Canadian Bacon, Leek and Gouda Quiche

Real mean don't eat quiche. At least that's what I hear. I don't understand where that came from. As far as I see it, quiche is basically pie. Breakfast pie to be exact. And what real man doesn't like pie for breakfast? Frankly, I might have to personally revoke man cards for men who don't like pie, especially eggy pie with bacon in it. Oh well. More for the rest of us, I guess.

Inspiration: Feeding 15 people for breakfast at the PUFF board retreat
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: Pie plate

Ingredients:

1 store bought, uncooked pie shell (If you have time to make your own, then feel free. But this everyday chef picks his battles)
3 large eggs (If you like an eggier custard, then use 4 eggs)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 leek, cut in half length wise, and then into 1/2" rounds
3-4 slices of thick cut Canadian bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbs of butter
1 cup Gouda, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together until frothy.

3. Oven medium heat, saute leeks and Canadian bacon until the leeks are tender.

3. Layer fillings in crust. Veggies and meat on bottom. Cheese on top.

4. Pour custard into pie shell. Bake in center of oven for 45-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown, the custard has set and the cheese is browned on top.

Note: You can change up the fillings anyway you like it. I always recommend a cheese on top though. You can also make ahead of time, freeze the cooled quiche and then reheat in oven just before serving.

Curry Chicken Noodle Soup

My last year in college, I had a hard time finding anyone to live with. I was only going to school October through March and could not find anyone to live with that was willing to let me off the hook for the last 3 months of rent during the school year. So I ended up finding a studio apartment about a mile from campus where I lived alone for 6 months.

It seemed like a great idea at the time, but in hindsight, I am too social a person to live alone. It drove me crazy. At least a couple nights a week, I would find myself at home, around supper time, too tired to be social, too poor to go out and yet needing to find something to do with my time that wouldn't lead to reclusive behavior. Given that I was always hungry, the answer seemed obvious.

On these nights, I would go through my pantry and fuse together pieces of care packages I had received from my mother (pasta, canned tomatoes, curry), my sister (sake, wasabi peas, dried wild mushrooms) and my aunt (chocolate, creole spices, and pecans). I started to learn what flavors heightened others, what techniques produced what results and, very often what didn't work.

One of the few things that I make now that dates back to that time is a curried chicken noodle soup which I developed on a cold, fall night during midterms. It was actually my first success in the kitchen.

Inspiration: Cold, windy winter night
Time: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: Soup pot

Ingredients

2 large Chicken breasts or 8 thighs, washed dried, cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
Olive Oil
3 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 Tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp. Thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
6 cups chicken broth/stock
2 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1/2 lb egg noodles
1 cup spinach, chiffonaded

1. In 2 tbs olive oil, brown chicken pieces until cooked. Remove chicken from pot leaving chicken juices in pot. Cook down until it is thick

2. Sauté carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs and curry powder in the chicken remains. (add a little olive oil if necessary). Cook until onions are translucent.

3. Slowly add 4 cups of stock while scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze pan. Add potatoes and simmer uncovered until potatoes are cooked.

4. Add remaining stock, chicken and egg noodles.Cook noodles until they are al dente.

To serve, place small handful of spinach at bottom of bowl and pour soup over to wilt spinach. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Beet Salad

My mom doesn't like beets. I don't know why. I find them to be sweet, earthy and go great with a pleasantly smooth texture. My mom thinks they taste like dirt. So I was a little surprised when she agreed to my request to make a roasted beet salad to go with Christmas Eve paella.

Given that I wanted to convert her to the wiser way of eating, I thought I would make a similar dish to the first first beet dish I always enjoyed: oven roasted tossed with goat cheese and drizzled with olive oil. The difference in my dish is that I add fennel to my roasting pan which adds a subtle licorice flavor, and toasted pecans for a bit of texture. While I don't think I've changed her opinion of beets, she did at least finish her plate and feigned the enjoyment of eating them.

Inspiration: Christmas Paella
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: flat baking sheet with sides

Ingredients:
4-5 medium sized beets, washed, peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces
2 heads of fennel, tops removed and cubed into bite sized pieces
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp. brown mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 oz chevre
1/2 cup, toasted pecans
1/2 cup spinach, sliced thinly

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place baking sheet into oven to warm up with the oven.
2. Mash garlic to a paste with salt, stir in mustard. With a whisk, slowly beat in oil to incorporate.
3. Toss beets and fennel with the garlic-mustard-olive oil mixture and spread on the baking pan that was preheating in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, tossing once or twice, until beets and fennel is tender. (note, this might take longer depending on your oven)
4. Place the thinly sliced spinach into serving bowl. Remove the beets and fennel onto the spinach, and let cool slightly. Drop in almond sized bits of chevre and the toasted pecans. Toss and serve.

Banana Cream Shanny Face Pie

My what a holiday season. 9 days off from work, 8 inches of snow, 6 cases of beer, 3 cases of wine, 2 relatives in town from over seas and one banana cream Shanny face pie. Whew. No wonder my blog suffered.

I'm going to do my best to make up for my slacking by updating the blog with some of the fantastic things we ate last month. I'm going to start with a dessert that inspired what was one of my favorite moments of holidays and changed the way I will forever look at banana cream pie.

It all started when my sister insisted that I make a banana cream pie to go along with our traditional mince meat pie for Christmas Eve Dessert. I was thinking more in the line of a pecan pie, but she insisted because it is her favorite.

Being the nice brother that I am, I made what she wanted. After a fantastic Paella dinner, I brought out the two beautiful pies and began serving everyone. When it came time to serve my sister, I began to cut a healthy slice. She stopped me and said she only wanted the smallest of slices. Needless to say I was stunned and hurt by this drastic change in events.

My aunt vaulted to my defense, telling me, you know what I would do with that pie if someone said that to me after making such a fuss . On this cue, I pick up the pie and mocked like I was going to shove it into my sister's face. My aunt jumped up and said, "No, WAIT! Let me get my camera first," and dashed out of the room. Seconds later, camera in hand and ready to fire. "Okay. Go ahead," she said.

In hindsight, it wasn't a very nice thing to do, and ultimately it led to the pie being unceremoniously tossed into the trash, but clearly I had no choice. My aunt had thrust me into a precarious corner. I had the pie in my hand, inches away from my sister's face, and a camera poised to capture the event for posterity. I could either put it back on the table and be seen as the nice, albeit cowardly brother, or I could follow through with my promise be recognized as a man of my word. In the end, I buckled under pressure. While I didn't smash the pie into her face, I did gently ease it nose deep onto her shocked face. It wasn't a nice thing to do, but I do feel better about myself having done it.


Inspiration: My ("Everything is about ME") sister
Time: 20 minutes or so to make, 1 hour to chill custard, and overnight for pie to set up
Difficulty: Easy, once you get the hang of making custard
Special Equipment: Medium sized, heavy sauce pan

Ingredients:

Prepared Pie Crust: Either a graham cracker crust or a traditional butter crust
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut crosswise in half

1. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium sauce pan to blend. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk, then egg yolks. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add vanilla bean.
2. Whisk over medium-high heat until custard thickens and boils, about 6 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Whisk in unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Discard vanilla bean.
4. Transfer custard to large bowl; cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.
5. Stir custard to loosen, if necessary. Spread 1 cup custard over bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of sliced bananas, then 1 cup custard, covering bananas completely. Repeat layering with remaining bananas and remaining custard. Chill banana cream pie until filling is set and crust softens slightly, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Winter Spiced Coffee

Amy says she loves every little thing about me with the possible exception of my willingness to tolerate bad coffee. I can live with that. This is about a coffee that even Amy likes and she is p-i-c-k-y. Trader Joe's has a coffee called Wintery Blend. After sampling it at the store, I loved it and I bought a can of it. When I went back to stock up on more, it wasn't on the shelves, so I set about trying to figure out how to make it myself. To be honest, I found the recipe online. So what. It's delicious.

Inspiration: Knocking off TJ Wintery Blend coffee
Time: While the pie heats up
Difficulty: Super Easy
Special Equipment: Bean Grinder

Ingredients:
Whole bean coffee
whole cloves
ground cinnamon
red and/or white peppercorns


The exact amount of spice you’ll need depends not only on your personal tastes, but on how much coffee you brew at a time. I suggest starting with about 3 cloves, 3 or 4 peppercorns and a good sized pinch of cinnamon for 1/2 cup of beans, grinding it all in your coffee grinder and adjusting as necessary. You can make it by the pot or by the pound.