The Way the French Do It ~ Asparagus & Mushroom Quiche

Quiche is such a versatile dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is a perfect entrée for entertaining as it can be made ahead of time, actually, it tastes much better if it is baked, allowed to chill for 24 hours and then reheated. This allows the ingredients to settle and all of the flavors to meld into each other.
Served with home fried or roasted potatoes or a simple salad, this is a great comfort dish.

I made this quiche in a 2 inch deep by 8 inch round fluted tin with a removable bottom.

For the crust:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup cold water

Blend flour, salt, and butter in a food processor by pulsing on and off until a coarse meal forms. Add the water a bit a little at a time and give the dough a few pulses until the dough just begins to come together.

Remove the dough from the food processor, forming into ball and then flattening into a round disk. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough to pan, pressing onto bottom and up sides of pan; trim any excess dough. Pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork in a number of places to allow the steam to vent. Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Remove the crust from the freezer. Take a large piece of parchment paper and gently press it onto the crust, fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights and continue to bake until it begins to get a golden color, about 7- 10 minutes. Allow to cool until warm.

For filling:

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic minced
1 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced and sautéed and drained very well.
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
15-18 asparagus spears, lower ends of stalks removed and cut into 1” pieces
6-8 asparagus stalks cut to length that is half the diameter of pan for decoration
1 3/4 cups cream, milk or half & half
6 large extra large eggs
1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere Cheese
1 cup coarsely grated Emmentaler cheese or Jarlsburg
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and red pepper and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Toss with cooked mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Place cooled crust still in pan on a baking sheet. Drain mushroom mixture if needed and then scatter over bottom of crust. Cover the mushroom mixture with half of the cheese, arrange uncooked asparagus on top of cheese and then scatter the remaining cheese over the asparagus. Whisk cream, eggs, dill, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

A word about the egg custard mixture:
I use Julia Child’s basic quiche custard master recipe, which is 3 extra large eggs and then enough cream to make 1 1/2 cups. The measurements that I have used above are what I use for the deep fluted tin that I make my quiches in. You can adjust the amounts according to you pan size using Julia’s master formula.

Pour egg mixture into the tart pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake quiche for 35 minutes until the top is just about set. Arrange 6-8 asparagus spears on top of quiche and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes, until the custard is set (if edges begin to brown too quickly, cover with foil). Cool to room temperature, cover and chill for 24 hours.

To serve, heat in a 350 °F oven for 30 minutes or heat slices in a microwave for a minute or so depending on your microwave.

Enjoy!

Pear Melba ~ Poached Pears with Raspberry Coulis

I am crazy for poached pears! I love the texture, taste and the way they marry so beautifully with other flavors. Serve them with chocolate syrup, a red wine sauce, or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar (I know it sounds weird, but it is an amazing combo if you use really great vinegar).

Here they are dished up with a raspberry sauce and vanilla ice-cream. Skip the ice cream and you will have a delicious no-fat treat. You can dress this dessert up or down, serving to the family or to a crowd at a dinner party.

Pear Melba

1 3/4 cups water
4 small pears, peeled and cored and halved
1 lemon
1 cup sugar
2 cups raspberries (I use frozen except for a few fresh to garnish)
Vanilla Ice cream
Mint leaves for garnish

Additional flavoring options- you can add other flavors to the poaching liquid to give the pears a subtle taste of vanilla, cinnamon, wine. For vanilla, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the poaching liquid. For cinnamon, toss a cinnamon stick in the poaching syrup and for the wine, follow the directions here.

Squeeze the lemon juice from half of the lemon into a shallow bowl or plate. Use this juice to rub on the freshly peeled and cut pears so they don't discolor.

In a saucepan over medium heat bring the water and sugar to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add the juice from the other half of the lemon. Place pears in the liquid and simmer for 10-15 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the fruit, until the pears are tender but still firm. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Remove 3/4 of a cup of the poaching liquid and place it in a small saucepan with the raspberries. Cook just until the raspberries become soft and begin to disperse in the liquid. Mash the mixture with a potato masher or puree in a food processor and then strain through a sieve.

Throw out the pulp and return the raspberry coulis to the saucepan and simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce it a bit. Place the sauce in a container and chill until cold.

To serve, pour some of the raspberry coulis on a plate or in a shallow bowl, place the pears on top of the sauce, add a scoop or two of ice cream and garnish with fresh berries and mint sprigs.

This is a great recipe to make for a dinner party as you can poach the pears and make the sauce a day ahead of time and then pull it all together just before serving.

If you do plan on making it ahead of time, I suggest using a pinch of something like Fruit Fresh to insure that the pears don’t brown. Keep the pears in the liquid, in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Cheers!

Pumpkin and Fresh Ginger Pancakes

What simple and delicious way to begin your day with a big stack of pumpkin pancakes that have a gentle hit of fresh ginger! Serve these up with some warm maple syrup and you will get everyone off to a happy start!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch clove
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, dry spices and salt. In another bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, ginger and eggs. Fold mixture into dry ingredients.

In a greased a skillet over medium heat, pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

Cook pancakes about 3-4 minutes until they begin to bubble on top, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve with butter and syrup.

Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Enjoy!!

An Empty Nest and the Next Big Wave

Sharing a cozy fusion meal of satay chicken, spicy noodles and flan l'orange in front of the fireplace with my newly empty nester brother and sister in-law as the first flurries of the season were getting ready to drop some snow on us, we chatted about about the next chapter in life. What do we want to be doing, contributing and accomplishing and where do want to be while we do it.

It is an odd feeling when you have spent the majority of your adult life focused on family and children and then suddenly your kids are out of the house and you have time to indulge a moment on yourself. It can be an enlightening and intimidating occasion when viewing life from this very different vantage point. Couples find themselves sitting across the dinner table looking at each other saying "now what" as the chatter of children no longer fills the space. Single parents may find themselves alone in their home for the first time in a long while without their child campadre to share the time with. It can also be a time of questioning whether you have prepared your child well enough to survive and thrive in the big cold world, and then the realization as they do thrive, that they no longer need you as they once did.

As parents, our job is to lay the ground work and foundation for our children, to give them the support and love to live their lives without us. To instill the sense and confidence so they aren't afraid to venture out into society and find their true purpose in life.

I remember dropping my son off at college with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart, then the realization of a certain freedom as I sat on the flight home, only to be sideswiped by sadness as I found myself sitting in an empty house that evening wondering what to do with myself.

It is a roller coaster of liberation and longing, self discovery and a processes of grieving for life has changed and a new phase has begun.

These days, I can barely get a text out of my son since he is working, playing and globetrotting his way through life. I do miss him and never feel as if I get to see him often enough, however, this is the natural progression and how the child/parenting cycle is supposed to work. On occasion, I am reminded that my kid still needs his mom when I get the call to say "I'm sick and I feel horrible" or "There is this girl I met...".

At the end of the day, the additional leisure time can bring couples closer together as they rediscover each other and single parents time to pursue relationships, business ventures or creative endeavors. In fact, most parents find that the anticipation of their nest becoming empty is more painful then when thier children actually do leave.

There is always the pursuit of the next great wave to surf, mountain to ski, country to visit and friends to make. Life is full of surprises and never lacking adventures, so we all agreed that this is an exciting time in our lives.

Bring it on!

FLAN L'ORANGE

2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
4 whole eggs
3/4 cup milk or almond milk
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspoons orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Over medium heat, bring the water and 1/2 cup of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar has dissolved and then swirl mixture in pan but do not stir it as it boils. Continue to cook until the mixture becomes an amber color.

Quickly pour the caramel into 6 flan ramekins or a round 7 or 8-inch ceramic or glass dish, tilting and swirling the caramel to coat the bottom of the dish. Allow the caramel to completely harden and cool for 15 -20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the remaining ingredients including the remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Pour the custard into the flam ramekins or dish.

Place ramekins or dish into a large casserole or baking dish that is deep enough to pour and inch or so of hot water around it creating a water bath or bain marie which will cook the flans more evenly than without the bath.

Place in the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour for the large flan or 35-45 minutes for the small flans. Take the flan out of the oven when the outer edges are firm but the middle still jiggles. The flans will firm up as they cool.

Cool on a rack and then chill for 6 or more hours.

To serve, run a sharp knife around the sides of the flan and then dip the ramekins or dish into hot water for 20 seconds or so. Place a plate or platter over the dish or ramekin and quickly flip it over releasing the flan onto the plate or platter.

Enjoy!