Hodgepodge Quiche

Quiche is magical. The dish claims its origins from the French-German border and was originally a savory egg and cream pie. It starts with a few basic ingredients, a crust, eggs, a milk product, and cheese if you wish. Though, even these ingredients are not sacred. Quiches can be vegan omitting, eggs, milk and cheese for various plant based products (usually tofu). For me eggs, milk, some cheese and oil and flour to make a crust are ingredients almost ever present in my kitchen. This makes quiches a common occurrence in my house, especially in the summer. After you've figured out the and crust, what makes up the rest of the quiche is entirely up to you.

Dennis is suspicious of any quiche that does not contain a meat product, and doubly suspicious if a meatless Quiche also happens to contain spinach. Not that this stops me from experimenting. Some of my favorite combination are broccoli-cheddar, smoked salmon and mushroom, and ham or bacon plus mushrooms, onions and whatever vegetables happen to be in the freezer (often spinach) or vegetable drawer.

When I make Quiche, I usually combine a few different recipes and my own unique twists. How many ingredients you need for a quiche depends on the size of the pan your filling and how you prefer your custard/filling ratio. What I usually do is get the crust and filling together, and then pour the filling over until my pie plate can hold no more. If I end up with too much custard I have found that an extra dish of cooked eggs and milk is no hardship to eat as a lazy breakfast.

I've made quiche from recipes originating in many different cookbooks. But, I'm not sure I really got the idea of quiche, and how simple it is until reading the "Quiche Formula" in The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Mollie Katzen reduces Quiche to a crust (she gives 8 different crust options, the spinach crust being the reason the Dennis is suspicious of spinach quiche), the cheese, the filling (veggies), and the custard. The cookbook is worth having on the shelf for its vegetable pie and quiche section alone.

To make a Quiche:

1: A Crust (hint: you can go to your local grocery and skip making one by hand-- though the ones at the grocery are usually loaded with nasty hydrogenated fat)

Pie crusts are one of my prime nemeses. I'm not sure why. I think part of it is that my mother makes such perfect pie crusts that no matter how hard I try mine always seem inferior. That, and I can't seem to get them to stop sticking to the rolling pin (another arch enemy). They fall apart when I try to put them in the dish and always end up looking crumbly. That said, I have had a few zen pie crust experiences, where everything came together perfectly.

Most of the time I am just glad that quiche only have a crust on the bottom. Without a top crust to deal with I have figured out how to make a decent crust in the pie plate, without any rolling. As most of it is covered by quiche filling, if there happens to be any spots that break, or tear, or have to be patched up, well... no one knows but me, and I don't usually tell.

Recently, I have been experimenting with olive oil pie crusts, in an attempt to convince myself that pie crust can be healthy. I also make the spinach crust from Enchanted Broccoli Forest which I find goes well with Quiche (poll Dennis separately).

For a Spinach Crust (The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pg. 127)

2 Tbs butter or oil
3/4 lb fresh spinach
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup fine bread crumbs (or wheat germ)
A few dashes of nutmeg.

If using frozen spinach, unthaw drain excess water. Place in bowl add melted butter and the rest of ingredients and toss with a fork until combined. Press into a pie plate by pressing up the edges of the plate first and then into the bottom. This ensures that you have enough crust to go around the entire circumference of your pie plate, if the bottom is thinner it is not that big of a deal. If want flute the edges( a good explanation on how to do this in most basic Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks) with fingers or a fork if you wish.

Fluting the edges of a pie crust was something that intimidated me for a long time, all you need to do is on your non-dominant hand press your index finger and your thumb together. Place these fingers next to the crust you want to flute (I usually place them on the inside of the pie plate). With your other hand take your index finger and from the opposite side of the crust press the crust into the slight V created by your other fingers. Repeat around the entire circumference of the pie plate.

If using fresh spinach. Mince the spinach and heat 2 Tbs. butter or oil in a large skillet. Add minced spinach and salt. Saute until spinach is limp. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into plate and flute edges as above.

Fresh or frozen this crust should be baked for about 15 mins. in a 375 degree oven before filling. You do not need to let it cool before filling

If your interested in trying an olive oil crust. Place the below in a pie plate.

2/3 cup of extra virgin Olive Oil
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Place pie plate in the freezer and move onto sauteing your veggies and getting your custard ready. When everything is ready to go, take the pie plate out of the freezer and with a fork, or a pastry blender mix the flour and the now thick olive oil together. When well mixed add 1/2 cup ice water and a dash of vinegar and mix. Press into the pie plate and flute edges as above. Adding more flour to your hands if necessary to prevent excessive sticking. I do not usually precook my crusts when I use olive oil. If you would like to preheat oven to 375, cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil, and bake for 15 mins.

Now that your crust is made.
2: The Cheese

There are three ways to put cheese on and in quiche, all equally important. If you are adding cheese, first, you always want to add some to the crust first, before any of the veggies or custard. The cheese will help to create a barrier between the filling and the crust and prevent your crust from getting sticky. Second, many people like to grate a small amount of Parmesan or other cheese on top of everything to help with browning, though this is not essential. However, it is tasty, and improves presentation. Finally, if you really love cheese, add grated cheese (or cubed cream cheese) to your custard.

So for the cheese, you need about 1/3 lb. (more if you love cheese and less if your counting calories) of grated or finely cubed cheese. You can use any kind of cheese (even cream cheese), though Swiss, Gruyere, and Cheddar work quite well. Sprinkle most (or all) of this on the bottom of your crust. You can add any remaining cheese to your custard, or to the top of the Quiche before you bake.


3: The Filling:

You need about 3 1/2 cups of chopped meats and/or veggies for a 10 inch Quiche, or about 3 cups for a 9 inch quiche. On the quiche pictured I used a combination of onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and Goose The Market bacon (from Dennis' bacon of the month club).

1/3 cup bacon
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 cups zucchini

Always saute your onions and/or bacon(meat) with a tsp of oil over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. I try to get my onions to brown and caramelize slightly before making adding the rest of your veggies to the pan. Once onions and meat are cooked to your satisfaction add the rest of the veggies and continue to saute for 2 to 3 more minutes. The goal is to get the veggies partially cooked before baking the quiche. It also can work to steam the veggies before adding them to the quiche. Whatever veggies and meats you want to add will work. My favorite quiches almost always contain mushrooms and onions, though this is not a requirement. After 2 to 3 minutes take your veggies off the heat, and put them into the cheese filled crust.

Finally:
3. The custard

A custard for a quiche can be as light or as rich as you like it to be. The Fiddle Head Cookbook suggests about 2 cups of half and half and 4 eggs for a 10 inch pie plate. This is delicious, but for me it is a bit too rich. If you want rich mix:

2 cups half and half
4 eggs
a dash of cayenne
1/2 a cup of Parmesan (or other reserved cheese)
(add 1/2 to 1 tsp salt if not adding cheese, the cheese itself is salty)

(reduce this to 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cup of half and half if using a 9 inch pie crust.)

and pour over assembled quiche until the plate is full.

I prefer to use Mollie Katzen's suggestions for the quiche custard:
3 eggs
1 cup of milk (or yogurt/buttermilk)
(and any extra reserved cheese you want to add to the custard or 1/2 to 1 tsp salt)

Mix together and pour over the filling.

If you have extra custard put in a separate dish and bake with the quiche for about 10 minutes. It does make a decent breakfast.


If desired sprinkle extra cheese or grate Parmesan over the top of the assembled quiche to help with browning of the top.

Heat your oven to 375 and bake the quiche for 35 to 40 minutes.

Quiche is tasty hot and cold and good to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It keeps well in the fridge, and if you like it hot is fine when heated in the microwave. I like quiche as a dinner with soup and a salad (pictured with German Mushroom Soup and a green salad).

Quiche may seem complicated, but actually it does not take long to assemble (once you master the crust). Just remember, crust (always can be bought a store), cheese (optional), filling (assorted meat and veggies), custard(eggs and milk). That's all there is to quiche.

Crepes au chocolat

One of the things that always impresses me most about France is the crepe stands.

Wandering the streets? Doing some sight seeing? Hungry? It doesn't seem to matter where you are, there is someone close by selling crepes out of a traveling food cart or little hole-in-the-wall cafe. You can get them filled with anything you want. Formage? Oeufs? Nutella? Chocolat? You name it, they have it; and,while savory crepes are a nice treat, my favorite has always been crepes au chocolat.

The reason I always found the crepe stands so impressive is that it seems like such a mysterious process to make a crepe. From an American perspective they are a foreign dish, and not just foreign but French. Thus must be very difficult to cook. And something so clearly complex is not what you would expect to be vended out of a street cart. The secret is that most classic french dishes are painfully easy to make, and crepes au chocolate are only a few minutes and a hot pan away.

From: The 1000 Best Recipes (a cook book Dennis bought before I knew him and still comes in quite handy)

For the sauce:

1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar

Put in pan on medium heat and mix until butter is melted and ingredients are combined. Add slowly-

1 1/4 cup whipping cream (you could use milk, but if you do add some plain or vanilla yogurt for thickness)

Stir the mixture until it comes to a boil. You now have a delicious sauce that is great on crepes or ice cream, or anything else you might need a homemade chocolate sauce for. Keep the sauce warm while you make the crepes.

For the crepes:

This crepe recipe can be made and served with anything, if your doing desert crepes (like this recipe) you can add a teaspoon of sugar--though it's not called for in the recipe. You can fill them with jam (we had the leftovers with jam for breakfast) or sprinkle them with sugar. Or if you want savory crepes you can add a bit of salt, and some chopped herbs to the batter and serve the crepes with cheese, roasted veggie, chicken, or mushroom filling. The possibilities for crepes are endless. I read somewhere recently that almost every culture has a pancake (meaning a flat bread cooked on a stove or open fire that you put toppings on or in). The Mexican version is tortilla, and like tortilla, crepes can be filled with just about anything.

Combine:
3 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water

Once this is relatively well mixed (it does not have to be uniform, its alright if there are still some eggy bits) then put 2 cups of flour in a separate bowl and hollow out a hole or well in the middle. Pour your egg mixture into the well and then gradually stir with a spoon or whisk. This is the trickiest part of crepes, you want to get the ingredients combined without beating too much as beating develops the gluten in the flour. This is good for bread, but bad for crepes. Your crepes will still taste good if this happens, they will just be chewier.

Once your batter is smooth carefully stir in 1/4 cup of melted butter.

Heat up an 8 inch non stick skillet or crepe pan and grease it lightly with butter. When the pan is hot (to check flick a drop of water on the pan, if it sizzles, its hot) pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the pan. Pick the pan up and swirl the mixture around to coat the surface evenly like you would an omelet. You should be cooking the crepes on medium low to medium heat, depending on your stove. When the edges of the crepes start to curl up and the surface no longer looks wet then take a large spatula and carefully work it under to flip the crepe. They are very thin so it is necessary to be gentle with them. Cook the crepe on the other side just briefly (usually about 45 seconds) until browned. When done place it on a plate, you can stack the crepes up as you cook, but place a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap between them to keep them from sticking to each other.

When done take a crepe, spread some chocolate sauce on it, fold the crepe it into quarters, and pour, per the recipe, 'a generous amount' of chocolate sauce on top. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar, add whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream to the top. Eat. Enjoy.

In case your still skeptical and think that crepes are difficult I'll have you know that this last time, when these pictures were taken I did not actually make the crepes au chocolat. Dennis did. And its not that he is incompetent in the kitchen--far from it. But he is slightly traumatized by anything that looks like a pancake (he had too eat too many of them as a kid) and much more comfortable grilling or cooking in the manly realms of meat. Now, he had just watched Alton Brown's Good Eats episode 'Crepe Expectations', but one night when I asked him to make desert, he pulled out one of his old cookbooks, found this recipe, and made delicious crepes au chocolate.

Bouillabaise, Simplified

Recipe Source: Bouillabaisse, Simplified

Recipe Type: Stew, pesce-vegetarian (fish)

Bouillabaisse is the traditional fisherman's stew from the southern french region of Provence. The best bouillabaisse in the world--or, depending on the strictness of your bouillabaisse doctrine, the only real bouillabaisse-- comes from Marseilles. In fact true fanatics will only allow that real bouillabaisse is served from a certain restaurant that lines the harbor in Marseilles. Of course, depending on who you are talking to, the name of that restaurant will change.

I spent about a year in the Provence region and went to Marseilles a few times. I didn't buy into the bouillabaisse culture; it's only fish stew. I had eaten fish stew many times before. I never ate this dish when I was in Marseilles. I never stopped at one of those little restaurants lining the harbor. Little cafe/restaurants that are an odd combination of a complete tourist trap and a restaurant serving a committed local market.

However, I did have Bouillabaisse when I was in Provence. I had it in Arles in a little restaurant right across from the Roman arena. I was with my dad and, wise traveler that he is, he is devoted to trying regional specialties. So, I ordered the Bouillabaisse. And it was amazing. One of those food experiences where the smells, the tastes, and the textures of the dish so completely overload your ability to process pleasure that you can do nothing but vocalize 'mmmmm'. I became a Bouillabaisse convert.

I never made it back to Marseilles after my experience in Arles. In fact, I had never had Bouillabaisse again. However, that one experience convinced me that this was something I had to make.

Making a good Bouillabaisse is quite a challenge, even if you live on the ocean and can go to a lively fish market to buy the leavings at the end of the day-- traditional Bouillabaisse is made from what ever is leftover. Living in the Midwest, finding the fish for my stew presented a challenge. Finally, I stumbled upon the recipe for Bouillabaisse, Simplified which directs the cook to simply buy two or three different kinds of fish and then set about making a modern version of a classic french fisherman's stew.

Luckily for me, I had clam juice already frozen in my freezer from a clam chowder adventure. I found tiger prawns on managers special at Kroger, and bought some halibut pieces from Trader Joe's. After these purchases, the remaining challenges consisted of finding a fennel bulb (in Indiana I find Meijer a good bet for strange vegetables) and making the rouille, which is essential to any good Boullibaisse.

The Boullibaisse recipe is as follows and is modified from the above link.



2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic (or more), peeled and smashed (or pressed)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 pinch saffron, soaked in 2 tablespoons orange juice for 10 minutes1 strip orange zest
1 (14-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, in juice
3 cups seafood stock (sold at most fish markets) or clam juice
3 cups white wine
Some or all of the following seafood (ask your fish seller for enough to serve 4 to 6 people): halibut, cod, tilapia, or snapper (in large chunks); shell-on large shrimp or lump crabmeat; clams or mussels
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, and fennel and saute until just brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the saffron (if using), orange zest, tomatoes, and stock or clam juice. Bring to a boil and cook until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add the fish (but not shellfish). Cook for about 2 minutes. Add any clams, mussels, and shrimp. Simmer until the shells just begin to open, about 4 minutes more. Add any crabmeat. Cook until all shells have opened, the shrimp is pink and curled, and the fish flakes easily, about 2 minutes. Serve from the pot, sprinkled with the parsley and topped with crusty bread and a dollop of rouille.

The essential ingredients for flavor are the fennel, the saffron, and orange. Fennel is not a vegetable that most Americans are accustomed to working with, and it does not chop like an onion. Make certain you remove the woody part at the bottom of the bulb that all of the fronds connect too, and then chop away. Saffron is not something that is in most kitchens due to its price, I bought 1g from Penzey's Spices and used the tiniest amount to complete this recipe. I modified this recipe by halving the clam juice and adding some white wine to replace the liquid, and at least doubling the garlic.

This stew was served with rouille, which likely deserves its own blog post. rouille is a mayonnaise like sauce that comes from the region of Provence and is often served with fish, and always served with Bouillabaisse. Rouille apparently is excellent with bruschetta, which is great because this recipe makes more than enough to serve along side the Bouillabaisse.

2 red bell peppers
6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Lay bell peppers on their sides on racks of gas burners and turn flame on high. (Or put on rack of broiler pan about 2 inches from heat.) Roast, turning with tongs, until skins are blackened, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl, then cover and let steam 20 minutes. Remove skin and seeds from peppers and tear flesh into large pieces. Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Purée bell peppers, garlic paste, jalapeño, and bread crumbs in a food processor. With motor running, slowly add oil, then lemon juice and pepper, blending until very smooth (it will look like an orange-pink mayonnaise).

This sauce is amazing. On our Bouillabaisse evening I worked on the stew while Dennis made the rouille. Flavor-wise, roasting the red peppers is essential. We did have a fresh garden jalapeno on hand, but any hot chili would work for this. I have a bag of dried cayenne peppers right now that my dad grew in his garden and we added those as well as we like our food spicy. The rouille can absolutely be made ahead to go with the Bouillabaisse. It is so tasty that you may decide it is simply something that needs to be kept around. Its good for eating with bread and olive oil, and I am sure it has many under appreciated culinary uses.


So how was our dinner?

Amazing. I had the same experience that I had in Arles where every bite of Bouillabaisse burst in the mouth with the most phenomenal combination of flavors. My fish stew tasted like the sea, like the sun, and like my year spent in Provence. The rouille made the dish. All either Dennis or I could say was 'mmmmmm'.

I wasn't in Arles, across from the Roman Arena, with the atmosphere of Provence--and amazing olive oil. But, I managed to recreate a slice of that in my kitchen. With a nice bottle of wine and some homemade crusty bread, the Bouillabaisse and rouille it was a Friday night success. We could not have done better if we had gone out.