Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Quiche

This adventures comes from the cookbook Perfect Pies by Michele Stuart.  Fortunately, I was going to the grocery store yesterday morning so I didn't have to make a mad dash to buy the necessary ingredients.

This is another easy recipe, you can make in a matter of minutes  especially if you buy a package of pre-shredded cheese (is there such a word as "pre-shredded"??).  I did forget to get half-and-half, so I just substituted milk - can't say that made much of a difference.

I will have to say I was not that impressed with her pie dough recipe.  Next time I make this I will use one of my favorite pie dough recipes.  Anyway, onto the recipe . . .

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche by Michele Stuart

Single pie crust ** (see note above - use your own favorite pie dough recipe)

Filling

1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli florets, steamed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup half-and-half ** (didn't have, so I used milk instead)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F
Make pie crust for 9" pie plate and refrigerate if necessary.
Roll out the pie dough and place in pie plate.
Steam the chopped broccoli florets until soft
Add the chopped onions to the pie plate.

Once the broccoli florets are soft, spoon them over the onions in the pie plate.
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the broccoli.

In a separate bowl, mix the 3 eggs with the half-and-half (or milk in my case) and pour over the broccoli/cheese mixture.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes until the center of the quiche has set.

 

 

 Enjoy!!

 

Entire Recipe:

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche by Michele Stuart

Single pie crust ** (see note above - use your own favorite pie dough recipe)

Filling

1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli florets, steamed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup half-and-half ** (didn't have, so I used milk instead)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F
Make pie crust for 9" pie plate and refrigerate if necessary.
Roll out the pie dough and place in pie plate.
Steam the chopped broccoli florets until soft
Add the chopped onions to the pie plate.
Once the broccoli florets are soft, spoon them over the onions in the pie plate.
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the broccoli.
In a separate bowl, mix the 3 eggs with the half-and-half (or milk in my case) and pour over the broccoli/cheese mixture.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes until the center of the quiche has set.

Verdict:

Oh yes, this was good!!  My resident expert, aka my husband, loved it (and so did I).  I will be making this again (but like I said above, using my own pie dough recipe).  Definitely a winner recipe!!!

The "Best" Bread Pudding

I found this recipe on the Southern Bites blog.  You know whenever someone posts a recipe as "the best", I consider that a challenge!  So a new adventure is born.  A note for the record . . . I have only had bread pudding a couple of times, one that I made (the New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding) and another one I had at a restaurant in Norfolk, VA - both were delicious.  So whether or not this is the all-time best ever bread pudding will be hard to judge based on my limited experience with bread pudding.


This recipe will require a run to the grocery store.  It is on the expensive side which calls for two quarts of heavy whipping cream and 15 eggs.    I did make a few minor modifications to the sauce and I will note those in that recipe.  On to the recipe . . .


The Best Bread Pudding by Southern Bites

Ingredients:

1 quart (4 cups) heavy whipping cream
15 eggs (YES!! that is 15 eggs)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 T cinnamon
1 T vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 french baguettes

Sauce

2 cups heavy whipping cream ** (I only used 1 cup)
1 cup butter ** (I only used 1/2 cup)
2 cups brown sugar ** (I only used 1 cup)

Directions:

Combine the cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla together in a very large bowl.
Slice the baguettes lengthwise then cut into 1 inch pieces
Soak the bread in the cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight, covered with a lid or saran wrap.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with Pam or coat with butter.
Layer in the soaked bread.  You will not need to use all the cream mixture which you can discard.
Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar.

Bake at 325 for 45 to 50 minutes until the center of the pudding is set.
Remove and let cool on a rack (your house will smell HEAVENLY!!!)

For the sauce:

Melt the butter and brown sugar.
Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat.
Add the heavy whipping cream, mix to combine and let the sauce set while the pudding cools (about 15 to 20 minutes).
Spoon the sauce over the top of the pudding so it can soak in.  You will probably not need all the sauce.

The Entire Recipe:


The Best Bread Pudding by Southern Bites

Ingredients:

1 quart (4 cups) heavy whipping cream
15 eggs (YES!! that is 15 eggs)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 T cinnamon
1 T vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 french baguettes

Sauce

2 cups heavy whipping cream ** (I only used 1 cup)
1 cup butter ** (I only used 1/2 cup)
2 cups brown sugar ** (I only used 1 cup)

Directions:

Combine the cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla together in a very large bowl.
Slice the baguettes lengthwise then cut into 1 inch pieces
Soak the bread in the cream mixture in the refrigerator overnight, covered with a lid or saran wrap.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with Pam or coat with butter.
Layer in the soaked bread.  You will not need to use all the cream mixture which you can discard.
Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar.
Bake at 325 for 45 to 50 minutes until the center of the pudding is set.
Remove and let cool on a rack (your house will smell HEAVENLY!!!)

For the sauce:

Melt the butter and brown sugar.
Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat.
Add the heavy whipping cream, mix to combine and let the sauce set while the pudding cools (about 15 to 20 minutes).
Spoon the sauce over the top of the pudding so it can soak in.  You will probably not need all the sauce.

ENJOY!!!

Verdict:

Well, was this THE best bread pudding I have ever had??  I must concede . . . this was pretty darn good - OK, yes, it was the best bread pudding I have ever tasted.  It will now be my "go to" recipe for bread pudding.  Yes, it is rather expensive, but OMG is it worth it.  As for my "resident" expert, he LOVED it.  Warning . . . you won't want to get on the scale anytime soon - LOL!!

 

Zucchini Parmesan

This is a variation of Eggplant Parmesan but instead I substituted zucchini for the eggplant.  In one of my Italian cookbooks, it mentioned you could use zucchini instead of eggplant.  And since zucchini is starting to make its appearance at the farmer's markets, I thought I would get it a try. 

As usual, I did have to improvise a bit as I didn't have any Parmesan Cheese . . .

Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 or 3 medium size zucchini cut in 1/4 inch slices (I did not peel them)
1 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
garlic powder
black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 to 1 cup flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1 T dry parsley
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F
Crush the tomatoes gently by squeezing them with your hands into a saucepan.
Add the garlic powder, pepper and basil.
Simmer while frying the zucchini.
Create an "assembly line" - the cut zucchini, a bowl with the flour and a bowl with the beaten eggs.

Heat a skillet with some olive oil.
Dip the zucchini into the flour, then into the eggs.
Fry a few pieces at a time until each side is golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel.
To assemble the casserole, spread a little bit of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish.
Next put the slices of the zucchini.
Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle parmesan cheese.
Repeat this procedure ending up with the cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Entire Recipe:

Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 or 3 medium size zucchini cut in 1/4 inch slices (I did not peel them)
1 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
garlic powder
black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 to 1 cup flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1 T dry parsley
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F
Crush the tomatoes gently by squeezing them with your hands into a saucepan.
Add the garlic powder, pepper and basil.
Simmer while frying the zucchini.
Create an "assembly line" - the cut zucchini, a bowl with the flour and a bowl with the beaten eggs.
Heat a skillet with some olive oil.
Dip the zucchini into the flour, then into the eggs.
Fry a few pieces at a time until each side is golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel.
To assemble the casserole, spread a little bit of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish.
Next put the slices of the zucchini.
Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle parmesan cheese.
Repeat this procedure ending up with the cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Verdict:

Oh yes, this was good!  My husband gobbled it up and wanted it in his lunch today.  I definitely see a repeat performance of this one. 

Stuffed Cucumber

Yep, you read that right - stuffed cucumbers!  A couple of Christmases ago, my husband bought me the cookbook The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton.  To make a very long story short, his grandmother would cook alot of german food, so I did research and found this cookbook to be one of the best for making german food. 

Anyway, I noticed this recipe for stuffed cucumbers last year and have been meaning to make it.  Well, this past weekend I was at the farmer's market (where I spend every weekend since I am a vendor at two!) and the farmer next to me had the most beautiful cucumbers - and a new adventure was born!!

The recipe calls for 4 cucumbers, I only bought 3 - I really needed that 4th cucumber!  I did have to improvise on the some of the ingredients and I will mark those with an **

Stuffed Cucumbers (Gurken mit Fleischfullung)

Ingredients

4 large cucumbers (I bought long ones - you need thick ones!)
salt
Meat filling
3 T butter
1 cup beef stock
4 T sour cream ** (I didn't have any so I used plain yogurt)
1 T tomato puree ** (I didn't have that either, so I just used ketchup)

Meat Filling:
1 lb ground raw beef ** (I used pork sausage as I thought ground beef would be too bland)
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 T minced parsley
1 slice of finely chopped bacon ** (didn't have any, so omitted)

Directions for Meat Filling:

Mix meat thoroughly with rice, onion, and parsley.  Add bacon if meat is very lean.

Directions for Stuffed Cucumbers;

Peel and slice the cucumbers in half.   Scrape out seeds, watery pulp and sprinkle with salt.

Stuff one half of the cucumber with meat filling.

Cover with the other half of cucumber and tie tightly with kitchen twine.

Heat butter in a deep skillet.  Add cucumber.  Fry and turn to brown all sides.

Add the beef stock, cover the skillet pan and let cook for 1/2 hour (adding more liquid if needed).

About 10 minutes before cucumbers are done, mix together sour cream (yogurt) and tomato puree (ketchup) and spread over the tops of the cucumbers. 

Remove from pan - remember to cut twine!!

This is not the best picture of it - it tasted a lot better than this picture shows!!

Entire Recipe:

Stuffed Cucumbers (Gurken mit Fleischfullung)

Ingredients

4 large cucumbers (I bought long ones - you need thick ones!)
salt
Meat filling
3 T butter
1 cup beef stock
4 T sour cream ** (I didn't have any so I used plain yogurt)
1 T tomato puree ** (I didn't have that either, so I just used ketchup)

Meat Filling:
1 lb ground raw beef ** (I used pork sausage as I thought ground beef would be too bland)
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 T minced parsley
1 slice of finely chopped bacon ** (didn't have any, so omitted)

Directions for Meat Filling:

Mix meat thoroughly with rice, onion, and parsley.  Add bacon if meat is very lean.

Directions for Stuffed Cucumbers;

Peel and slice the cucumbers in half.  

Scrape out seeds, watery pulp and sprinkle with salt
.
Stuff one half of the cucumber with meat filling, cover with the other half of cucumber and tie tightly with kitchen twine.

Heat butter in a deep skillet.  Add cucumber.  Fry and turn to brown all sides.

Add the beef stock, cover the skillet pan and let cook for 1/2 hour (adding more liquid if needed).

About 10 minutes before cucumbers are done, mix together sour cream (yogurt) and tomato puree (ketchup) and spread over the tops of the cucumbers.

Verdict:

I was very surprised by this recipe.  Wasn't sure what to expect, though I was glad I used the pork sausage instead of ground beef.  The sausage added quite a lot to the dish.  This was quite good.  My resident expert (aka my husband) loved it.  I see this recipe being made again in our future, though, as I said above, I will use fatter cucumbers.

Sausage and Potato Pie

I was having one of those days where you have NO idea what you are going to make for dinner?  Nothing in the refrigerator looked appetizing.   My cookbooks didn't offer much hope either  OH NO, I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner, we are going to starve!  So off I trot to my computer and on to the Internet.  Somehow I stumbled upon this recipe by Johnsonville.  I had most of the ingredients and would have to do a bit of compromising.

Even though this is a real easy recipe, it require a run to the grocery store for a few of the ingredients - pork sausage, potatoes and cream of potato soup.  The recipe calls for 2 cups frozen diced potatoes, I used fresh potatoes, diced them up and boiled them in water until they were tender - worked for me!

Sausage and Potato Pie by Johnsonville

Ingredients

1 lb mild pork sausage
2 cups frozen diced potatoes (see note above)
1 cup sliced green onions - I didn't have green onions, so I used white onions instead
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp ground sage
1 can cream of potato soup (didn't have that, so I used cream of mushroom)
pepper
2 pie crusts (I used the pie crusts from my apple pie recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Brown and drain sausage and onions.

Mix all the ingredients (except the pie crusts ) in a large bowl

Put one of the pie crusts in the pie pan and press it against the sides and bottom - trim any excess off

Spoon filling into the pie crust.

Roll out the second crust and place over the top of the filling.  Again, trim off any excess.

Press the edges together and seal with decorate edge.

Bake for 1 hour.

Entire Recipe:

Sausage and Potato Pie by Johnsonville

Ingredients

1 lb mild pork sausage
2 cups frozen diced potatoes (see note above)
1 cup sliced green onions - I didn't have green onions, so I used white onions instead
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp ground sage
1 can cream of potato soup (didn't have that, so I used cream of mushroom)
pepper
2 pie crusts (I used the pie crusts from my apple pie recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Brown and drain sausage and onions.
Mix all the ingredients (except the pie crusts ) in a large bowl
Put one of the pie crusts in the pie pan and press it against the sides and bottom - trim any excess off.
Spoon filling into the pie crust.
Roll out the second crust and place over the top of the filling.  Again, trim off any excess.
Press the edges together and seal with decorate edge.
Bake for 1 hour.

Comments:

Oh yes, this is definitely a winner!!  My husband said it reminded him of a "chicken pot pie."  It was very good and filling!!  I cut the slices way too big!!  Next time I am going to buy the cream of potato and see if that makes any difference.   

Goat's Milk Farmer's Cheese

I know this isn't exactly a "baking" adventure,  but I have been experimenting with making cheese.  Oh, what fun has this been!!  I raise a small herd of dairy goats and have been milking two dairy goats.  These two produce over a gallon of milk a day which is more than 2 people can drink.  So I have plenty of milk on hand to experiment with.

I found this recipe in Mary Jane Toth's book A Cheesemarker's Journey.  And it is so easy to make.  You do need some sort of cheese press.  You can improvise by placing a "heavy weight" of some sort on top of the cheese (like a small brick wrapped in foil, a few books or a water jug).  Hoegger Goat Supply carries a line of inexpensive cheese presses, also.

Farmer's Cheese/Pot Cheese by Mary Jane Toth

Ingredients

2 gallons whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized like found in the local grocery stores)
1/4 cup cultured buttermilk
1 tsp liquid rennet + 1/2 cup cool water
1T salt

Directions

Warm milk to 80 in a very large stock pot.

Add the buttermilk to the warm milk, mix well.

Mix in the rennet/cool water to the warm milk.  Stir with a slotted spoon to combine.  Allow the milk to sit for about 12 hours or overnight.

Cut the curds into small cubes with a long knife.  Let the curds rest for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, stir gently and cut up any curds that might have been missed.

Add the tablespoon of salt and stir well.  Let the curds rest another 10 minutes.

Line a colander with cheese cloth and pour the curds into the cloth.

Collect and tie the corners of the cheese cloth to form a bag with the curds at the bottom.  Hang the bag of curds to drain for 8 to 12 hours.  (at this point, you have "Pot Cheese.")

To make the "Farmer's Cheese", do not remove the curds from the cheese cloth.  Place the bag of curds onto a folded up towel, while using a cutting board or a plate, apply weight to press the cheese.  See note above about weights you can use.

Press the cheese for 8 to 12 hours or overnight.  Remove the cheese from the cheese cloth, wrap and refrigerate.  This is a fresh cheese and will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Verdict:

My "resident expert" loved this!!!  This is the second batch that I have made.  And it is so easy!!  Definitely will be making this again!!