Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Dip and Breakfast Burrito

 A vegetarian dipping sauce along with a vegetarian breakfast burrito. 

Use the dipping sauce for chips, tacos, eggs, etc.

Red Pepper Dipping Sauce

1 1/2 to 2C Raw Cashews, soaked 30-60 min in hot water, drained
1 Roasted/blackened RedPepper (or jarred pepper, minus the oil)
1/2 Lemon, juice
1T (a splash) Apple Cider vinegar
1tsp Smoked Paprika
1tsp Garlic Powder
1/2tsp Dry Mustard
2T Tahini Paste
Salt

Red Pepper Dipping Sauce Technique:

Soak the cashews in hot water for about an hour

Lightly rub a thin layer of vegetable oil on the whole pepper skin
Roast/broil in a hot 400F oven, turning occasionally, until the pepper skin blisters and blackens
(Alternately, stab with fork and rotate over a gas-cooktop)

Once blackened, put the pepper in a tight plastic bag and refrigerate for (30 minutes)
The core can be pulled out, and seeds cleaned
The skin will peel off
(This does not have to be perfect as it will be blended)

Drain the cashews

Blend all ingredients, all spices, in a food processor or with an immersion blender, blending until smooth.
Add water, thinning, as needed.

Taste
(I've found this sauce might need more salt or lemon juice to brighten it up.  The sauce can be made days in-advance, keeping well refrigerated.)



Vegetarian Breakfast Burrito

This breakfast burrito is made with tofu and turmeric, and it looks and tastes like an egg burrito.  The sweet potatoes give it a filling and firm texture.  With the red sauce from above, these will be a hit.  This recipe makes about 10 to 12 burritos and it freezes well.

1C Red Lentils, soaked in hot-water for 1 hour
1 Firm Tofu, drained

Vegetables:
1 Sweet Potato, large, diced small
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced small, reserve 1/4 cup
1 Red Onion, diced small, reserve 1/4 cup
1Can Black Beans, rinsed,
1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded, diced small

Spices for the Vegetable mixture:
3T Olive Oil
2T Lemon Juice
2T Onion Powder
1T Garlic Powder
1T Cumin Powder
Salt
Pepper

Spices for the Tofu:
1T Turmeric Powder
2T Nutritional Yeast

For Garnish:
2C Tomatoes, chopped
1/2C reserved, Red Onions
1/2C reserved, Black Beans
Chopped Cilantro for garnish and color

1package, Tortilla Shells (I like the spinach ones, but these photographs I used flour)


Burrito Technique:

In a large mixing bowl, combine (do not blend):
Sweet Potato
Most of the Red Onion
Most of the Green Bell Pepper
Most of the Black Beans
Jalapeno
Spices (except Turmeric, except Yeast)
Lemon juice
Olive Oil

Line a sided baking sheet with parchment paper
Spread the vegetable mixture, relatively thin (1/2" thick)
Bake 425 (15-20min) until potatoes are cooked (nice to see some light caramelization, if you can)

In the same (now empty) mixing bowl
Add crumbled Tofu
Soaked Lentils
2T Nutritional Yeast
1T Turmeric Powder
Salt

Using an immersion blender, blend the tofu mixture
Spread and mix on top of the baked vegetables, form into a thin rectangle; lift the edges of the parchment paper to form a rectangle.

Bake again, for (15 to 20 minutes), until it firms
(after baking, and a slight cooling, it should firm-up like a soft brownie)

Assembly:
One at a time, briefly heat tortilla shell in an ungreased frying pan, flipping both sides.  Remove.
On the tortilla, spread a spoonful of the red-pepper dip (see above)

From the baking sheet, use a spatula and cut a horizontal rectangle slab, approximately 2" wide by 5" (1/2 sheet wide).  Place on burrito.

Sprinkle some tomatoes
Toss in a smattering of the reserved onions and bell pepper (for texture and color)
Chopped Cilantro

Roll the burrito.  Ready to eat.

Optionally:
Wrap in foil and bake 350F for (10 minutes)
or wrap in foil and freeze

Biscuits with Chives and Parsley

Flavorful, airy biscuits that are easy to make, using an unusual ingredient: Cake Flour -- this gives them a lighter texture.

Ingredients
1pkg dry yeast (1/4oz /1T)
2Tbsp, warm water
1Tbsp Sugar (plus more for batter)

Dry Ingredients
1.5C All Purpose Flour
1.5C Cake Flour
2T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1T sugar

Other Ingredients
1 stick (1/2C) cold butter, cut into peanut-to-pea-sized chunks

1/4C chopped Chives or green scallions (green part only), chopped
1/4C chopped flat-leaved or regular parsley

1C Buttermilk, room-temperature

Tops
Melted butter (for brushing)
Course kosher salt or better, sea-salt flakes

Technique:
----------------------------
Activate the yeast
In a small bowl, add yeast, sugar, and tepid water (warm, not hot)
Stir
Allow yeast to foam (10 to 15 mins)

In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients. 

With a sharp knife, cut the butter into irregular chunks, pea-to-peanut-sized.  No need to be cosmetic.  If the house is warm, put the cut butter in the freezer for a few minutes.  Toss the butter chunks in the flour to coat.

Once all the butter is cut, aggressively reach into the mixture and squeeze the chunks, pinching your fingertips to flatten them.  Work quickly, keeping the butter cold and solid as you can.  Toss and squeeze, leaving obvious butter "flakes" in the mix.

Toss in the greens.

Slowly pour the buttermilk, mixing the best as you can.  Ultimately the spoon will fail.

With your hands, reach into the mixture with your fingers and work the liquid into the flour.  This does not have to be perfect.  Grab, squeeze, and massage the flour and buttermilk, until most of the dry ingredients are moist.  Work quickly. 


Kneading 
----------------------------

Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured counter and knead with the heal of your hands.  Fold the dough back on itself, and knead, folding several times until the dough comes together.  Dust with flour if too sticky.  Do not over-work. 

Pat the dough into a rough, squaretangular shape, about 3/4" to 1" thick slab.

Use a 2" biscuit cutter (or use a small juice glass), cut biscuit rounds. 
Place cut biscuits on an ungreased metal cookie sheet, spacing about 1/2" apart.
Gather the scraps and re-form into a new slab.

Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for an hour or so.
While waiting, pre-heat oven to 425F

Baking
----------------------------
Brush tops with melted butter (or melted butter and honey!)
As a garnish, sprinkle with salt

Bake 425F for 12 - 15 minutes
Look for a light browning on the top.  (The timing is inexact because ovens are different, as I learned at Grandma's house)

Yields:  18 or so biscuits.  Some will be lost to sampling.  A price that must be paid.

Mussels in Red Sauce

Mussels in red and wine sauce

Time: 20-30 minutes

Skills: Super easy

Serves 2 to 3; 1 lb mussels per person for a light meal

Easy to prepare, looks like a million-bucks.  Tasty.


1/4C Olive Oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced coarsely
salt
3T tomato paste
3 to 4C chopped and seeded tomatoes (I used canned, 28oz)
1 1/2C white wine (I used a local Chardonnay)
Parsley for garnish
Mussels (2 to 3 lbs, fresh or frozen)

Steps:

For this dish, I used frozen mussels. 

1.  Following the package instructions, place the bag in boiling water, cooking separately for 6 to 7 minutes until the bag inflated and mussels are hot.

While the water is boiling, make the sauce.

2.  Saute onions in olive oil until translucent
3.  Add garlic, saute another minute; do not allow to brown
4.  Add tomato paste
5.  Add tomatoes (with liquid lightly drained, if canned)
6.  Add wine

Salt to taste
Bring to a medium simmer

7.  When mussels are done, cut the bag and drain.  Unfortunately, the liquid cannot be used in the sauce because of debris. 

8. Toss the mussels into the sauce and give them a swirl.  Let them cool slightly, and everyone can mingle and become good friends. 

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with a crusty sour-dough bread


The wine was 2006 Chardonnay from Koenig Vineyards, Snake River Valley.

Related articles: 
imageLiner Setting White Balance
imageLiner: Exposure Compensation

Semolina Pasta - Homemade

Semolina Pasta with Pesto

Time: Several Hours (home made pasta!)

Skills: Moderate and requires equipment

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, homemade semolina pasta with a bright pesto and I can't resist a quick photograph.  This is a world-class dish with hand-made noodles and a wonderful pesto.  The pasta is that good.

I used Semolina flour, which gives a firm noodle that can stand up to boiling water.  This is a wheat flour, high in gluten and is milled to be somewhat gritty, like a fine, pale yellow corn meal.  It is inexpensive and can be found in grocery bulk sections.  

In contrast, egg noodles are soft and mushy.  Once you switch to Semolina flour, you will never go back to an uninspired egg-and-four noodle. 

Making pasta by hand is work, but you can do this.  It is fun and not particularly technical.  Although this recipe seems long, it has lots of descriptive steps.  It will take about an hour (plus rest time in the fridge), and a few minutes more to cut the dough into noodles.  Start in the morning and have it for lunch or dinner.

I have a Kitchen Aid mixer with a pasta maker attachment.  Admittedly expensive but loads of fun.  The first time with the machine, you might be slow, but with experience, you will get faster and less-stressed.  Of course, this can be done by hand, which I have never tried.  

Serves 2 to 3.

Pasta Dough:

2 Eggs
1 to 2 tbs oil
2 T water
dash of salt
1 3/4 C semolina flour (400ml)


Beat the eggs, oil, water and salt
In a large bowl, add the flour and dig a pit for the egg mixture.  Start mixing by hand with a stout wooden spoon, working from the inside out. 

(Officially, you are supposed to beat the mixture for 2 minutes with a dough hook, but it was pointless because in two separate attempts, the machine did not form a ball.  I found it easier to mix with my hands.  There are no worries about over-working the dough.)

Only a small amount of water is needed, with the eggs providing most of the liquid.  When formed into a ball, the mixture should barely hold together, packed.  It may take several attempts to gather into a crumbly ball and it will look like a good home-made pie crust.  If more water is needed, use a water spritzer.

Drop the ball on the counter and knead by hand, folding pushing with the balls of your hand, folding it back upon itself.  This is a substantial dough and it will argue.  Teach it a lesson and show it who is boss.  Work it for five or seven minutes, looking for a cohesive ball.  If it sticks, it is too moist -- add flour to the counter and work it in.  It should hold its shape after the kneading.

Hand-roll into a thick, can-shaped tube, 8 - 10cm long (3.5")
Slice into round biscuits, about 3cm (1") thick

Individually wrap the pucks in plastic.
Put into the refrigerator, resting for at least two, preferably 4 hours (or as long as 12hrs).  The gluten needs time; let it rest.  If rested well, it will not fall apart when rolled.

Make the pesto next. 


Pesto Sauce:
 
The pesto is a sauce I never measure and invariably I never make enough.  Make more than expected.  Although the photos above show a fairly dry sauce, I've learned to be more generous -- the noodles should be swimming.  

Make the pesto before cutting the noodles - Much less stress

I use both pine nuts and white almond slivers, buying both in the supermarket's bulk section.  The pine nuts are wonderful, and there is no doubt the pesto needs them, but they are expensive.  Because of this, I stretch the recipe with the almonds.  Almonds are drier and blander than the pine nuts, but the garlic and basil will easily resolve any issues.  I like how the nuts add a texture to the sauce.

3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, or more...
2/3C Pine nuts 
1/2C White Almond Slivers
Olive Oil
One large Lemon, squeezed and seeded
Salt, Pepper
2 large packages of Basil, roughly chopped
Parmigiana Reggiano cheese (3 to 4 to 5 cups, finely grated (losely packed))

A good-quality (more expensive) cheese is noticeable in this recipe. 

In a food processor, toss the garlic, pine nuts, almond slivers, and some olive oil, pulsing several times.  Scrape the sides.  This can be grainy and does not need to be a puree or paste, but I like mine well blended. 

Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to hold the basil's color, and a dash of salt and pepper.
Pulse-in the basil, working in batches. Although bulky, the basil will blend and reduce.  Scrape the sides.

While blending, drizzle a respectable amount of olive oil -- I'd guess about a cup. or more.  There is an art to this -- you do not want to over-work the basil and yet you want to add the olive oil slowly enough to emulsify.   Add enough oil to make a smooth, fairly lose but not runny paste.  You can wing this and can't really do this wrong.  Err on the liquid side.

Finally, quickly pulse-in (or hand-mix) the grated cheese.
Set the mixture aside in a small glass dish and let the flavors mellow.
If more than an hour, cover with plastic wrap, with the plastic resting on the sauce.


Rolling the Pasta:

Following the instructions with your noodle machine, hand-roll the biscuits into an oblong, flat disk, about 3mm thick.  Feed it through the machine's widest setting.  Fold the sheet back upon itself lengthwise and re-feed three or four times at the same thickness.  This sets a grain.

Move the machine to the next thinner setting and feed the sheet again but do not fold back on itself.  Continue narrowing the thickness, until their final thickness.  

For fettuccine, my machine recommends fettuccine at a #4 setting, but I like thicker noodles and use #3.  The sheet will be thinner than the cooked noodle.

Use a knife to cut the sheets to their final noodle-length 20-30cm (10 to 12"), give-or-take.
Do this before slicing the actual noodles. The shorter sheets make the cut noodles more manageable. 

Make all the sheets, laying each flat on a counter or towels on the table.  Do not stack because they stick.  Do not worry about jagged edges or rounded corners.  There will be more sheets than you would expect.  Work as fast as you can.


Slicing:

Slice the noodles into their final shape, either by hand or by machine.
It makes your life less hectic to slice all of the noodles before cooking; you won't have time to manage both activities. 

Lay the cut noodles aside, sprawling across every counter and table in the kitchen.  Don't worry if they stick, they will separate in the water.  No need to dry them. 

  If the noodles clump or mush-up in the cutter, 

the dough may be too wet or not rested enough,

the project may be in trouble.

Cooking the Noodles:

Boil in rolling, salted water for a minute.  Cook them in two or three batches, depending on your pot.  Don't crowd.  Work quickly.  Use a pronged noodle ladle to fetch them out of the water.

Put the cooked noodles in your largest, widest bowl.  A splash of olive oil, and a quick stir, helps keep the from clumping. Wait on the sauce until all of the noodles are cooked.  


Plating:

Toss all the noodles at one time with the pesto.  (From experience, this works better than trying to add the new freshly-cooked noodles to a previously-tossed bowl.)  If too dry, drizzle with olive oil and curse because you did not make enough sauce.

Garnish with Parmigiana cheese by using a vegetable peeler and slicing off a few curls for the top, making it look fancy. 

A few slices of toasted garlic bread would be a glorious.






IMHO, a Merlot or Pinot wine makes a great pairing.


Kale Pesto Variation:
A kale pesto is a good variation which my college-bound daughter taught me. 

Replace the basil with kale and use only almond slivers, no pine nuts.  You are doing this because you are a poor college student and both the pine nuts and the basil are expensive.  Kale and almonds are nearly free.  I would still use a better quality cheese.  The results are similar to the basil pesto and the taste is excellent, but different.  I make this variation often.

Pesto and Salmon

A picture is all that is needed.

Carrot Soup

Carrot Soup

Time: 20-40 minutes

Skills: Easy

Serves 3 to 4

I had a bunch of carrots hiding in the refrigerator and a new blender.  A perfect match.

This recipe works with a Vitamix blender, or Cuisinart, or with slightly different steps for an  immersion blender.  This is my first time making carrot soup.  Super easy and tasty.

A Vitamix/Cuisinart cuts the cooking and prep time.  If using an immersion blender, see the bottom of this article.

Ingredients:
6-8 Medium Carrots
1/4 Small yellow onion
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (optional)
1 small green zucchini (optional)

2-4 Cloves Garlic
1 finger of fresh ginger - about two inches long - (not dried ginger!)
4-6C Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth)
Honey
dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional; compliments the honey)
dash of Thyme (optional, for color)

1 pint Half-and-Half/cream
Parsley for garnish

Steps:

1.  Peel and chop carrots, onion, bell-pepper, and zucchini into big, bold pieces. 

2.  Peel the ginger with a small knife.

Working with fresh ginger is a treat.  As my friend Nick said, It is amazing.  You can find "hands" of ginger at the produce section.  Break-off as much as you need (a finger).  Dried or powdered ginger is not nearly as good.  Nick laughed when he first viewed this article: he doesn't bother peeling the ginger's skin.

3.  Peel garlic.  No need to mince.

(and again, Nick does not bother taking the paper off the garlic -- saying it 'whirls' so fine you'd never notice, plus extra fiber.  Nick is weird in this respect.)

4.  Toss carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, bell-pepper, and zuke into the blender.
 
Add (2C) broth.
Whirl, increasing speed, adding broth as needed to help it along.

Looking for stiff peaks, I joked

5.  Pour into a large, heavy sauce pan.
 
Add broth as needed; you want a medium-thick soup, not too thin. 
(The cream will thin the final soup, so use as little broth as can be easily cooked)
You can wing this; no need to measure.
 
 Bring to a simmer, stirring often.
 
6.  Sweeten it:
 
Add 3-4 or-so Tablespoons of honey (a wild-guess is fine; to taste.  I like the soup a bit sweet.)
Add a few pinches of salt
Add Thyme
Add Cayenne Pepper

Cover with lid and cook on lowest heat for about 20 minutes. 
Stir fairly often as the mixture settles and can burn. 
- Simmer until the graininess is gone; it will 'meld' together.

When done, let cool slightly. 
 
7.  Add cream. 
 
Remove from heat and let it cool a bit before adding cream.
Add as little or as much cream as you like, until the consistency and color pleases.

Garnish with ground pepper and parsley.
This soup ages well and is better after a day or two, giving the flavors time to mingle.

If you have an immersion blender or regular blender, make these adjustments:

A.  Cube the carrots and other vegetables into small cubes.
B.  In a sauce pan, add broth. 
      Add minced garlic, grated ginger, and the other spices
C.  Cook until al'dente (still a bit firm) - soft enough to blend
D.  Blend with immersion blender, continue with the rest of the recipe.

Chicken with Fennel and Risotto Rice

Chicken with Fennel and Risotto Rice

Time: 60 minutes Prep, + 30min baking

Skills:Easy to Moderate

Serves 6 to 8

A rich and busy dish that takes an hour and a half to prepare, plus another 30 minutes baking.  As time-consuming as this is, none of the steps are complicated.  But, because of the work, plan on making 8 servings. 

To do this right, a 12" cast-iron skillet is required  (a 10" skillet for 6 servings).  I do not recommend teflon pans.

Special Equipment Needed:
12" Cast Iron Skillet (Lodge brand sells for about $35 - a great pan to have)
Micro-plane zester

Ingredients:
8 Chicken Thighs, skin-on and bone

1 Fennel Bulb, with fronds
1 Large Yellow Onion
2 Lemons
1 Serrano Pepper

2 to 3C Arborio Rice  (as desired; a volume decision)
1 to 2 cartons, Chicken Broth  (depending on rice)
Chardonnay or Sherry wine (optional)

Parmesan Cheese, grated
Garlic
Olive Oil
Sugar


The unusual ingredient in this dish is Fennel.  This is a strange-looking plant -- somewhat like a celery root, with delicate greens.  Raw, the plant tastes like licorice -- but when cooked, it takes on a milder flavor.  It is being used for color and texture, and it stands up to cooking much better than an onion.  Even if you don't like licorice, you should try this dish.


Steps:

1.  Heat cast-iron to medium, add a drizzle of Olive Oil
2.  Generously Salt and Pepper chicken, both sides; don't be shy.

3.  Add chicken thighs, skin-side-down. 

Cook until browned (6 to 8 min).  While browning, don't mess with the chicken; let them sit in the pan, undisturbed.  When they release from the pan, and are suitably browned, turn and brown the other side, another 5 or-so minutes.  The chicken will be finished in a later step.

While the chicken is browning, prepare the vegetables.

4.  Cut the top and bottom off of the Fennel; peel the outer layer and discard.  Reserve the fronds.

Cut the bulb in half, top-to-bottom, then roughly chop fennel into long, 1/4" strips

Pull off the delicate fronds, discarding the coarse stems.  Make a nice pile of them  - a bowl full; you probably won't need the entire plant.


5. Roughly slice 1 large yellow onion, similar to the Fennel.

6.  Boldly chop 5 or 6 garlic cloves into thick slices; reserve in a small bowl

7.  Roughly seed and chop 1 Serrano Pepper; reserve

8.  Using a micro-plane, zest two lemons and reserve. 
9.  Slice the lemons into 8 or 10 slices, enough for a slice or two for each chicken thigh

I happen to like peeling the lemons, using the knife to cut off the rinds, but others like the look unpeeled.

Continue with the Chicken and Sauteing Vegetables:

10.  Remove the browned, but under-cooked chicken and in a separate dish, put them in a 200-degree oven to keep warm.  From the pan, drain excess oil, leaving the pan wet.

11.  In the cast-iron, add rough-cut Fennel. 

Salt, and a sprinkle of sugar. 
Cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes, then add the onions. 
Cook until the vegetables caramelize and brown.  Keep turning, 8 to 10 or so minutes.

Just as the Fennel and Onions start to brown, add the Serrano to the party, then garlic.  Cook until all carmelized.  When done, remove vegetables and place in a bowl.  Wipe the pan.

12.  Remove the chicken.  Heat oven to 375F

13.  In a separate sauce pan, warm the chicken broth.

Rice:

Here is the time-consuming step: 
You will be browning the rice, making a risotto.  This is easy, but labor-intensive.

How much rice?  As much as you would like.  Illustrated below is about 2C (not measured), but when I made the dish for this recipe, we wanted more.  The second time I made this dish, I covered the entire pan, with some depth.  Naturally, the more rice, the more chicken broth is required.

14.  Brown the rice:  Add a (tiny) splash of Olive Oil into the medium-hot cast-iron pan.  Immediately stir the rice, covering the kernels with the lightest coating of oil -- each kernel should have a thin glaze of oil, adding a touch more oil, as needed, depending on the amount of rice.  You want the rice mostly dry.  It is okay to wing this.

Constantly stir until it begins to brown (10 minutes?).  Be careful not to burn -- you are toasting the grains.  The pan will be mostly dry while browning.

15.  Once browned, add a cup or two of wine for flavor.  Allow most of it to evaporate under moderate heat.

16.  Once toasted, dip a cup or two of warm Chicken broth, and mix with the rice -- enough to wet the rice.

Stir constantly until liquid is nearly gone.
Add another cup and continue stirring.  Again, let most of the moisture evaporate.
Adjust the heat up or down to keep the mixture active.

Keep adding broth and stirring.  You are not boiling the rice -- it should not be "swimming." 

If you run out of broth, use water, or more wine.  (Depending on the amount of rice, 2 cartons of broth might be needed, or use 1 carton and more water for a lighter, less-rich dish...)

* The goal is to coax the starches out of the rice -- this takes time and elbow-work -- expect a half-an-hour.  Keep adding broth and stirring. 

* The rice is done when you can look at a kernel and see a soft, translucent halo around the grain.  Right at this point, the starch should become liquid and a classic risotto will be born.  Cook until al-dente' -- cooked, but with still a firmness -- a "bite" to the kernels.

Remove from heat.


When the Rice is done:

17.  Mix in the vegetables (fennel and onion mixture).

Add lemon-zest. 
Add half of the reserved fronds. 
|

18.  Layer chicken on top of the rice, skin-side-up.  Crowd the pan.  

Layer lemon-slices on top of chicken. 

You will notice this picture only shows six chicken thighs.  A mistake.  For a 12" pan, I should have used 8 chicken thighs.  A crowded pan holds-in the moisture.

19.  Slide the pan into the 375F oven and finish for another 30 minutes or so, until thermometer reads 155/160F near the bone.  About half-way through, sprinkle remaining fronds as decoration.

20.  For a classic risotto, remove the rice to a separate bowl and let rest for a few minutes, cooling slightly.  Stir-in grated Parmesan cheese, to taste.


Serving:

Plate a large spoonful of rice, with Chicken on top.  Serve a sweet melon or fruit - in this case cantaloupe, along with other colour.  This dish looks amazing.

Single-crust Quiche with Ham

 

Single-crust Quiche

Time: 90 minutes prep, 60 minutes baking

Skills:Easy-to-Moderate

Serves 1 pie (3 to 4 people)

With this recipe, you can master a home-made pie-crust -- which is what makes a quiche special -- and have a fabulous late-morning breakfast.  The crust should be started the night before, saving some hungry-time in the kitchen.


Equipment needed:

* Deep fluted metal quiche baking pan with removable bottom
* Ceramic Pie Beads (pie weights - dept stores have these)
* Wide micro grater
* Straight Rolling pin
* Optional pastry dough blender
* Wide Parchment paper
* Large mixing bowl

Pie Crust (for two* bottom crusts):

10T butter, cubed, cold
4T pure lard, cubed, cold
3C flour
1t Salt
1T Sugar
Ice Water (with ice)

*If going through the trouble to make one pie crust, you might as-well make two.  Use for a second quiche (Because the second only takes a few minutes after you have gobbled the first.  Or, freeze for another day.).

* As an aside, I have used 1/8C vodka and 1/8C water.  The vodka wets the dough, but doesn't cause gluten to form.  It evaporates.  I need to practice this more; my thinking is it needs more butter/lard.


Quiche filling (for 1 pie):

7 eggs:  divided, 7 whites, 5 yolks*
   If a shallow quiche pan, use 5 eggs, 4 yolks.
8-10 oz Parmesan or Romana hard Italian cheese, shredded
4-6 oz Sharp cheddar, shredded

Diced sweet peppers
Diced prebaked ham or chopped crispy bacon
2-3 Diced Roma tomatoes
1T Thyme (dried spice)
2T Tarragon (dried spice)
3T Chives

Pie Crust

Making pie crusts takes some skill and trickery but this recipe will make you an expert.  As you will see, you can fumble and make mistakes, but because this is a single-crust recipe, your sins can be hidden with none-the-wiser.

Mixing the Crust:

A.  Cube 10T butter into small cubes (1cm, 1/4").
B.  Cube apx 4T lard into similar cubes.
C.  Spread across a plate and put in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes.

D.  Fill a small mixing bowl with cold water and some ice cubes.  Place aside.  You will need 8 to 10T of cold water, depending on the humidity in your house.

(Ideally, have a small sprayer, which you can mist the flour; barring that, sprinkle with a spoon.)






E.  In a your largest mixing bowl

Add 3C flour, 1t salt, 1T sugar.  Roughly mix.
Working quickly, add cubed butter, cubed lard, tossing while adding.
Chop with pastry blender until butter is pea-sized.

[If no pastry blender, use two butter-knives criss-cross or do as Julia Childs recommends, use your fingers, pinching rapidly until you have flattened little butter pancakes everywhere.]

F.  Again working quickly, before the butter softens, sprinkle (or spray) cold water, tossing the flour with fingers.  Start with 6T of cold water.  Sprinkle-toss-sprinkle-toss.  Mix and add water until the flour can be clumped into a loose ball that barely stays together.  You want this to be somewhat dry.  Admittedly, this is hard to judge.  For these photos, I made mine a tad too dry.

G.  Divide into 2 roughly-formed balls.

H.  Flatten into a thick cake.  Look at those beautiful chunks of butter!

I.  Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 1 to 2 hrs (or up to overnight). 

I can't plan ahead.  With my first quiche today, I chilled in the freezer for 5 minutes. 

J.  Using the false-bottom of the quiche pan as a guide, cut a round circle of parchment paper, so the circle fits loosely inside the pan.  This will go on top of the crust, protecting it from the baking beads.

Rolling the crust:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F  (190C).  Come to temperature before rolling the crust.

2.  On a sheet of parchment paper, dust with flour.

Place dough on paper and dust the top.
Using a flat rolling pin, roll with firm pressure, from the inside-out.
Roll until wide-enough to cover the quiche pan, plus another 2 or 3" inches for the sides.
Run the crust well-up the sides because it will shrink.

The crust will like be brittle.  It will tear.  It will not be round.
Don't panic.

3.  Fix damage by tearing pieces from the long sides and lay on the short sides, and patching other damage. 

4.  Lift by parchment paper and flop-over onto the pan... (notice how un-round my pie crust is...sheese!), or roll onto the rolling-pin and unroll onto the pan.  The crust may stick to the paper - keep working at it.

This does not have to be perfect.
As you can see, my crust was a disaster and it fell apart.  No worries.

5.  Patch with extra dough, pressing and molding with fingertips. 
If needed, use a drop of water while patching.  

Cover your sins as-if-you-know what you are doing... 
(Be sure the crust is air-tight, it can't leak egg through the false bottom.  Experience teaching.)

A wonderful recovery: 

"Proof" (Pre-bake) Pie Shell

Pre-heat the oven to 375F (190C) before these next steps.

6.  Place the parchment circle cut earlier on top of the crust.
Pour ceramic pie beads into the pan.

7.  With thin 2 inch strips of aluminum foil, protect the top edges by wrapping them with foil.  I usually use four strips to go around that top-outside edge.  This does not have to be artistic.

8.  Bake uncovered for 19 minutes, 54 seconds.

9.  Halfway through, remove the foil.

Once proofed, let cool.
Remove parchment paper and beads.
Confirm the crust looks air-tight. 



Filling:

While the pie-crust bakes, continue with these steps.

10.  For a deep quiche pan,
     Separate 7 eggs and their yolks, discarding 2 yolks
     (use 5 and 4 if a shallow quiche pan).




11.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with a few tablespoons of water, until the whites are foamy.

12.  Stir yolks separately in a smaller bowl.
       Gently fold the yolks into the whites.

13.  Add most, but not all of the cheese to the egg-mixture.

Add spices.
(but hold on the meat and vegetables)

Pour egg mixture into pie-crust.

14.  Sprinkle with cubed ham/bacon and chopped peppers, tomatoes.
(These ingredients will settle into the mixture; I like them in layers.)
Sprinkle reserved cheese, for color.

Bake

The pie will rest on the middle rack.
On the lower-rack, place an old cookie sheet to catch overflows and possible leaks.

Wrap the outside edges with thin strips of foil to protect the exposed crusts from burning. 
(Some of you have fancy pie-crust protectors; I don't.)

15.  Bake uncovered 25 minutes at 375F.

16.  Remove the foil.
       Set the heat to 350F for another 20 - 30 minutes. 

Mixture will firm while baking and should not jiggle.
The crust should pull away from the sides.
An inserted chopstick should pull out clean.

17.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes - don't rush this.  It will be too hot to handle and you won't succeed at pulling it away from the false-bottom.

18.  Gently lift pie, pushing up from the false bottom.  The crust should rise out of the pan.
Rest on a cutting board.

The metal false bottom will probably stick.  With a cool pie, use a filet or other long, thin knife, running horizontally along the bottom.  Surgically separate the plate from the crust.  (Remove the plate because slicing dulls the blade and it will groove the plate, making future crusts harder to remove.)

Results:

I like to serve with a tossed green salad, with a light homemade vinaigrette dressing, made sweet for brunch. 

Salad Dressing:
In a medium glass mixing bowl:

1T Dijon Mustard
1T Honey
1T Sugar
2T White vinegar

pinch of salt
pepper
garlic powder
dash of dried Tarragon

Whisk together
Drizzle 1T Olive oil (while whisking)
Drizzle 2T Safflower or Grape seed oil, while whisking, adding more to taste.


Second Crust Quiche was made with these ingredients

While baking the first quiche, I prepped these ingredients for the second quiche.  These were the ingredients on-hand and it was as delightful as the first:

Arugula, dandelion, and spinach greens.  Chopped roughly.
Red onions, bell peppers
Chopped ham
Mushrooms
grated Parmesan and crumbled Mexican Queso Fresco cheeses
Thyme, tarragon, chives

The greens are bulky and you won't be able to layer.  Mix all ingredients at the same time before pouring.

 
My thanks to JanJou Patisserie, Boise, for inspiring me to make quiche.  My goal is to be as good as her.  And thanks to my friend Mike B., who will always make a crust better than me; I am gaining.