Same recipe, different ingredients - Ham, mushroom, and scallion quiche

I'm trying to be better about this blog thing. More recipes, more posts, more often. Better pictures (how am I supposed to shoot in natural light if it's dark by the time I get home from work and get dinner on the table, eh?). More followers (that's where you come in).

So, I've been reading a bunch of posts from bloggers and blogging experts - both self-proclaimed and bona fide. Some of what they say makes perfect sense. Be yourself: don't try to be funny - or an expert on French cooking - if you're not. Post your photos even if they aren't perfect (thank god). Post something. Anything. Credit your sources. Don't type "utilize" when "use" will do. (Oh, wait, that one's a hold over from my work life.)

Yesterday I read a blog entitled "Ten Important Things I've Learned About Blogging." And
number 3 on her list was: never blog about the same top[ic] twice!

At first, I figured she must know what's talking about, since the Food Network built an entire show around her now-famous blog.

Then I remembered: be yourself. I do sometimes make the same recipes over again, often with different ingredients. And it can change the end result, at the very least it's different and at most it's better.

Case in point: Had I followed the advice of that well-respected, much-read blogger, we never would have pulled this culinary piece of art out of the oven tonight. What works great in a brunch quiche may not be hearty enough for a dinner quiche.

I've posted about the perfect quiche recipe before. And it definitely bears repeating. I made it again tonight (Brian assembled, let's be fair) and this time used:

• A 12-oz. ham dinner steak, medium diced
• 8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, medium diced
• 1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced, using only white and light green parts
• 1 1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese

The ham had been frozen prior, so it was pretty water logged. After sautéing the veggies in a little garlic olive oil and butter - maybe a tablespoon of each - I remove them, then tossed the ham in the hot pan. I sautéed it just until the extra water had cooked out.

It held together much better this time, after having quickly cooked out the moisture from the fillings. Will definitely keep that in mind in the future.

 

Moral of the story? I'll try not to bore you, but you just might see the same recipe on here twice...

Foolproof Quiche

Almost two months to the day from my last post - yikes. I'm not sure where the time went,  until I consider the packing, unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and shopping that consumed all of March and much of early April. A resolution when we moved was to eat in much more often, so hopefully I'll have many more recipes to share.

When we were talking about making a quiche for Easter brunch, Brian stumbled upon this recipe. It's more a guideline than a recipe with specific measurements and ingredients, and it's exactly the way I like to cook...with what's on hand, what sounds good, with just a few "rules" to make sure it all comes together well.

How to Make a Foolproof Quiche

I made a quiche again yesterday for brunch with some great friends - my first official company in our new home! This is what I did this time...

Ingredients

• 9" prepared pie crust
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fat free half and half
• pinch of salt
• half of a large onion, chopped
• 8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 8 spears of asparagus, cut in half
• 2 cups freshly grated Gruyere

Method

1. Roll out the pie crust and fit it into straight-edged pie plate - I used Polish pottery. Trim away any overhang and reserve for patching up any cracks that appear during baking. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the pie crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake for 20 minutes and remove the weights and parchment. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until just starting to brown. Cool.
3. While the crust is baking, saute onions and mushrooms in oil and butter until soft and mushrooms have given off all of their liquid. Cut asparagus spears so each top piece will fit nicely into the pie dish, from the center to the edge. Grate cheese.
4. Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the pie crust and top with the fillings. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top. 
5. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, and salt until frothy. Pour the custard into the pie crust.
6. Bake the quiche at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set but the quiche still jiggles a little in the center. Cool for at least 20 minutes.

At Easter, we baked the quiche on Saturday night, cooled it, then stored in the fridge overnight, as instructed on the site. We warmed it in a 325°F oven for nearly 40 minutes on Sunday morning, and it was still so cold in the middle we had to heat the slices in the microwave (since everything else was ready). Yesterday, I put the entire thing together in the morning and it was pretty quick and easy. At the most, I might prepare the filling and crust the night before, but put it together and bake it fresh when I'm ready to serve.

You Devil, You!

Whenever we see deviled eggs on a buffet or someone mentions them - and sometimes out of the clear blue - Brian insists, "Jimmy makes the best deviled eggs!"

As we were planning the menu for Sue's birthday party, I quickly realized that there was no rhyme nor reason to the apps we had chosen, no theme. It was some of Sue's favorites, some of ours. So I decided the least I could do was ensure we had a good balance of hot and cold apps. That's when I thought of deviled eggs. And just as quickly realized I had never made them!

I promised Jimmy a shout out if he would be so kind as to share his recipe. He graciously agreed, and so "the week of Sue" continues with...

Jimbo's Deviled Eggs
1 dozen hard boiled large eggs
4 T Hellman's mayonnaise
3 T French's yellow mustard
2 T sweet pickle relish
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Split eggs the long way and remove yolks to a bowl.
2. Rinse egg whites and place cut side down on paper towel to dry.
3. Add mayo to yolks, and mash with a potato masher.
4. Add the mustard to the yolks and mash some more. (At this point, Jimmy's recipe said to add additional mayo and mustard to taste, but I found these measurements to be perfect.)
5. Add relish and pepper and mix with a fork.
6. Dry egg whites with paper towel.
7. Pipe or spoon egg yolk mixture into egg white wells. Sprinkle with paprika.



They were so good that I didn't even get to the table before two disappeared!



New Year's Day Brunch

The best part of New Year's Eve for me is New Year's Day.

It's like the prize you get for making it through the year and suffering through the (often forced) revelry of last night's party. Lazy morning, brunch, football...and a whole new year in front of you to do with whatever you wish.

Ahhh....!

I put this delicious (and healthy, in honor of the new year!) egg bake together while watching the ball drop, popped it in the fridge, and we chased away the cobwebs the next morning over coffee and tea while smelling it bake.

Happy New Year!

Spinach and Artichoke Overnight Breakfast Bake

1 pint liquid egg substitute
3 cups fat free milk
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)*
1 (16 ounce) loaf whole wheat French bread, cut into 16 slices
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese (divided use)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, and salt and pepper (if using). Place half the bread slices in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the mushrooms and onion over medium heat until tender, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add the spinach, artichokes, and flour, stirring to mix well.
3. Spread the mixture over the bread and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Top with the remaining bread and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
4. If using a glass baking dish, place it in a cold oven and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until puffed and golden. If using a metal dish, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake 40 - 50 minutes.

*I usually don't add the salt called for in most recipes, but for this, I would use some next time. It was missing something without it, and I ended up sprinkling salt at the table, which is even more unusual.  Add a 1/2 teaspoon to the custard mixture and I think it would be perfect!

Source: Trim & Terrific Diabetic Cookbook