Quiche

This recipe is purely based on a kitchen toy purchase. I bought a quiche pan because it was lovely and convenient and I was weak and I am unworthy. But nevertheless, Steve and I gobbled this up with no problem whatsoever. The great thing about Quiche - you can eat it for any meal of the day... and we might have.



Ingredients for Crust:
1 1/4 Cups Flour
1 Tb Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
4 Tb Shortening
5 Tb Buttah

Ingredients for Insides:
7 Eggs
1 1/2 Cup Half and Half
1/2 Lbs Bacon
3 Red Potatoes
2 Cups Cheddar Cheese

Hardware: The most beautiful pie pan in existence.

Combine dry ingredients of crust. Add Shortening and mix until it looks like course crumbs. Add Buttah until it looks like bigger, pearly, delicious, artery clogging crumbs. Clump into a ball, wrap, and freeze for at least a half hour.

Fry some Bacon, set aside. Peel your Potatoes (unless you like peels, then by all means, ignore me.) and microwave on High for about three minutes or until they're just a little squishy. Cut Potatoes into little cubes and fry in the bacon grease. Set aside. Exercise for a few hours. When the bacon is cool and crispy, smash it up into little pieces.

Pre heat oven to 400F.

Roll out your dough (neater than I did) and get it into the pan (more efficiently than I did). Poke it around with a fork so that bubbles don't form, and put it back in the fridge to firm up.

Combine all filling ingredients.

Blind bake your crust for about 10 minutes, put in your filling, and bake for an hour or until the smell of bacon is too intense and you pounce on the oven like a rabid wolf.

Red Wine Risotto

I'VE REACHED A HUNDRED SUBSCRIBERS ON YOUTUBE!!!!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.

This recipe is kind of a "pantry cleaner," as people like to call it on the blogosphere. I had red wine from making Coq aux Vin, I had carrots from... something, I don't remember, and I had asparagus because asparagus is delicious and I eat it more than any other vegetable ever. Ever. So here's Red Wine Risotto with Carrots and Asparagus.



Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1/2 Shallot
Asparagus and Carrots to taste (I used 3 huge Asparagus spears and a humongo Carrot)
1/2 Cup Arborio Rice
Red Wine
Chicken Broth
Juice of 1 Lemon
Parmesan Cheese
Parsley

Heat up some olive oil in a beautiful new Carribean Le Creuset Dutch Oven... or you know, a small pot. Sweat the Shallot for a few minutes, then throw in your veggies and let soften. Don't cook all the way, as they will continue to stew in the rice liquid.

Throw in the rice and let toast for a moment. Add enough Red Wine to cover, and let the rice absorb. When you can see the bottom of the pan as you stir, add Chicken Broth to cover and let absorb. Repeat until rice is almost done.

On the last addition of liquid, add Lemon Juice and Parmesan to taste, and sprinkle with Parsley because that's what impressive type people do. Eat immediately before it turns to cheesy library paste.

Matzo Brei

This is my daddy's recipe... It's the only really "passed down from generation to generation" recipe I can think of. Really easy, really delicious... not terribly good for you. But what "really easy, really delicious" thing ever is?



This is the recipe for making 2 Matzos- a really big breakfast for me. But the formula is easy to make any number you want - just one matzo to one egg and a bigger sploosh of milk.

Ingredients:
2 Pieces Egg and Onion Matzo
2 Eggs
A sploosh of milk
1 Tb Buttah
Salt

Break up the Matzo into pieces and soak in very warm water until bendable. Dump into a colander. In the same bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the Matzo back into the bowl and let soak for a few minutes.

Pre-heat a non-stick skillet to a pretty high heat. Melt Buttah and swirl it around to cover the whole pan, including the upturned edges. When Buttah begins to brown, dump in your Matzo mixture and spread around the pan.

When the Matzo mixture is slightly solid, cut it into fourths and flip. Salt, let cook a few moments and hack at it with your spatula. Put on a plate and enjoy. Mazel tov!

Orange Maple Glazed Pork Chops

Here's a new fact about me - I have never eaten pork chops before. In fact, the only way I think I have eaten pork is in Pork Fried Rice or Pork Lo Mein. Odd, right? Anyhoozles, I went surfin' on the internet (again... that's what you do when your job ends in June.) and found a delectable recipe for Pork Chops that sounded very nommable.



Fo' shizzle, they wuz hawt. Ok, shake it off, J-Ho. I'm so excited to have found pork chops - they're like three bucks a package and taste like steak. Holy moly.

Ingredients:
2 Thick Cut Pork Chops
1 Cup Orange Juice
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
(The second time I made this, I also grated in some Ginger)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil and Buttah

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.

Salt and Pepper your Pork Chops liberally on both sides. Heat up a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe pan) and drop in your Olive Oil and Buttah. Put in your chops and sear on one side for a few minutes until brown and mouthwateringly gorgeous. Flip over, stick in a thermometer, and put in the oven until the chops reach 150 degrees.

Remove chops to a plate to rest and tent with foil. (Don't touch the thermometer - it is HOT. I learned that the hard way.) Put skillet back on the heat and deglaze with Orange Juice and Maple Syrup (and whatever else you think would be tasty - I added Ginger the second time I made this... maybe cinnamon?) Let reduce by half and pour over your choppies.

Visit The Humble Gourmand for the original recipe.