quiche...it's what's for dinner

When I don’t quite know what I want to cook for dinner, I sometimes turn to eggs, making a simple omelet, or a quiche.  Last night, I had some cream and milk I wanted to use, as well as bacon and onions in the refrigerator, so I decided on a classic quiche Lorraine, served with an easy salad on the side.  I had cream cheese on hand as well, so I made a tender crust--the recipe is the same as the one here, minus the sugar.  Even easier--buy a frozen crust at the grocery.  I like to keep a couple in the freezer for when I don’t feel like making pie dough from scratch.

Quiche is a wonderful blank slate for using odds and ends in the refrigerator.  One can use various bits of vegetables, and small amounts of several different cheeses.  Broccoli and cheddar is a good combination, as is ham, Swiss, and asparagus.  Red bell pepper, goat cheese, and arugula make a fine combination.  Consider mushrooms, cooked leftover chicken, and spinach, with feta.  Whatever vegetables you decide to use, just be sure to cut them small and sauté them until they are crisp/tender, and have given up a good deal of their moisture, so the quiche isn’t watery.

 bacon crisps, then the onions cook in the rendered fat

I blind bake the crust in a 375⁰ oven for about 15 minutes to prevent it from becoming soggy once the egg mixture is added.  I usually use dried beans to weight the crust.  Pie weights will work if you have them.  If you don’t have either, just “dock” the crust with a fork (poke several holes in it) and when you take it out of the oven, deflate any risen areas with a fork.  Scatter your ingredients across the bottom of the crust, and pour in the egg custard mixture.   It is a good idea to place the pie plate on a cookie sheet to catch any run-over and save yourself the hassle of cleaning the oven.

 a simple whisk job makes a wonderful filling

Quiche Lorraine

(makes enough for 1 nine inch pie crust)

4 strips bacon, cut into ¼ inch lardons

½ medium onion, cut pole-to-pole in ¼-inch strips

½ cup milk

½ cup cream

4 eggs

1 cup guyere cheese

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Heat the oven to 375⁰.  Bake the crust, using beans or pie weights, for about 15 minutes.  While the crust is baking, sauté the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and sauté the onions in the bacon fat until they are light brown and wilted.  Combine the milk, cream, eggs, cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Sprinkle the bacon and onions over the bottom of the crust, and pour over the egg mixture.  Bake the quiche for about 30 minutes, or until the egg is set and the top golden brown.

 puffy, golden deliciousness

a thin, crispy version of quiche with lightly dressed salad 
on the side

oven dried tomatoes

I have gathered and frozen a bounty of tomatoes from my garden, but this heat wave we're having here in the Carolinas has taken a toll on my plants, and I want more.  Whole Foods recently acquired a batch of small, heirloom tomatoes that are delicious.  I have little room left in my freezer, so, what to do?

Dry a batch, and freeze.  Once their volume is reduced, their flavor is intensified, and they take up little room in the freezer.  And they do need to be frozen.  Unlike commercially dried tomatoes, home-dried ones retain enough moisture that they can develop mold.

a variety of heirloom tomatoes, split in half and ready for the oven

Placing the split tomatoes on a rack allows the air to circulate around the tomatoes.  I dry them for about 3 hours in a 200 degree oven (if you have a convection oven, use it--the additional air circulation will dry the tomatoes even faster), then bag them when they are cool, for a taste of summer sweetness in winter dishes.  Drying them longer will of course reduce the moisture even more (um, duh, Gail).  I keep the time to around 3 hours so the tomatoes will still maintain a bit of their tender bite.

the finished product

These tasty little bites are a great addition to a cold weather tomato sauce, a scampi, or a salad of fall greens.  I think, since the little local gems are so good this year, I will be drying another round. 

brown bag lunches for grown ups

When finances are tight, one of the first places people look for some savings is the lunch bill.  Packing school lunches for kids is the norm, and there are plenty of ideas out there for great child-friendly, healthy lunches.  But what about the grown ups?  A few days of the same old turkey sandwiches and congealed leftovers, and its back to the chain restaurant specials (which often aren’t so special) and the fast food meals loaded with calories and salt.  

This brown bag recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breast, but consider changing things up a little with some leftover steak or lamb, or even some grilled zucchini or eggplant.  Though the chicken in this recipe calls for a marinade, there is no reason to let it sit.  In fact, the acid in the yogurt can make the chicken a bit mushy, so just dunk and grill (or broil.) 

Naan bread is softer than pita, but pita pockets will do if you can’t find naan. 

Marinade:

4 oz. Greek yogurt (thicker than plain yogurt.  You can also simply drain plain yogurt in a tea towel)

1 ½ tsp garam masala (available in the spice aisle)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 fresh hot chile pepper, such as jalapeno or Serrano

Juice of half a lemon

2 TBS chopped cilantro

Mince the chile, and mix all of the ingredients together.  Add two chicken breast halves, either whole, or sliced if you prefer them to cook more quickly.   I grill mine whole, and they are easy to slice as I need them.  Make this when you are already grilling or broiling something, and let them tag along.  They can be stored, fully cooked, in the fridge, until you are ready to make lunch.

Make a simple sauce.  Combine:

1 seeded, peeled, diced cucumber (a melon baller is a great tool for seeding a cuke--gather the diced cubes up in a kitchen towel and wring out the extra moisture)

1 small hot pepper, minced

1 green onion, minced

1 tsp salt

Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp finely minced fresh mint

2 TBS minced cilantro

 

diced cucumber, draining in the sink--you can just wring

it out in a towel

the beautiful beginnings of a raita

 the end result, with the addition of some Greek yogurt

Sandwich assembly:

1 piece of naan bread

small tomato, chopped and drained on a paper towel

minced hot pepper to taste (remember there is already some in the marinade and raita)

3 thin slices of onion (white onion works very well, and can be toned down by a quick rinse in cold water)

Handful of chopped cilantro

1 half sliced, marinated, cooked chicken breast

Optional garnishes are thinly sliced pickle, shredded cabbage or lettuce, and Tzatziki  or raita sauce

Stuff the sliced chicken, tomato, pepper, onion, cilantro, and any other garnishes in the naan or pita pocket, alternating layers so you have all of the flavors throughout.  Wrap in foil or parchment paper.  If you are using tzatsiki or raita sauce, pack it in a little container to add at lunch time to prevent your sandwich from getting soggy.   With a little planning, you can have a brown bag lunch in no time, loaded with tasty and interesting ingredients!

not your typical brown bag lunch