Wednesday, December 27, 2006
It's been AGES!
But don't worry, I will have a truly massive post for you just after New Year's.
I didn't cook for Christmas, instead I went to The Cheesecake Factory with some friends.
The current menu for New Year's Eve is...
Starter
Lobster Thermidor
Fresh lobster in a creamy Mornay sauce, topped with bubbling Gruyere and Parmesan Cheeses.
Main Course
Standing Rib Roast
Dry aged rib roast, served with Yorkshire Pudding, roasted potatoes, mushrooms and spinach.
Bread Basket
Baguettes with Garlic Butter
I didn't cook for Christmas, instead I went to The Cheesecake Factory with some friends.
The current menu for New Year's Eve is...
Starter
Lobster Thermidor
Fresh lobster in a creamy Mornay sauce, topped with bubbling Gruyere and Parmesan Cheeses.
Main Course
Standing Rib Roast
Dry aged rib roast, served with Yorkshire Pudding, roasted potatoes, mushrooms and spinach.
Bread Basket
Baguettes with Garlic Butter
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Quiche!
QUICHE LORRAINE
Notice how nicely browned the edge of the pastry is.
I'll tell you how to blind bake the crust AND get the edges perfectly brown too!
SPINACH AND SAUSAGE QUICHE
The crumbled Gruyere Cheese is just MELTING out of the Spinach quiche.
Personally I prefer the spinach and sausage one. Quiche Lorraine is awesome too. Try them both and make up your mind!
I will be presenting 2 variations of this recipe:
1. Spinach, Sausage and Gruyere Cheese
2. Quiche Lorraine (Bacon and Onions)
Notes:
I used premade/preformed pie crusts bought from the store. (I know! The shocker! O.o)
My current kitchen setup does not allow me the luxury of making my own pastry, plus, my hands and fingertips are really warm (The fires of passion run in my veins =P ) and are not suited to making pastry. Also, it's a total pain in the butt to make.
General Ingredients:
Preheat oven to pie crust instruction temperature, then to 325F for quiche.
Pie Crusts
6- 8 Eggs per Quiche (Room Temperature)
Heavy Cream (That's right ladies, I said HEAVY CREAM)
Salt/Pepper (You may use white pepper if you don't like the black specks you get from using black pepper)
Spinach, Sausage and Gruyere Quiche
1 Roll Regular Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 Packet Frozen Spinach
1 Small Sweet Onion, Diced
6.5 oz. Gruyere Cheese, 1/2 Grated, 1/2 Crumbled (You'll need more if you snack on the cheese like I do)
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Pot of Boiling Water
Over medium-high heat, fry the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. When the sausage starts to brown, add the minced garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
Boil spinach for about 1-2 minutes in salted water. Drain and press out remaining liquid.
Over medium-low heat, melt butter and olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Sautee onions till translucent.
Raise heat till medium-high, add spinach and sautee for 3-4 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly before mixing with the sausage, crumbled and half of the shredded Gruyere Cheese.
Quiche Lorraine
3/4 Packet of Bacon
1 Small Sweet Onion, Diced
5 oz. Shredded Sharp Cheddar (Optional)
1/4 cup White Wine
Slice bacon into thick strips.
Over medium-low heat, sautee onions till translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Over medium/medium-high heat, fry the bacon strips. The bacon should be cooked till slightly brown, but not crisp. The bacon should be floppy!
Remove bacon from pan, in a separate bowl, mix the bacon with onions and cheese..
Lower heat to Medium-Low, drain the pan of all the bacon grease and deglaze with white wine, cook for about 2 minutes, remove from heat, add cream and set aside.
Pie Crust
For the basic pie crust. Follow the instructions on the package. I blind bake my crusts as raw/undercooked/un-browned pastry is truly disgusting.
Before putting the crust into the oven, prick the crust with a fork along regular intervals. This allows the steam to escape and prevent the dough from "puffing up" while cooking. Do not pierce the fork through the pastry, just about half-way will do. If the pastry continues to puff up while cooking, you may use a fork to gently press it back down as it cooks in the oven.
Cover the pasty along the rim of the pan with foil as this will prevent it from getting browned too soon. If you forgo this step, the pastry along the rim will become burnt while you cook the quiche.
Once the base is slightly browned, remove the crusts from the oven, let cool and place them in the freezer to cool further. You want the pre-baked crusts cold so that they don't absorb the egg mixture and become soggy.
Making the Quiche
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and cream along with some salt and pepper. For the Quiche Lorraine, use the cream that was used to deglaze the pan.
Add the fillings into the respective pie crusts, pour in egg and cream mixture, top with cheese and bake for about 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean.
Remember! The egg is there to bind the ingredients together. I prefer my quiche with a TON of filling and not too much egg.
Storage:
As per Dru's feedback, I will be adding info on how I store and reheat my dishes in subsequent posts.
For the Quiche, I would recommend that you keep the quiches in an airtight box with a paper napkin on the bottom so that the pastry doesn't become soggy. For a quick reheat, the best way would be to microwave it for a few minutes before finishing it off in the oven. The center will be hot, and the crust, crispy.
Notice how nicely browned the edge of the pastry is.
I'll tell you how to blind bake the crust AND get the edges perfectly brown too!
SPINACH AND SAUSAGE QUICHE
The crumbled Gruyere Cheese is just MELTING out of the Spinach quiche.
Personally I prefer the spinach and sausage one. Quiche Lorraine is awesome too. Try them both and make up your mind!
I will be presenting 2 variations of this recipe:
1. Spinach, Sausage and Gruyere Cheese
2. Quiche Lorraine (Bacon and Onions)
Notes:
I used premade/preformed pie crusts bought from the store. (I know! The shocker! O.o)
My current kitchen setup does not allow me the luxury of making my own pastry, plus, my hands and fingertips are really warm (The fires of passion run in my veins =P ) and are not suited to making pastry. Also, it's a total pain in the butt to make.
General Ingredients:
Preheat oven to pie crust instruction temperature, then to 325F for quiche.
Pie Crusts
6- 8 Eggs per Quiche (Room Temperature)
Heavy Cream (That's right ladies, I said HEAVY CREAM)
Salt/Pepper (You may use white pepper if you don't like the black specks you get from using black pepper)
Spinach, Sausage and Gruyere Quiche
1 Roll Regular Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 Packet Frozen Spinach
1 Small Sweet Onion, Diced
6.5 oz. Gruyere Cheese, 1/2 Grated, 1/2 Crumbled (You'll need more if you snack on the cheese like I do)
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Pot of Boiling Water
Over medium-high heat, fry the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. When the sausage starts to brown, add the minced garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
Boil spinach for about 1-2 minutes in salted water. Drain and press out remaining liquid.
Over medium-low heat, melt butter and olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Sautee onions till translucent.
Raise heat till medium-high, add spinach and sautee for 3-4 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly before mixing with the sausage, crumbled and half of the shredded Gruyere Cheese.
Quiche Lorraine
3/4 Packet of Bacon
1 Small Sweet Onion, Diced
5 oz. Shredded Sharp Cheddar (Optional)
1/4 cup White Wine
Slice bacon into thick strips.
Over medium-low heat, sautee onions till translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Over medium/medium-high heat, fry the bacon strips. The bacon should be cooked till slightly brown, but not crisp. The bacon should be floppy!
Remove bacon from pan, in a separate bowl, mix the bacon with onions and cheese..
Lower heat to Medium-Low, drain the pan of all the bacon grease and deglaze with white wine, cook for about 2 minutes, remove from heat, add cream and set aside.
Pie Crust
For the basic pie crust. Follow the instructions on the package. I blind bake my crusts as raw/undercooked/un-browned pastry is truly disgusting.
Before putting the crust into the oven, prick the crust with a fork along regular intervals. This allows the steam to escape and prevent the dough from "puffing up" while cooking. Do not pierce the fork through the pastry, just about half-way will do. If the pastry continues to puff up while cooking, you may use a fork to gently press it back down as it cooks in the oven.
Cover the pasty along the rim of the pan with foil as this will prevent it from getting browned too soon. If you forgo this step, the pastry along the rim will become burnt while you cook the quiche.
Once the base is slightly browned, remove the crusts from the oven, let cool and place them in the freezer to cool further. You want the pre-baked crusts cold so that they don't absorb the egg mixture and become soggy.
Making the Quiche
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and cream along with some salt and pepper. For the Quiche Lorraine, use the cream that was used to deglaze the pan.
Add the fillings into the respective pie crusts, pour in egg and cream mixture, top with cheese and bake for about 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean.
Remember! The egg is there to bind the ingredients together. I prefer my quiche with a TON of filling and not too much egg.
Storage:
As per Dru's feedback, I will be adding info on how I store and reheat my dishes in subsequent posts.
For the Quiche, I would recommend that you keep the quiches in an airtight box with a paper napkin on the bottom so that the pastry doesn't become soggy. For a quick reheat, the best way would be to microwave it for a few minutes before finishing it off in the oven. The center will be hot, and the crust, crispy.
