Everyone can enjoy quiche!

4/1/15 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Spring has sprung! The birds at our house are bustling about while feasting on the worms they pull out of the ground.  The trees are producing enough pollen to make me sneeze and we can sit out on the porch and watch the grass grow. It’s a great time to live in Oregon. In fact, it kinda makes me want to sing!

But this is a cooking column and springtime also brings a desire for lighter mealtime fare. Out with the heavy casseroles, soups and stews! Our appetites are craving bright, crisp, citrusy flavors. Fresh asparagus, artichokes and other once-a-year produce items are suddenly must have menu choices.

And that brings me to the subject of quiche. Once upon a time everyone in my gal-pal circle of friends had springtime luncheons and we all ate quiche. Not anymore. Maybe we overdid it because quiche seems to have fallen out of favor. It certainly fell off my radar.

Quiche is basically a savory custard made with milk (or cream) and eggs mixed with bacon, vegetables or cheese. It is poured into an open-faced crust, baked and served either warm or at room temperature. You want just enough eggs to set the milk but not too many or it will become rubbery. You want the custard to wobble a bit as it comes out of the oven. It will set as it cools.

Today’s first recipe is inspired by Martha Stewart. I happened upon her video of mini quiche making and thought, “What a great idea for an Easter appetizer.” So if you’re in charge of appetizers this year give this one a try. I have included her “Pâte Brisée” recipe because the crust is as important as the filling. Store bought won’t do. The second recipe my friend Ruth Edens gave me back in the early 1980s. It can be served for a lunch entree or a light dinner.

The saying used to be that “Real men don’t eat quiche.” Nonsense. Everyone loves a good quiche. Enjoy! And Happy Easter!

MINI SPRINGTIME QUICHES

Martha Stewart

1 bunch pencil asparagus

Coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

All-purpose flour

1/2 recipe Pâte Brisée (recipe follows)

3 oz. Gruyère cheese (can substitute Swiss)

2 oz. cooked ham

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cut 3 inches from the tip-ends of the asparagus; reserving remaining stalks for another use. Generously add salt to boiling water. Add asparagus, and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain well. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, heavy cream, eggs, yolk, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pâte brisée to slightly less than 1/8 inch thick. Use a 2 3/4-inch round cutter to cut out 24 rounds. Fit rounds into a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin tin. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, place in refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes. Divide half of Gruyère evenly between the lined cups. Top with ham. Divide milk mixture evenly between cups. Top each with 3 to 4 pieces of asparagus. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyère.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately remove quiches from muffin tin, and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PÂTE BRISÉE

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. granulated sugar

2 sticks cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup ice water

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until dough just holds together (no longer than 30 seconds).

Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days). Dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Note: Use this dough to make both sweet and savory pies

ZUCCHINI GREEN CHILI QUICHE

Pastry for 9” pie crust

3 cups coarsely grated, unpeeled zucchini

1 cup (7 ounces) green chilies

3/4 cup sliced green onions and tops

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (i.e. canned milk like Carnation)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400° F. Mix cheeses together and set aside.

Crust: Roll pastry a little thicker than for a regular pie. Trim top as for a single pie crust.

Prepare zucchini: Grate on a sheet of foil and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 min. then squeeze out moisture and blot dry. (This is an important step.) Rinse green chilies, drain and blot dry.

Cook green onions slowly in melted butter about 1 min. Stir in zucchini and heat only a few minutes, just until zucchini is glazed with fat. Blend in flour. Spread mixture in pie shell. Sprinkle with chilies and half the cheese.

Beat eggs with milk and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell and sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture. Bake at 400° for 15 min. Reduce heat to 350° and bake 20-25 min. longer until custard is set and slightly puffy. Cool at least 15 min. before cutting.

Note: I like to serve this with sour cream and salsa on the side.

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Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes

 that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

"Mrs. Gregory and Friends" household hints

3/3/15 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Recently, my friend Donna Armor, gifted me with a family heirloom—her grandmother’s cookbook. I supposed it to be a little notebook of family recipes. Imagine my surprise when I opened the large box to find a true treasure. A thick volume filled with advice from the past on all manner of useful housekeeping hints.

The book is titled “Woman’s Favorite Cookbook” and its 551 pages are divided into three volumes. The authors are “Mrs. Gregory and Friends.” There is no publication date and the thick, deteriorating pages are pulling away from the binding. Our guesstimate is that it’s at least 100 years old. Probably early 20^th century.

Dozens of women contributed recipes for such exotic things as Macaroni and Oysters, Broiled Frogs’ Legs, Johnny Cake, Hot Dandelion Salad, Fried Apple Custard, Pickled Walnuts, Blanc Mange Easter Eggs and Stuffed Egg Plant.

There is even an entire section on toast! It begins by gently reminding the reader that the object of toasting bread is to extract the water, enabling its digestion. First warm the bread and draw out the moisture so it can be toasted to a pale gold color.  And before toasting, “be sure that the fire is clear and hot and the bars clean.”

Carving meat is a skill to be developed and proud of. Running short on ice? “Wrap the ice in several thicknesses of newspaper. A flannel sheet will have the same effect.” A section on wastefulness reminds the young housekeeper that the Bible says: “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

There are reminders that when caring for the sick and convalescent, perfect cleanliness of hands and nails is imperative. For recovering patients who have little appetite the following are suggested: some gruel, beef tea, oatmeal mush, toast water, boiled partridge and tapioca pudding. And finally this reminder: “A cheerful spirit is the best medicine of all.

There is even a section on how to deal with household pests. Rats and mice? Drown them! Tease them with a little meal in a barrel; then when they’re used to being fed, partially fill the barrel with water! Bed bugs? Saturate the bedstead with kerosene! Cockroaches? Thoroughly pulverize borax and scatter it where they appear.

My favorite section of the book, however, is a treatise on fine dining.

As a home economist in my college days, we read Emily Post like it was the Bible. This book puts Emily to shame. It will also make your head swim with the expectations of that era. It begins with dinner party instructions:

“A dinner should be a function where no obstacles to ease and enjoyment exist. Invitations to a dinner party are issued ten days or two weeks in advance of the event. The recipients should reply at once. This gives the hostess a chance to fill a possible vacancy. They should be sent by post but are better because of sure delivery if sent by messenger.

“Today (1900?) a hostess of moderate means can invite 50-100 guests for an informal party without ever looking to the florist or caterer for help. The first requisite for a well-ordered table is, snowy, fine, damask linen. A table, when properly set, is a picture of loveliness—cut glass, silver and dainty dishes. A certain scheme of color is chosen and everything on the table harmonizes with it.

“In cities, the usual hour for a dinner party is 7 o’clock; in country places it is frequently earlier in the day. For a home-like, informal dinner, where the host does the carving, one well trained servant can wait upon 12 persons.”

At formal dinners lots of courses were served: Oysters, clear soup, fish with small potatoes, an entrée accompanied by bread and relishes; roasts of some kind, sherbet, chicken or duck, an appetizing salad; puddings or ice cream; fresh fruits and bonbons; Turkish or black coffee served demi-tasse. The end of an era.

Now back to 21^st century reality with a servant-less dinner menu plan: Look in the frig and the freezer to see what’s on hand to feed a crowd of 4-6 people. Email or call at the last minute to see if the neighbors want to come to dinner. Ask them to bring a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread. Thaw some pork chops, heat the oven, put some yams or russet potatoes in to bake, prep a vegetable, open some applesauce and garnish it with cinnamon.

Voila! It’s dinner. No florist or caterer needed. The following glazed pork chops are easy and delicious and the vintage recipe for Fried Apple Custard from the cookbook just might hit the spot! Enjoy!

APPLE CUSTARD (FRIED)

Pare, core and slice four good-sized apples. Fry then in butter and when they are brown on one side, turn them over and pour over them a custard made of four eggs, beaten, a cupful of cream or new milk and a little cinnamon. Fry to a light brown. Turn carefully and serve with sifted sugar. This is a nice hot dessert. Mrs. Ellen Sullivan

GLAZED PORK CHOPS

6 1-inch thick loin pork chops

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

Dash of ginger

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Trim excess fat off chops; arrange chops in 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over chops. Bake uncovered in oven 1-1/2 hours. Turn them over to serve.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 

that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare. \