Quiche Lorraine

This recipe was first seen several years ago in Cook’s Illustrated. It’s the very best quiche out there, making a pie that’s smooth and custardy. Make it with whatever filling you like—nearly anything will work, though I think some type of cheese is necessary.

8 ounces bacon (about 8 slices) cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
pinch fresh grated nutmeg
4 ounces Gruyère cheese grated (1/2 cup)
1 9- inch partially baked pie shell (warm), baked until light golden brown, about 10 minutes

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees F. Fry bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel–lined plate. Meanwhile, whisk all remaining ingredients except cheese in medium bowl.

Spread cheese and bacon evenly over bottom of warm pie shell (if the pie shell has been previously baked and cooled, place it in the preheating oven for about five minutes to warm it, taking care that it does not burn) and set shell on oven rack. Pour in custard mixture to 1/2-inch below crust rim. Bake until lightly golden brown and a knife blade inserted about one inch from the edge comes out clean, and center feels set but soft like gelatin, 45 to 50 minutes (the center of the quiche will be surprisingly soft when it comes out of the oven, but the filling will continue to set–and sink somewhat–as it cools). Transfer quiche to rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Senegalese soup

In the olden days of the Two Bells tavern in Belltown, they had some fantastic soup specials. There was one in particular that I went nuts for—their Senegalese soup, redolent with lush chicken stock and spicy curry. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the very same recipe buried in the pages of Joy of Cooking.

2 T butter

2 T (or more) curry powder

1 1/2 T flour

3 cups chicken broth

1/4-1/2 t paprika

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup cooked chicken breast, chopped very fine

Garnish options: 3-4 tablespoons chutney, Granny Smith apple, peanuts

 

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour and curry powder and stir until blended. Whisk in chicken broth; heat and whisk until it comes to a boil, add paprika. Beat together egg yolks and cream. Reduce heat until soup is not boiling. Stir in egg yolk mixture,  continue to cook and stir until soup thickens. Do not let the soup boil at this point. Very important!!Add chicken meat, warm through. Garnish with chutney or chopped apple and peanuts.

Kick Ass Cornbread

This one comes courtesy of my old pal Jeannette McDonald. Be sure to make sure it’s cooked all the way through—as the batter’s on the wet side, this can be a problem. This one’s a real crowd-pleaser, good for potlucks. YUM.

1 c yellow cornmeal

1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 eggs

3/4 c milk

1/4 c vegetable oil

1- 17 oz. can creamed corn (sometimes I cheat and mash up fresh or frozen corn—that creamed stuff is sweet

1/4 c minced red, green, white or yellow onions

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar or jack cheese

1 can diced green chiles (or fresh roasted equivalent)

1 bunch chopped cilantro

optional: some bacon

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 9” square baking pan. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in corn, onions, cilantro. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients, stir until just moistened. Spoon half of the mixture into your baking pan, sprinkle with half the cheese. Cover with the rest of the batter, top with the rest of the chilies and cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Vichy Carrots

This classic French side dish is sometimes prepared with soda water, meant to emulate the bubbly water that comes out of the ground in Vichy. This is a great way to use purple carrots, which tend to be a bit tougher than the orange ones.

6 servings

1T unsalted butter

1T olive oil

1 1/2# carrots, peeled if necessary and cut on the diagonal into 1/4” slices

1T vermouth

salt and white pepper

2t dark brown sugar

1T chopped fresh parsley

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter into the olive oil. Add the carrots and cook over moderately high heat until beginning to soften. Add the vermouth, 1T water, and salt and white pepper. Reduce the heat, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Add more water as needed.

Increase the heat to high and add the brown sugar. Toss constantly until the carrots are slightly browned and glazed, 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, serve.

Carmels

This is the recipe for the carmels Heide Janssen made and shared at work this week. They are SO GOOD!!!

 

For the carmels, below is the base recipe.  For the flavors, I just added ingredients that sounded good.

For the Bourbon and Nutmeg, I used about a pint of Bourbon and grated in 2 whole nutmegs.

For the Pear and Cardamom, I used about 2 cups of Pear Juice and maybe 2 tablespoons of Cardamom.

(I didn’t really measure ingredients for the flavors.)

Tom’s Carmels

1 pound of butter (4 sticks)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 16oz bottle of Karo syrup

1 2-lb bag of brown sugar

PREP:  Buy a roll of wax paper and cut into the desired size for your wrappers.  

PREP:  To delineate flavors, I put in a strip of various colored ribbon.  If you make flavors, I suggest cutting these in advance.

PREP:  Line a sided cookie sheet with aluminum foil and butter the entire surface.

On medium heat, pour in all the ingredients and start on low heat and slowly increasing the heat over time.  Cook until it gets to 248 degrees, stirring frequently.  Don’t let the mixture heat up too fast.  If the temp is rising fast, turn down the heat for a while.  The boiling process should take about 30 minutes.  If you try to rush it, it doesn’t get nice and creamy.  And if you start it on high heat, you will burn the sugar before it has a chance to dissolve.

If you want to get really technical with the boiling, keep a bowl of ice water next to the pot.  As the carmel gets close to the temp, drizzle a little onto the ice.  This makes it cool immediately and lets you test it for taste and texture.  Basically, it helps you to know if the mixture is where you want it before you take it off the heat.

Once you hit the 248 degrees, pour the hot mixture into the cookie sheet.  Let it cool on the counter top for about 30 minutes then put in the frig to cool the rest of the way.  Once hardened, take them out of the pan and cut into the size pieces that you want.  Don’t cut them all at once and don’t put cut pieces into a pile.  They will start to stick to each other.  Cut a few at a time and keep the rest of the carmel in the frig.  Wrap individual pieces in wax paper.

Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Torte

I’ve been using this recipe from The Herbal Pantry, (Emelie Tolley/Chris Mead), for years, but now it’s all over the interwebs. Quite easy to make and nice for a party.

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 ounces goat cheese
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 cup basil pesto
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, minced and drained

Place the cheeses and butter in a bowl and beat together until they are well blended and fluffy. Line an 8-inch cake pan with dampened cheesecloth, leaving enough extra to fold over the top. Layer one third of the cheese mixture in the bottom and spread half of the pesto over it. Repeat. Spread the remaining cheese on top and cover with the minced tomatoes. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top and fold the cheesecloth over it. Set the torte in the refrigerator for at least an hour to firm up. When ready to serve, fold the cheesecloth back, turn the torte onto a plate, and remove the cheesecloth. Invert the torte onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Serve with assorted crackers.

“Ocho” Salad

One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle is Ocho. Their lovely tapas selections make me so happy, though the bill tends to add up a bit, so I’ve recreated one of their dishes. It’s a simple butter lettuce salad with oranges, chives, and toasted almonds.

Butter lettuce

orange (one per entrée-sized salad)

chives (possible to sub scallions, but the flavor won’t be as delicate)

sliced almonds

sherry vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

dijon mustard

salt and pepper

optional: chicken

Wash and shred butter lettuce. Make sure lettuce is completely totally dry. Chop chives, peel orange (I just use a knife) and cut into chunks. Toast almonds until light brown. Chop optional (cooked) chicken.

To make the dressing, put vinegar in a bowl, add a spot of the mustard, beat with a fork. Drizzle olive oil into to emulsify, season with salt and pepper. Pour most of the dressing off into a custard cup or similar.

Toss lettuce in bowl, adding a bit more dressing as needed to coat leaves evenly. Place on chilled plate, top with other ingredients, drizzle with a bit more dressing. Another optional add-in to make salad more of a meal is shaved curls of Parmesean cheese.

Chicken Gyro

I’ve been known to use cooked leftover chicken for this recipe. Simply shred or chop the chicken and then steep in the marinade cooked rather than raw as called for in the recipe.

4 servings

Meat

1# boneless skinless chicken

2T lemon juice

1 1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

2T olive oil

1T dried oregano

skewers

Tzatsiki sauce

1 c plain low-fat yogurt

1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated, and wrung out a bit in a clean tea towel

Seasoned Lettuce

2c finely chopped lettuce—use something crunchy like iceberg or romaine

about 2T vinegar

about 1/4 t salt

about 1/2 t dried oregano

 

1/2 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

olive oil spray

4 pita bread

1/4 c feta cheese

Cut the chicken into 1” cubes and put into a bowl. Combine the lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, olive oil, oregano. Pour over chicken and marinate, at least 15 minutes.

for the tzatziki: Whisk yogurt until smooth and creamy. whisk in the garlic, add the cucumber.

for the lettuce: Season lettuce with vinegar, salt and oregano.

chop tomatoes, onions, set aside

Spray pita with olive oil spray and brown slightly on each side. Can be done without the spray if you have a decent nonstick pan. Push chicken onto skewers and grill until cooked, or saute them.

Assembly: stick some chicken in a pita. Add sauce, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and feta cheese. Yum!!

Spaghetti w/Pine Nuts

I eat this way more than I care to admit.

1# spaghetti

1/2 c pine nuts

6-8 oz. softened butter

1/2 c  grated Parmesean or similar

Salt and pepper as needed

Toast pine nuts. Cook spaghetti. Toss drained noodles with butter. Add cheese and pine nuts. Top with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Alternative: sub chopped fresh herbs for the pine nuts.

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Pears and Sausages

This is a delicious simple meal. I used to make this one a lot, maybe it’s time for it to come back. It was in the Seattle Times in the mid 1990s.

By Cece Sullivan

4 servings

Mashed potatoes:

3 large baking potatoes, about 2 1/2 pounds

3 ripe but firm pears (Bosc or Bartlett)

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature or melted

3/4 teaspoon salt

Sausages:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled and minced

1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

4 chicken or turkey Italian sausages

1/2 cup dry white wine

 

 

1. To prepare the mashed potatoes: Scrub the potatoes and pierce in several places. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450-degree oven 50 minutes.

2. Peel, quarter and core the pears. Place on the baking sheet with the potatoes and roast until the potatoes and pears are soft, about 20 minutes more.

3. While the potatoes and pears are cooking, start the sausages. Heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the shallot, garlic and bell pepper. Saute 3 minutes. Add the crushed pepper and basil; saute 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.

4. Put the sausages in the pan and brown lightly on all sides.

Add the wine, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

5. Uncover and put the peppers back into the pan. Cook until the juices have thickened slightly. Keep warm.

6. Cut the baked potatoes in halves. Using an oven mitt to protect your hand, scoop out the insides into a large bowl. Add the pears, butter and salt. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer.

7. Serve the mashed potatoes with the sausages, peppers and cooking juices on the side.

Potato recipe from "Nicole Routhier’s Fruit Cookbook."

Copyright (c) 1996 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.