Breakfast, Brunch and Dinner

Every once in a while, I email Chris a note about what I'm planning on making for dinner. Usually I get an "Ok." If it's taco night, I might get a "Yay!" But last night, this is what he emailed back:

"That's ambitious."

I made a crustless quiche with cheese and herbs and baked apples stuffed with sweet potatoes, sausage, candied pecans, apples and cranberries. It might sound like a lot of work to my dear husband, but for the Gourmess, it was a breeze. (It was ready and waiting in about 45 minutes.) And, it was tasty.

For the Crustless "Quiche," I whisked together 6 eggs, some sour cream (about 1/4 cup), a 1/4 of milk, about 2 TBS of ricotta cheese I wanted to use up, and 1 TBS of herbes de Provence. Then, I poured it all into a greased pie pan. It baked at 375 degrees (on my convection oven's fan bake setting) for about 30 minutes, until the top was lightly browned.

While that was baking, I browned some crumbled pork sausage in a large skillet along with cinnamon, garlic powder, herbes de Provence and 1 TBS of pure maple syrup.  I washed two large Granny Smith apples, cored them and cut a thin slice off the bottom to make them stable.  I cut about 1/2 inch off of the top and peeled a strip from the top as well, to help with even baking.  (Put a bit of lemon juice on the unpeeled part so they don't turn brown while they're waiting.) Then, I carved out a larger hole in the middle and diced those extra pieces of apple and tossed in with the sausage.  I also added in about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of chopped "Pecan Pie" glazed pecans to the sausage pan.

I love using the Ziploc Zip 'n Steam Microwave Bags -- and a few weeks ago, when prepping for vacation, I steamed some halved and peeled sweet potatoes and threw them in the freezer for future use.  Jump to last night and I heated the thawed potatoes in a small pan and roughly mashed them.  I stirred in a bit of butter, maple syrup, garlic powder and cinnamon and then mixed the potatoes in with the sausage mixture, adding salt to taste.  A few spoonfuls went into each apple.

Now, here's the secret to getting this all done in less than an hour:  I added about 2 TBS of water to microwave-safe dish, then gently placed the stuffed apples in the dish. I covered the dish and microwaved the apples for 5 minutes.  When 5 minutes were up, the apples were tender but not mushy. It usually takes about 40-60 minutes to bake apples in the oven--but, I think the microwave method does just fine in the absence of time.

When the eggs were ready, I took the pan out to cool a bit and placed the apples in the oven for another minute or so, then placed an apple and a serving of quiche on each plate.  To finish, I stirred a bit of butter and about a splash of maple syrup into the juices that were left in the dish, then spooned that over each apple. A sprinkle of cinnamon, ground pepper and more pecans, and they were done.

I felt like we were having a lovely brunch somewhere. All that was missing were some mimosas.  The tart apples and the sweet stuffing went nicely together, and the cheesy, eggy "quiche" helped balance all the flavors on the plate.

I know "brunch" is breakfast for lunch, but Chris and I were trying to come up with a new word for having brunch for dinner.  Any suggestions?

I was thinking: "Yum."

xoxoxo

Lettuce Eat!

 I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

Look at this gorgeous head of organic green lettuce! I couldn't wait to make a salad out it. 

I made a dressing out of 3 parts oil (my new favorite is walnut oil), 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 TBS of Dijon mustard, and a tsp of herbs and tossed these lovely leaves with olives, diced roasted red pepper, chopped artichoke hearts, and fresh mozzarella.  It was Spring in a bowl.  

I also had an overabundance of farm fresh eggs in my fridge and decided to make a quick quiche, too. I buttered a pie plate and in a large bowl whisked together 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of whole milk, a dash of salt, a pinch of garlic powder, and some cracked pepper.  I also chopped up some bacon, some kale leaves (I was looking for spinach, but thought kale would give it a nice flavor, too), and a mix of cheddar and American cheese (for extra creaminess) and placed in the bottom of the pan. 

I poured the egg mixture into the pie pan and baked at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes until it was set and lightly browned (keep an eye on it).   

Served with the green salad above, it makes for a wonderful dinner...and great leftovers for brunch the next day...if there are any!

xoxoxo 

Eggs for Everyone

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

I recently found my fridge to  be overstocked with farm-fresh eggs. So, I decided to make my version of a quiche: The Kind-of Quiche. I call it that, because after completing my French Culinary Institute textbook course, I've learned that this is not a true quiche--but, for my purposes, it is close enough. I dug out some olives, roasted red peppers, Irish cheddar, and deli ham for the filling.  I also had a batch of pie dough hanging out on the third shelf, so I decided to use that as the crust for the quiche.

While the "quiche" was baking, I turned my attention to a large bunch of Swiss Chard from my organic box. Growing up, I always loved when my mom made a warm spinach salad with bacon and vinegar, and since nothing goes better with eggs than bacon, I decided to try my version, but with the chard.

Both dishes came out famously and they went well together.  Chris and I ate the entire pan of chard and were left wanting more -- it shrinks down, so for 4 servings, you'd  need at least one bunch per person, doubling the recipe.

A quick dinner that tasted great and helped make room in the fridge! Nice.

Kind-of Quiche

1 9-inch pie crust

6 eggs
1 TBS melted butter, room temperature

2 TBS heavy cream

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup Olives (pitted/sliced)

1/2 cup deli ham (sliced or cubed)

1/4 cup Roasted Red peppers (drained and diced)

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese

Lightly grease a pie pan and then place the pie crust in the pan, crimping the edges.  Whisk the eggs, butter and cream together in a large bowl. Season with salt/pepper, and set aside.   Prepare the filling ingredients and place them on the pie crust.  Pour the egg mixture over that, and then place in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until the crust has browned and the filling is set.

Swiss Chard w/Bacon, Leeks and Vinegar
2 large bunches Swiss Chard
1 TBS butter

3 strips of blanched bacon, diced

1/2 Leek, thinly sliced, white part only
2 TBS vinegar
2 TBS chicken stock
Fresh Parsley

To prepare the chard:  Wash thoroughly to remove any dirt/grit and dry with paper towels.  Fold the chard in half lengthwise, along the stem (like you would close a book; stem is the spine). Then, simply run your knife in line down the inside of the stem. You should be left with the leaf part. Repeat for the rest of the chard, discard the stem or use for future.

For the leeks: cut the root end off and also the green leaves.  Slice the white section you have left in half and rinse in water a few times, being sure to get rid of all the sand and dirt that is in each layer. Dry and thinly slice one of the halves into small pieces. Reserve the other half for future use.

For the bacon, add to boiling water and simmer for about 5 minutes, remove and drain. Continue with recipe.  (This gets rid of extra fat/salt that would overpower the dish.)

Heat the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat until melted.  Add in the leeks and sauté until soft. Add in the bacon and stir together for about 2 minutes more.  Reduce the heat and add the vinegar and chicken stock.  Toss in the chard, cover the pan with a lid and let this cook for about 3 minutes.  Remove the lid -- the chard should have cooked down.  Stir, and adjust seasonings -- may need a bit more salt, or a pinch of sugar, etc.  Cook another minute or two, until the liquid has reduced, toss in the fresh parsley, and serve.

...and watch it disappear.

xoxoxo