Classic Quiche Lorraine

There is nothing quite like a  Quiche Lorraine for brunch. Absolutely nothing. Remember the scene in Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, "To Catch a Thief" starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly? When they are eating on the balcony? That's Quiche Lorraine that Cary Grant is eating. If you've never seen that movie, check it out. It's great and the clothes are to die for! I love a good Hitchcock mystery. See if you can figure it out before the end. It's not easy but the answer is there if you look carefully!

In addition to it's cult movie status, my mother absolutely LOVED Quiche Lorraine. When she made it for us in the 70's we thought it was the height of European sophistication. Then, inexplicably, quiche went out of style. People started saying things like, "real men don't eat quiche" and other absurd quotes that simply validated the "ugly American" cliche'. I've got lots of real men around and guess what? They eat quiche. One of them even asks for it on occasion. AND if you've got one of those men who think they don't like it, just call it bacon and egg pie, because that's all it really is.

All that useless stuff being said, here's what we're having on Christmas morning. step by step. It's easy to make and delicious to eat! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!


Quiche Lorraine
Serves 6 - 8

1 unbaked pie crust
1 lb. Swiss cheese, grated
5 slices (or rashers) crisply cooked bacon
1/4 c. minced yellow onion
2/3 c. light cream
5 eggs
nutmeg


First, prepare your pie crust. For me that means open the package and unroll it, dust with flour and put it into my pretty pie dish. You can do whatever labor intensive thing you like. Or not. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Next cook some bacon, nice and crispy:

While the bacon is cooking grate the Swiss cheese. I like to use my ancient Mouli Grater but again, if you like to be labor intensive, go with that.

Crumble up the bacon and mince the onion. Sprinkle them evenly over the prepared pie crust in the pan, like this:

I mean, how bad could anything be that starts with pastry, bacon and onion? Now, get going on the custard. Measure 2/3 c. light cream (or milk which works just fine) into a large measuring cup. Add the 5 eggs and whisk to combine. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp. of fresh grated nutmeg into your custard.

Don't omit the nutmeg, it gives it a little something-something! 

Place the grated cheese into the pie dish, mounding it up slightly in the center. It will look like too much cheese, but it's not. Then, very carefully and gently, pour the custard over the cheese evenly. 

Here it is, ready for the oven. You can't tell, but he cheese is in a kind of a hill in the center. Put the quiche into your preheated oven, and set the timer for 12 minutes. At the end of 12 minutes, turn the oven down to 325 degrees (don't open the door!) and cook for another 30 minutes until the quiche is set in the middle and the crust is lightly browned. I like to garnish it with a piece of bacon so folks know what to expect when they eat it  -- but that's just me. Maybe your guests like surprises! 

AND VOILA! A quiche fit for a king, or Cary Grant.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken 7 Ways

Taco Salad Made with Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

OK, here's the thing about this dish: I don't really know what to call it. It's hardly a recipe, because you don't need to chop anything and all you do is to dump a bunch of stuff into your slow cooker. It's not only a soup, but can also be made into a delicious variety of dishes, which I've listed at the bottom of the post. Don't you LOVE options? If you can think of a good name for this, let me know in the comments below, please! In the meantime, don't worry too much about what it's called and just make it. You'll get a good dinner and lots of delish leftovers. AND you won't get bored with the leftovers because it's so versatile. I got the original recipe from someone at work, but of course, had to fix it up a bit! I just can't help myself...
My husband loves this and it was so easy! He's already taken it to work 2X this week, after eating it on Saturday night. It was also fairly inexpensive. I buy my chicken breasts frozen in the bags from the big box store, and they aren't too big, so I used 4. Score one for weeknight cooking! Let me also say that while this was very tasty, it was not what I would call SPICY. It has a little heat, but nothing that will burn you up or make kids reject it. Of course, if you like it spicy, add more hot sauce! I added the amount I put in the recipe.

We love Jack's Salsa! 

Keep Rotel on hand! 

Dark Red Hanover Kidney Bean

 Here are the pantry ready ingredients that you'll need to make this dish. You'll also need 1 lb. of thawed, boneless skinless chicken breasts, some cheese and some spices.

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
Makes at least 6 Servings, various ways
~1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
(3 to 4 breasts, depending on size)
2 cans Bush's Black Beans, undrained
1 can Hanover Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 cup Jack's Medium Salsa (or your fave)
1 14 oz. can Hunts Tomato Sauce
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
2 cans Original Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 T. Texas Pete Hot Sauce (optional)
1 c. shredded Pepper Jack Cheese or plain Monterey Jack cheese if you want it very mild

Place the (thawed) chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. Top with the un-drained black beans, the drained kidney beans, salsa, tomato sauce, green chilies, Rotel Tomatoes, cumin and hot sauce. Give the mixture a good stir to combine the ingredients. Cook on low heat for at least 6 hours. 
Carefully remove your chicken and shred it, if it has not already fallen apart. Put it back into the slow cooker and add the shredded Jack cheese. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the cheese melts completely.  (PS You could totally add frozen or canned corn to this, but I was trying to keep the carbs a little on the lower side and we aren't in love with corn in chili type dishes.)

TO SERVE: 
1. Ladle into bowls and top with crushed corn chips and a dollop of sour cream. 
2. Or put the chips on the bottom for a softer texture. Very much like chicken tortilla soup. 
3. OR chop a variety of lettuces, peppers and tomatoes and top with the Tex-Mex Chicken. Add a little shredded cheese (sharp or jack), some crushed tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream for a taco salad. 
4. OR use a slotted spoon to drain off some of the liquid and roll into soft flour tortillas. Top with cheese, a little sour cream and salsa. Very kid friendly. Use whatever you like in your tacos! 
5. OR spray a corn tortilla with cooking spray on both sides and heat in oven until crispy. (You could fry it if you like) Top with the Tex-Mex chicken, shredded cheese, chopped lettuce and sour cream for a tasty tostada. Squeeze a lime over the top. 
6. OR make a Spanish Omelet: Heat a non-skillet over medium heat while you beat 3 eggs with 2 tsp. milk. Melt 1 tsp. of butter in the pan and then pour the eggs into the skillet. Sprinkle with a little salt. As the eggs begin to set, use a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula to gently pull the edges to the center, swirling the pan to fill in the gaps with the uncooked egg mixture. Be patient. Sprinkle the eggs with a scant 1/4 c. finely shredded cheddar cheese. When the omelet looks like it's almost dry and set, fold it over carefully and slide onto a plate. Top with the Tex-Mex Chicken. Could serve 2 for a lunch or a hearty dinner for 1. If the omelet doesn't work out, call it Mexican Scrambled Eggs...
7. Last but not least, make some nachos, chips, chicken, cheese, baked until bubbly. YUM! 

Cheese Biscuits and the Holidays

I've got time to squeeze in another post before Christmas, and I guess it's gotta' be another holiday baking post -- since that's been the majority of my focus in the kitchen for the weekend! Yesterday, I had a marathon baking session and turned out a batch of Butter Spritz Cookies and Cheese Biscuits. My mother always made Cheese Biscuits at Christmas, as did my Aunt Cissy, who gave her the recipe. No one loved to entertain like Aunt Cissy did. She always had a huge buffet on Christmas day, that included roast beef and country ham, as well as these Cheese Biscuits. Nothing goes with a holiday cocktail or a glass of wine quite like a cheese biscuit. Everyone always had fun at Aunt Cissys' parties -- she loved to laugh and tell stories, and she was a wonderful cook. There was always so much to eat, and she understood that you eat first with your eyes, so everything looked as good as it tasted.

I've updated her recipe only pertaining to the method for producing the cookies, not the ingredients. The original recipe clearly states the following, right at the top:

"THE SECRET OF PERFECTION IS THREEFOLD:

USE NO SHORTENING EXCEPT THE BEST BUTTER.

USE REALLY SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE

AND TOP EACH BISCUIT WITH HALF OF A LARGE SALTED PECAN.

THE NUTMEAT SHOULD BE ALMOST AS LARGE AS THE BISCUIT."

I can't find salted pecans in the store anymore, but I think the unsalted kind work just as well. I sprinkle just a touch of coarse Kosher salt on the pecans after I press them into the dough. And since so many people have nut allergies, and a few simply don't like nuts, I only place a pecan on about half of my cookies.  I also make the dough in my food processor. The dough is stiff and heavy, and I find the processor, fitted with a steel blade, is the easiest way to do it. I also use a mouli-grater for grating my cheese, but you could do that in your food processor as well. 

Cheese Biscuits

Cheese Biscuits

1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese

1 lb. all purpose flour (about 4.5 cups)

1 lb. butter, softened

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 T. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

pecan halves (salted if you can find them)

1 egg + 1 T. of water for egg wash

paprika for dusting the tops plus a little coarse and/or Kosher salt for sprinkling the nuts

Grate the cheese. Put it into a large bowl or into your food processor. Add the flour, butter, cayenne, salt and baking powder. Mix until the dough comes together and cheese is completely incorporated. If not using the food processor, you may find your hands to be the best tool! At least that's what Aunt Cissy recommended in her original recipe! 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

The original instructions call for the dough to be rolled or patted out at this point. Rolling dough is not my favorite thing, and frankly, I am not that good at it. I either get the dough too cold so that it's hard to roll or I let it get too soft and it sticks to everything! I think it is best to slightly chill the dough so that it holds together well and you can handle it. The method my mom came up with -- obviously rolling dough wasn't her thing either! -- is to divide the dough into 6 - 8 pieces and roll the pieces into "logs" about 1" to 1.5" around. If you roll your dough out, it should be about 1/4" thick and you should use the smallest biscuit cutter you have to cut out the biscuits. If you roll the dough into logs, cut the logs into slices about 1/4" thick. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet -- they don't spread much, so you can place them fairly close together. Beat 1 egg with a T. of water in a small cup. Brush each biscuit lightly with the egg wash, and sprinkle over a dusting of paprika. Press a pecan half into however many biscuits you choose (and a few grains of Kosher or coarse salt, if you want). Bake for ~15 minutes. You must watch them as they can go from done to "browned" quickly and the taste will be off. Check them after 12 minutes. Browning them will definitely alter the taste! Makes about 12 dozen. This recipe can be easily halved or even quartered. 

Thanks Aunt Cissy, and Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Guest Cooks in the Kitchen!

Two kind of sandwich rolls and pasta salad. AAAH, the kindness of others...

When our kids were little, we would often start our dinner conversation by saying, "Everyone tell one good thing and one bad thing that happened to you today" and that would always start get the conversation started. If you have never tried this strategy with your own family, give it a try, it really works! Of course, there was always one comedian in the group who would say, "My good thing is that I did not have a bad thing". We'd let that go one time, but the next time we'd call a "no fair" on him.
This week, I had something good and something kind of bad happen to me. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way: I got a little sicky and had to stay home, laying low for a few days. NOW, for the good thing: My son and and his nice girlfriend made us dinner! Let me say up front, that the nice girlfriend did most of the work and all of the supervising, but he helped and actually had major influence over the pasta salad. It was a delicious meal, a different twist on pizza/calzone/sandwich roll and quite tasty! She made some pizza dough and wrapped it around 2 different fillings. One roll was filled with spinach, that they flavored like spanikopita, with lemon, garlic, feta and green onions. The other roll was filled with salami, cheese, roasted red peppers, banana pepper rings and I am not sure what, if anything, else. Whatever, they tasted crazy good! They also made a good pasta salad, with fresh basil from my garden and kalamata olives! Look at the beautiful sandwich rolls, fresh from the oven:

Delicious pizza/sandwich rolls, hot from the oven! The brown stuff is ooey, gooey CHEESE!

The pasta salad was good too, but it could have used a little broccoli, or cherry tomaotes, for color if nothing else. They agreed, but hey, it was the Italian kids' very first try at making his favorite, pasta (see more about the Italian kid here)! Isn't it nice to have someone do something nice for you when you don't expect it? AND they even did most of the cleaning up! It occurred to me that the rolls would make a great item for casual entertaining. You could cut them into as many pieces as you need and the ideas for filling them go on and on! This time, they used a pizza crust mix and it worked out great, but you could make your own, buy a ball of dough from the deli or get the kind in the refrigerated case near the ready to bake rolls, etc. All of those should work just fine.

WOW, I am a lucky lady! Someone cooked for ME! Love that, gotta' admit it! And eating together with your kids and their friends, priceless...

Antipasto and Lite Alfredo Sauce

My youngest son decided to become Italian this week, and pretty much demanded that I accomodate him by producing one of his Italian Favorites,  Pasta with Alfredo Sauce. I've been tinkering around with Alfredo sauce for years. The original recipe from my handy Authentic Italian Cooking cook book is, quite simply put, just too rich! I've tried blending up concoctions with lowfat milk and non-fat ricotta cheese, lightening up on the butter and lots of other tricks. I think I've finally found one that is both delicious and lower fat.

In addition to the demanded Alfredo, the Italian kid also wanted antipasto, just like you'd get in a restaurant in Little Italy, or Florence or wherever his imagination was taking him that day. Being the kind of mom who likes to please, I produced this:



My version of what comes before the pasta, Antipasto

I wrapped procuitto around little pieces of fresh mozarella and served that with my homemade Rustic Italian Bread (recipe here), pepperoncini, black olives and chopped fresh basil from my herb garden. I drizzled the whole plate with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I probably should have added some kind of salami and another marinated vegetable, but that's what I came up with quickly. Marinated mushrooms would be a good addition.

Here's my favorite take on lightened up Alfredo Sauce. We were so excited to eat this dinner, with the pasta, grilled Italian chicken and a big salad, that I forgot to take a picture. It doesn't really matter in this case, because white pasta on a plate is visually not the most appealing. However, the taste makes up for the appearance so please forgive me for not taking a picture!

"Lite" Alfredo Sauce
1 T. butter
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T. all purpose flour
1 c. 1% low-fat milk
2 oz. lite cream cheese (neufatchel)
1/2 tsp. salt
a little freshly cracked black pepper
1 c. parmesan cheese (recommend Parmigiano Reggiano) divided use
1 T. chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
4 cups hot, cooked pasta, we like linguine, but fettucine is traditional
In a medium sized pot, melt butter with olive oil over low heat. Add garlic and saute' for a few minutes until garlic is softened. Stir in flour so that it is totally incorporated. Add the milk and stir, stir, stir. You may want to get out  your whisk, since you are dissolving the flour and butter into the milk. Turn up the heat a little and let the mixture start to bubble and thicken. Add the lite cream cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in 2/3 of the parmesan. Keep cooking and stirring til the mixture is thick and bubbly. Pour over the hot pasta noodles and toss well to combine. Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan and flat leaf parsley. Serves 4 - 6.
If serving 4, approx. 399 calories, 13 g. fat, 2 g. fiber, 821 mg sodium

It's Grilled Cheese Day!

In honor of National Grilled Cheese Day, check out my blog post from last year and enjoy a great sandwich!
Ntional Grilled Cheese Month

Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos

I've written before about my friends' mom in Tampa, Florida, who first introduced me to Mexican cooking. They were an Air Force family who came to Tampa by way of California. In Cali, they had an Hispanic maid, who taught them her way of cooking. My friends' mom taught me at the tender age of 14, because I was SO taken with this way of cooking. I've been cooking the dishes she showed me ever since, and they are always a big hit!

When she first taught me how to make chile rellenos, there was no great abundance of fresh peppers in the markets like there are now. Over the years, I've tried this dish with different kinds of fresh peppers, but I always come back to the original canned peppers. They are peeled, ready to use and just the right size for an appetizer or a side dish! If you want a bigger version, like the ones sold in so many Mexican Restaurants, you can try a poblano pepper or any that you like, but this is what I've used for many years:

Canned Chilies for Chile Rellenos

Whole Chilies draining on paper towels

First, you need to lay the chilies out on a paper towel and drain them, like this:
Next, mix up the batter:

1/2 c. Bisquick

1 large egg

1/4 c. beer

Mix this well, pressing a fork into the mixture to get rid of all the lumps. You will have enough batter for about 6 of these smaller sized chilies. Most cans have 3 to 5 chilies in them, so if you need more, you'll have to buy 2 cans. I made four and discarded the rest of my batter. (NOTE: this batter is good for onion rings too!!)

Now, stuff your chilies:

1/4 med. onion, finely minced

about 2 ounces of white cheddar cheese, cut into rectangles and slightly tapered at the bottom

Put a few pieces of onion into the bottom of the chile, then slide in the cheese and stuff in a little more onion. Make sure to cut the onion VERY finely and slice the cheese into a shape that will fit your chilies!

Preheat about half an inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet. The oil is ready when a drop of the batter sizzles and floats to the top when dripped into the skillet. If the the oil starts to smoke or the drop to burn your oil is too hot.

While the oil is preheating, put the chilies carefully into the batter and turn them over until they are completely coated, including the open tops. Plenty of batter will prevent your cheese from melting out of the chile.

Place them carefully into the hot cooking oil, and drizzle a little more batter on the side facing up ( a small tsp. works well for this, just be careful so the oil does not pop and splatter). Let them fry for a minute or 2 and turn them over, keeping the oil hot enough to sizzle but not burn. Cook them until they are golden brown. Serve with a little salsa if desired. Enjoy!

Yummy Chile Rellenos, topped with salsa and cheese oozing out!

National Grilled Cheese Month!

When I was a little girl, traveling around with my career army family, the one thing that never failed to thrill my taste buds was a grilled cheese sandwich. I've had them everywhere, all over America and Europe, and I don't think I ever met one I didn't like! In honor of March being National Grilled Cheese Month, I pulled out my handy dandy sandwich grill and made a few entries that could possibly qualify for the Grilled Cheese Hall of Fame. Try them out and let me know what you think!

First, I made a Chicken Pesto with Roasted Red Peppers and Provolone. I used some good sourdough bread, slightly stale, that I found on the half price rack at the supermarket. I mixed up a quick pesto sauce with olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, basil and Parmesan (you can search my blog if you want exact proportions, I wrote them up a while ago). I had some a leftover grilled chicken breast in the frig, so I thinly sliced that up. I also had provolone cheese and a jar of roasted red peppers that was already opened. The assembly was easy: A slice of sourdough, a smear of pesto, a slice and a half of provolone, some chicken, a little roasted red pepper and some more provolone (after all, this IS a grilled CHEESE sandwich, no skimping on cheese!). I lightly brushed the grill with olive oil, thinly spread the sandwich with a little room temperature butter, and let it grill baby, GRILL! 

Second, I made a Classic Caprese Grilled Cheese. For this sandwich, I used Italian bread, sliced sort of thinly, a fresh mozzarella cheese (the round kind that is packed in water). I added on the classic caprese ingredients, sliced Roma tomatoes and thinly sliced basil leaves, topped with a little more cheese. Once again, a lightly oiled grill, and a little butter spread on the bread, and onto the grill.

Third, I mixed things up with a Mozarella, Pesto, Red Pepper and Chicken Grilled Cheese. For the third sammie, I used what I had on hand and just layered it up. I used another slice of the sourdough bread, smeared with a little pesto, some sliced grilled chicken and more of the fresh mozzarella. There was a big basil leaf left over, so I added that too, and back to the lightly oiled grill with another schmear of butter. Toasting away, grilled cheese heaven!

Don't be afraid to experiment around and celebrate the end of March Madness with a few new takes on that old favorite, Grilled Cheese! Happy Eating!

Fettucine Alfredo! Oh, My!!

My kids love fettucine alfredo, and to be honest, so do I. I had to find a way to make it at home and make it healthy yet delicious enough to enjoy. I found it -- with the help of an old Cooking Light magazine. It's a little bit of trouble, but oh, so worth it! Good eating and NO GUILT! I've made this several times and I swear, you would not know it's not the original killer variety of alfredo sauce. Lighter Fettucine Alfredo 1 T. butter 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 T. all purpose flour 1 1/2 c. 1% low fat milk 1 1/4 c. fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided use 2 T. lowfat cream cheese 1/2 tsp. salt 4 c. hot cooked fettucine (8 oz. uncooked) 2 tsp. chopped fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley Fresh ground black pepper Melt butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until just softened (don't let it brown or fry). Stir in flour. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk. (You are making a "white" roux base, not a browned one.) Cook about 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup of your grated parmigiano, cream cheese and salt. Continue to stir till the sauce gets smooth. Toss the sauce with the hot pasta. Turn it out onto a platter or a large pasta bowl and top with the remaining 1/4 c. parm. Sprinkle with parsley and grind a little pepper over the top. This makes 4 1 cup servings, 399 calories, 13.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber. I often make it as 8 1/2 half cup servings so it's only about 200 cal. 7 g. of fat and 1 g. of fiber. It's very filling and rich tasting -- You may find that a 1 c. serving seems like too much! Mange'!

What's cooking? Broccoli Cheese Soup

I am compelled to cook. I've just gotta' do it! But, what's a healthy eater wanna' be to do? Cook healthy, obviously! Here is my attempt to do that today: Warm, comforting broccoli cheese soup, based on an old recipe I got years ago at a weight watchers meeting. This recipe is ONLY 3 Smart Points per serving if you are following Weight Watchers.


Broccoli Cheese Soup 
serves 4

3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth or stock (from a box) or vegetable stock 
10 oz. frozen broccoli florets 
1 garlic clove, minced 
1/4 small onion (about 2 T.) minced 

6 oz. lite velveeta cheese 
1/4 c. 1% lowfat milk 
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the stock in a soup pot and add the broccoli, garlic and onion. Bring it to a boil, turn it down and let cook at least 15 minutes on a simmer until the broccoli is completely cooked. Take your potato masher and mash the broccoli up to thicken the broth. Add the velveeta cheese and milk and let the cheese melt slowly over low heat. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. (you don't need much salt, as the cheese has some in it) 

For a spicy tex-mex flavor, add one can of Rotel Original Tomatoes w/green chilies. More flavor no extra calories! NOTE: You must use processed cheese for this recipe, as it is made for cooking and melts more evenly. Look for the kind made with 2% LF milk, which has 1/2 the fat.