Quick and Easy Quiche

Rachel here: I suppose it's a little redundant to call quiche "quick and easy". The reason I call the recipe I'm sharing today quick and easy, though, is because in my house we simply don't do store-bought pie crusts. One has never entered our home and it seems quite likely one never will (unless, of course, somebody other than John or I brings it through the doors). We are each competent pie crust makers in our own right and this is a source of culinary pride. The only problem, of course, is that we don't always feel like making pie crust from scratch. When it comes to quiche, this left me in a pickle the first time I made it. Unwilling to use a store-bought crust and completely uninterested in generating my own, I pondered and pondered an alternative way to get a bit of crusty texture into my quiche without spending way more time in the kitchen than I wanted to or succumbing to the grocery store option. What I arrived at was a layer of breadcrumbs on the bottom of the pie plate and, seriously, I have never looked back. Nobody's uttered a complaint (which isn't to say that they aren't secretly missing the true pie crust, just that their longing is satisfactorily abated by the bread crumbs) so far and I'm cautiously optimistic that they won't. The other perk to using bread crumbs, of course, is that you can make them if you don't have them already (since most of us have bread on hand), meaning you can make quiche almost anytime you have bread and eggs and some miscellaneous filling options in your refrigerator. I, personally, love food like this.

So, I have to make a confession before I share my recipe: I actually made two quiches. John and I are taking a fantastic birth class right now at Birthways in Berkeley and each Saturday there is a potluck lunch during class (this lunch may be part of why I love the class so much...there is so much yummy food that the next day I find myself longing for this smorgasbord come noontime). Each week each birthing team brings something different and our assignment for this past Saturday was quiche. Friday night I dutifully made quiche for the class; Saturday morning I woke up at 6 am in a panic that there would be something wrong with it. I hauled myself out of bed (hauling is the only word for getting out of bed these days with this belly), stumbled into the kitchen and made a second quiche just so I could cut into the first one and serve the second one with confidence to my pregnant cohorts and their birth partners. Yup, this is how my life gets told in recipes sometimes: neurosis worked out in the kitchen.

And now for the recipe, which you should make with GREAT confidence, since after making it twice in a row I can say that it is quick, easy and delicious (oh yeah, and truly pretty foolproof).

Quick and Easy Quiche

Ingredients
breadcrumbs
7 eggs
1 c. milk
4 large basil leaves, torn into bits
1 c. scallions, chopped
1 c. tomatoes, diced
1 c. smoked gouda, shredded
salt and pepper

Method
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9" pie plate with bread crumbs so the bottom is completely covered and can't be seen (about a 1/2 inch). In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork (DO NOT use a whisk because later on everything that you mix into the eggs will get stuck in it). Mix in the milk. Add the basil, scallions, tomatoes and cheese along with salt and pepper to taste (a dash of cayenne will add a little pop, too), stirring in well. Pour into your pie plate and place in oven. Bake until the quiche is completely set, around 30 minutes (it's done when the inside is as set as the outside). Remove, cool and serve either slightly warm or at room temperature. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Janet here: It's hard to know where to begin with this post after all Rachel's admissions. A counselor would be having a field day here is all I can say. But let me just say this:

I use store-bought pie crust all the time for quiche and it's just fine thank you very much. So any of you readers who are feeling a little intimidated by this whole only-homemade-pie-crust-will-count thing should just relax and do what works best for you. I will add, however, that the bread crumbs concept is brilliant (oh and yes I use premade store-bought bread crumbs too rather than whipping up my own from bread--presumably homemade bread). I will absolutely try this down the road.

Crust aside, I agree quiche is an easy dinner. Add a little salad and maybe soup and bread, and you've got a complete happy meal. What I love about quiche is that it's a food free-for-all. You can add whatever you want to the mix and it's generally just fine.

My most recent quiche was about 3/4 pounds cooked turkey bacon and about 1 1/2 cups of grated gruyere. Just delicious.

Fried Goat Cheese Medallions

Rachel here: So, for my final solo post before my mother returns to our little blogosphere I had big plans to make scallion pancakes. I found a recipe that seemed pretty straight forward and I had most of the ingredients plus the time required (they're simple to make but involve a lot of waiting for dough to chill and such). It ended up being a gorgeously and unseasonably hot day, though, and I ended up taking a long walk and drinking slushies with John and then just not feeling like spending that kind of time over the stove. And so I went back to the drawing board, craving a dinner that would feel as summery as the day had.

What I arrived at was a salad with fried goat cheese medallions. For the salad I used toasted walnuts, scallions, mini heirloom tomatoes, kalamata olives, lemon thyme and mixed greens. I whisked together a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, figuring the tartness would go nicely with the goat cheese. I served the whole thing with baguette and John and I dug in for a dinner that reflected the freshness and warmth and simplicity of these first warm days.

Fried Goat Cheese Medallions
makes as many as you want--just buy the appropriate amount of cheese

Ingredients
goat cheese--I used 4 oz. to make 8 medallions. Also, I used plain, though you could buy it with herbs or add herbs yourself depending on how you're serving.
bread crumbs--I made mine fresh in my food processor using two pieces of bread. This was a good ratio and adapt it as needed.
egg--I used one. If you are working with any more cheese, use two.
fresh cracked pepper
olive oil

Method
To set yourself up, get your bread crumbs into a medium sized bowl and whisk your egg(s) thoroughly in another. Crack fresh pepper in a small bowl as well. Divide your goat cheese into small circles, roughly 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches wide. One at a time, dip each medallion in the egg, sprinkle with the pepper and coat in bread crumbs. Re-dip each into the egg and then back into the bread crumbs if needed to get a complete coating. You want each medallion completely (although not too thickly) covered before frying. Once you've prepped all of your medallions, heat the olive oil in a skillet (I used 3-ish T. and this was a good amount, so adapt according to the amount of cheese you're working with). When it's good and hot, drop the medallions in. Flip them once the undersides are golden brown. Blot on a towel before serving. Enjoy!

I'll Have a Side of ???

Janet here: Deciding what's for dinner only starts with the main item on the plate (chilis and stews aside obviously). The right "sides", as they say in the restaurant business, make or break a meal.

As a vegetarian, figuring out food combinations becomes even more critical because you don't have the meat entree dictating the meal. You have to become more creative pretty quickly and, frankly, I think making this transition is one of the main reasons people interested in eschewing red meat actually never make the leap: they just figure it's too hard to work out the rest of the plate.

I know I certainly felt that way when I decided to give up red meat over 30 (!) years ago. Without that piece of meat to center the plate, how exactly do you figure out how to put together a meal? Thanks to the Moosewood Cookbook, which was my bible in those beginning years, I realized you don't need a blob of meat on the plate to make a meal work. I got more creative, I think, because I was liberated by the constraints of thinking I needed a meat protein, vegetable and starch staring up at me from the plate in order to have a complete meal.

Anyway, we decided to do a side this week and, no surprise to anyone who has spent any time with me or read much of this blog, I picked broccoli because I am a broccoli freak. It's funny because I didn't love it as a child and I didn't even eat it that much as a child. But now I eat it every chance I get and have to stop myself from serving it more than twice a week with dinner.

Mostly I stir fry it in various ways so I was happy to come across this recipe for Dirty Broccoli in Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave. It's the first time I have ever microwaved a vegetable and I have to say I will probably stir fry it in the future before adding the bread crumb part. I just like my vegetables crispier. That said, it's a tasty, quick way to serve up this wonderful vegetable. What's your favorite way to serve broccoli?

Dirty Broccoli
serves 4

Ingredients
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch pepper

Method
Cut the broccoli into spears and put in a large microwave-safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave on high for five minutes. Carefully remove the cover, drain the broccoli well, and set aside.

While the broccoli is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook fo rone minute. Add the bread crumbs, oregano and salt and cook, stirring. Cook until the crumbs are toasted and gold brown, about two minutes. Add the broccoli, toss to coat with bread crumbs and serve. (This is pictured with Ellie's salmon cakes...recipe to come soon.)


Rachel here: So, this post is a continuation of my post from Monday. Below you will find my recipes for black-eyed peas and collard greens. Tune in Friday for cornbread and have yourself a feast this weekend!

Collard Greens

Ingredients
2 bunches collard greens, rinsed, trimmed and chopped
half of a large ham hock (or use bacon instead)
40 oz. of chicken stock
1 T. white vinegar
salt and pepper

Method
Place greens in a large pot with ham hock or bacon. Add chicken stock, vinegar and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour. The greens will get notably darker and the bitterness will be largely cooked out (although you want a little of that bite to balance the sweet pork). The liquid will reduce but never disappear, so just serve with a slotted spoon.

Black-eyed Peas

Ingredients
1 pound black-eyed peas, rinsed
5 c. water
the other half of your large ham hock
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Method
In a large pot, combine all ingredients (I cut the ham hock into large pieces and dispersed it throughout). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered until the peas and ham are tender (around an hour and a half). Remove ham and cut meat away from fat and skin. Chop meat up and stir back into black-eyed peas.

Yummy!

Squash This

Rachel here: We decided to feature squash for this post because it's a vegetable (ok, actually it's technically a fruit) that neither one of us is particularly used to working with. In my cooking, before this meal, I had only used it cubed in stir-fries and soups. Anyway, I was delighted to discover the recipe that I am sharing below. It is completely delicious, absurdly easy and really rather quick, in addition to being a phenomenally cheap meal to prepare. An added bonus was that it gives a nod to Thanksgiving dinner in its flavors, one of my all-time favorite meals. I found the recipe while trolling through epicurious (a wonderful way to spend a morning, in my opinion) and modified it ever so slightly from its original posting in Bon Appétit in October 1995.

Acorn Squash with Wild Mushroom Cranberry Stuffing

feeds 2

Ingredients

1 1/2-1 3/4 lb. acorn squash, halved and with seeds removed

1/2 c. dried cranberries or currants (I used a mixture)

1/4 c. hot water

3 T. butter

4 oz. fresh wild mushrooms (I used shiitake), de-stemmed and chopped

1/4 c. chopped onion (I chopped on the bigger side)

1 tspn. dried sage

1 c. fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs

1/4-1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan arregiano

few ounces of goat cheese (to taste)

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place squash cut side down on a glass baking dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap (I just used a pyrex pie plate). Microwave on high for 10 minutes (or a bit longer if your microwave cooks on its own terms like mine does...I only added 2 extra minutes and it was perfect). Pierce plastic to let some steam escape and then remove plastic completely. Season squash with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine your cranberries and/or currants with the hot water and let sit. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in skillet. Add mushrooms, onion and sage and saute until vegetables begin to soften. Add breadcrumbs and stir until they begin to brown (roughly 3 minutes). Now add the cranberries and/or currants along with all of their soaking liquid. Season this with salt and pepper and then add the bulk of your grated parmesan, reserving a little to sprinkle over the top of the squash halves once they are stuffed.

Mound the stuffing into the squash halves, pressing down to get them good and full before creating the mounded tops. Sprinkle remaining parmesan over the top and place in oven for approximately 10 minutes, until heated through and crisp on top. I served the squash halves with a bit of goat cheese and John and I both felt that the tartness of the goat cheese was a nice complement to the dish. When we were eating, we were daydreaming about other things to stuff squash with (walnuts? sausage? the possibilities seem endless!)...what have you tried?


Janet here: The other point Rachel left out in our decision to make a squash dish is that neither of us is that fond of it so it doesn't make it to the menu that often in either of our households. There was a time, though, BK (that would be Before Kids) when I would make stuffed squash from my then-favorite vegetarian cookbook, The Moosewood Cookbook, and it was, as Rachel noted, an easy, tasty, cheap dinner. But then whining children came along and it became a harder sell (in fact I don't even think I tried).

I had been thinking about making a stuffed squash too but then found this recipe for a squash flatbread in Real Simple and thought it looked so beautiful, that I made this instead. I'm here to tell you that with the exception of it being a little squash-heavy (I personally think 1/2 a pound or maybe 3/4 of a pound tops would have improved this), it was delicious. The thyme added a lovely subtlety and the cheddar just the right bit of sharpness.

Butternut Squash Flatbread with Cheddar and Pine Nuts
serves 3

Ingredients
1 pound store-bought pizza dough (if you make your own, go for it; this recipe was filed under easy weeknight meals so the assumption was you didn't have time)
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, sliced 1/4 inch thick (see above comment re. amount)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (I used dried and saw no difference)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 ounces)

Method
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Shape the dough into a large oval and place on cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. (I used a pizza stone and that worked fine as well.)

In a large bowl, toss the swuash, onion, pine nuts, thyme, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Scatter over the dough and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake until golden brown and crisp, 25-30 minutes