maybe a smoked salmon quiche...

Cheers!

Quiche Update

Since writing the above post, I have experimented with a couple of different variations of crusts. I made one quiche with a crust made from whole wheat pastry flour. I used no white flour at all. I found the crust to not hold together quite as well as just using white flour. It was still very tasty but I think next time I'll try half whole wheat flour and half white and see how that works out.

In her comment posted below, The Improbable Farmer says that she fears pie crust and makes her quiche crustless. Kat had also been wanting to try this, not for fear of making the crust but of the calories therein. She decided to try making one with some of the fresh asparagus we have. She sprayed the pie plate with non-stick spray, then poured in the filling. Instead of baking it at 425° for the first 15 minutes, she just baked it at 350° for 40-45 minutes on an insulated baking sheet (to prevent the bottom from overcooking). 

The result was fantastic! The custard was perfectly cooked around the outside and the quiche held its form wonderfully when served. It was every bit as good as a regular quiche without the unnecessary calories. We loved it so much, we may never go back to crusted quiche again!

Peredur

May 24, 2011

Dutch Apple Pie

Apple pie is awesome. There's no getting around it. In whatever form it appears, whether old fashioned double crust American apple pie or German strudel, apples it seems were meant to be baked into a pastry of some sort with cinnamon and sugar.

My wife and I recently obtained an entire box of Granny Smith apples. I feel like a kid at Christmas! Oh the possibilities! One of the first things I wanted to make was an old favorite, Dutch Apple Pie. I've always loved the crumbly top on this classic and it requires the making of one less crust, or gives you an extra crust to make something else - like quiche!

Because I used half the pie dough for a savory quiche, I cut back on the sugar by about half. I used a very basic two-crust recipe. Begin by sifting together:

2-1/2 c all purpose flour

1 T sugar (the normal amount would be 2 T)

1 t salt

In a food processor or by hand, gently mix in:

1/2 c frozen shortening, cut into small pieces

Mix until the flour takes on a grainy texture. Add in:

1-1/2 c frozen butter, cut into small pieces

Gently mix together, being careful not to over handle the dough, as this will make it tough. The flour should take on the texture of small peas. Slowly, a tablespoon at a time, add in:

6-8 T ice water

Gently mix water into the dough until it's just moist enough to stick together when pinched. Split the dough into 2 even pieces and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes or for up to 2 days. It may also be frozen for a week or more, if properly wrapped.

Once the crust is ready, roll it out and line your pie dish. If you like, you can cover this in plastic and put it back in the fridge until you're ready for it.

The filling is real simple. Peel, core and slice enough apples for about 5-6 cups. I used 4 Granny Smiths and a small Fuji. The tarter the apple, the higher the pectin. Pectin is important because, just like in jellies and jams, this is what makes the filling set up and not be too runny. I also add a little flour which, combined with the pectin, helps hold the filling together.

Begin by preheating your oven to 375°. Take a large bowl and combine:

5-6 c sliced apples

1 T lemon juice

Toss together until the apples are well coated, then add:

1/2 c granulated sugar

1/4 c packed brown sugar

3 T flour

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

Toss apples until they are completely coated with sugar and spices. Pour the apples into the pie crust. In a small bowl, whisk together:

3/4 c flour

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/4 c packed brown sugar

When combined, add:

1/3 c soft butter

Mix together until the texture is crumbly. Cover the apples with the topping. Bake pie for 50 minutes, turning about halfway through to insure even baking. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Outstanding! Pie that makes you thankful for bad weather - a great excuse for staying inside with a fresh pot of tea. There is nothing better!

Cheers!

Apple Cranberry Pie

Winter Solstice is officially taking place on Tuesday the 21st but, seeing as how it is the weekend, the party at Sekhet-Ma'at Lodge will be held tonight. We will all be gathering for a ritual celebration followed by a pot luck feast. This means I'm going to have to cook something and, after waking with a slight hangover from last nights birthday festivities, food was not exactly high on my list.

By this afternoon, however, I was feeling much better and that's when I got the inspiration to bake a pie for the party. Reviewing what I had on hand, I decided to make an apple pie. I remembered that I had some cranberries stored in the freezer and opted to throw them in as well.

I started by making my favorite pie crust, a recipe I got from America's Test Kitchen for all butter crust. It always comes out wonderfully flaky and delicious so I've never felt the need to make a different crust. Here is the double crust recipe.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together:

1/3 c ice water

3 T sour cream (I always use plain yogurt)

Set this mixture aside. In a food processor combine:

2-1/2 c flour

1 T sugar

1 t salt

Pulse to mix and then add:

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and frozen for 10-15 minutes

Pulse several times until texture looks crumbly. Add the water/yogurt mixture and continue to pulse. You may have to add a tablespoon of ice water though I usually don't. The crust should not be over-mixed or over-handled. It is done when you pinch a small amount and it sticks together. When it is done, pour it out of the processor bowl onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Gently press the dough together into a flat disc, wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Once the dough has cooled down a bit, remove it from the fridge and split it into 2 batches. Roll out one half into a disc about 10 inches across and carefully place it into the pie dish. Roll the other half out into a 9 inch disc and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover both halves with plastic and return them to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

As I mentioned, this crust is incredibly flaky and tender. If you were using it for a prebaked pie crust, you would bake it at this point. Since I'm not doing that, I put it back in the fridge so the butter could harden back up.

Making the pie filling is simple enough. Once the crusts are back in the fridge, peel, core and slice:

8-10 medium apples

Granny Smith are always best for pie but I did not have any. Instead I used Fujis and a couple of Cameos. Place the apples in a large bowl. Add in:

1 c fresh or frozen whole cranberries

1 T orange juice

Combine and set aside. This is a good time to get your oven warming. Place the oven rack on the lowest setting, put an insulated cookie sheet on the rack and set the temperature to 500°. (Be careful using non-insulated cookie sheets as they may cause the bottom of the pie to burn.) In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together:

1 c sugar

2 T flour

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t allspice

1/4 t ground clove

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t salt

Add the above ingredients to the apples and combine until the fruit is well coated. Remove the pie crusts from the refrigerator. Carefully transfer the fruit into the bottom crust, mounding the fruit to get all of it into the dish. After the apples cook and cool, they will shrink a bit. Cover the apples with the top crust, rolling it out a little more if needed. Pinch the edges of the crust together and, if you like, make a decorative edge by either scalloping the dough with your fingers or pressing down on the dough with a fork around the edge of the dish. Brush the top of the crust with:
1 egg white, lightly whipped
Make a few slits in the top of the crust to allow for venting. Place the pie on the hot cookie sheet and reduce the temperature to 425°. Bake the pie for 25 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet, reduce the temperature to 375° and bake for another 30-35 minutes. Allow the pie to completely cool before cutting.

The pie, as you can see from the picture, came out wonderfully! The crust was crispy (as the butter crusts always are) and the cranberries added a delightful dimension to a classic favorite. The comments from the party-goers seemed to agree. This is quite definitely a pie I will make again. And again.

A Happy Solstice to you, one and all!

Pecan Pie vs Pumpkin Pie

Photo by Kat

 Today begins the cooking and preparation for tomorrows big turkey feast. And when I say "big turkey," I do mean it! We've got a 24 lb. free-range turkey, giving us something to be mighty thankful for this year!

I will be doing most of the cooking this year, though not all. My dear friend Mae will be playing hostess after we made a deal that if she had everyone over, I would do most of the work. I would like to have hosted myself but Kat and I only have room in our tiny house for about 3 guests. At last count, we're expecting 15 or so for Thanksgiving and that number may still rise! A few other friends will be pitching in on the cooking and bringing dishes. There will be absolutely no shortage of food!

Here is a brief rundown of this years menu:

Roasted Turkey, brined in apple cider with oranges and spices

Tofurkey (not mine, I promise!)

Polenta Giblet Stuffing

Gluten-free Vegetarian Stuffing

Garlic Mashed Potatoes with gravy

Orange Spice Cranberry Sauce

Waldorf Salad

Green Bean Casserole

Ginger Carrots

Homemade Whole Wheat Rolls with butter

Gluten-free Pecan Pie

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Scratch Pumpkin Pie

I'm fairly sure no one will go hungry tomorrow. I will be preparing all but the gluten free stuff, Waldorf Salad, the carrots and green beans. At the last minute I decided to make a Pumpkin Pie. That's a desert that seems to be falling out of favor more and more as people begin exploring more non-traditional Thanksgiving ideas. Some people are pumpkin pie aficionados. Others are not and most of those seem to downright hate the stuff. Myself, I've never been the biggest fan. This may be entirely to having spent my life eating pumpkin pie from a can. Tonight, I'm going to make a pie from scratch. I'm certain someone will eat it!

Now pecan pie, well that's a whole different story! Pecan pie is, hands down my favorite and I look forward to Thanksgiving just so I can make one. Chess pie, a corn syrup based custard of which pecan pie is but one variety, is a Southern specialty and there are endless ways to make it. Add pecans, buttermilk, maple syrup., whiskey, vanilla. The flavor combinations are endless and everyone has their favorite. Make a cornmeal crust and it will take you to another world!

Today's cooking begins with the rolls. These I made completely by hand, not even using a spoon! While the dough was rising, I set to work on other things, like getting the turkey into the brine. This year I took a tip from Pure & Yummy on making apple cider brine. I did mine a little differently, using the following recipe:

3 quarts apple cider

6 cinnamon sticks, broken

about 10 whole cloves

1 t allspice (I would have used whole if I had it)

2 bay leaves

2/3 c kosher salt

2/3 c sugar

I mixed all these together in a stock pot and brought the mixture to a boil in order to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once done, I set the pot out on the front porch to cool (it's about 31° outside right now). Once it had cooled, I took our turkey and cleaned it out real good, washing it and patting it dry. I put it inside a large 5 gallon bucket, adding ice and cold water to finish filling the container. I sealed it tight and put it in the shed out back until tomorrow. It will only get down to the mid-20's tonight, not enough to freeze the brine (the salt will see to that!).

Next on the list today - making Orange Cranberry Sauce. I already outlined this process in an earlier post. The difference this time is that I did not use vanilla bean, preferring the taste without.

Next up, pie crust. The recipe I like the best is a butter crust from America's Test Kitchen. I've never gotten anything but rave reviews anytime I've ever made it. At first, I was only going to make the Bourbon Pecan Pie but, since no one had offered to bring a pumpkin and because we have 3 little pie pumpkins in the basement, I thought that it would be just as easy to make 2 pies as one. I roasted one of the pumpkins and pureed the meat to use later.

I made a 2 crust batch of pie dough and split it in two pieces. I wrapped each in plastic and put it in the fridge until later.

By this point the dough for the rolls had risen and could be rolled out into little balls about 1" to 1-1/2" in diameter. In retrospect, these were too small. I've only made rolls a couple of times and am still learning how big to make them. I placed the rolls on the parchment lined cookie sheets and let them rise until they had doubled in size. I then baked them at 350° for a half and hour or so.

Once I had finished with the rolls, it was time to start on the polenta. Since the oven was free for the time being, I decided to roast the seeds from the pumpkin. I cooked the polenta for a half an hour or so and poured it into a greased cookie sheet to cool overnight.

Photo by Kat

Now it was pie time. I started with the pecan. First, I preheated the oven to 400°. Taking one of the crusts out of the fridge, I rolled it out into a disc big enough for a 9" pie dish. I fit the crust into the dish, then covered it with foil, carefully pressing it down to cover the bottom and sides of the crust. Then I filled the foil with pie weights. You can buy these at a kitchen store if you like spending money. Or you can use rice or, as I did, pinto beans. I won't be eating these beans but I will keep them around for the next pie! I baked the crust for about 15 minutes. I set it aside while I made the filling.

Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling
Heat the oven to 275° and place the rack to the middle setting. Set up a double boiler or place a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of water. Melt:
6 T unsalted butter
Once the butter is melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in:
1 c dark brown sugar
Add:
3/4 c light corn syrup
3 eggs
1 shot Kentucky bourbon
1/2 t salt
Whisk everything together well and place bowl back over the heat. Continue heating, stirring regularly, until the temperature reaches 130°. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in:
2 c chopped pecans
Pour the filling into the prebaked crust and bake for 50-60 minutes until the custard jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack It is best to let the pie sit overnight, which is why I like to bake a pecan pie at least a day in advance.

Now that pie #1 was out of the way it was time for pie #2. This time there was no crust to prebake, and pumpkin is an easier pie to make than pecan.

From Scratch Pumpkin Pie
Heat the oven to 425°. Prepare a 9" pie dish with crust and refrigerate until ready for use. In a large mixing bowl, combine:
2 c pumpkin puree
1 c evaporated milk
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t cinnamon
1 t allspice
1 t ginger
1 t cardamom
1/2 t ground clove
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
Whisk everything together until smooth and creamy. Pour into chilled pie crust and bake at 425° for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking for another 45 minutes. If the crust starts to get too dark before the pie is finished, take a strip of foil and carefully cover the outer edge of the pie. The pie is done when a knife stuck in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

All right, that's it! I'm off to bed to rest up for tomorrow. Have a Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Photo by Kat