Sunday, October 27, 2013

NEW COOKBOOKS!!!!!!!!!!

What is the best thing in the world for a collector? Adding to their collection! Sadly, my good friend Leslie's grandmother passed recently, but it was an honor to be invited to the estate sale preview to buy some of her amazing collection of cookbooks. I really do believe that cooking recipes once loved by a dear one is a way to keep their memory alive.

In this case, a new haul of books is also exactly what I needed to break out of a cooking rut. Lately I've been wiped out after work, so I make the same few things over and over again - but now there is NO EXCUSE for me not to once again pick out wild and wacky concoctions from years past and blog about them for your amusement.


Get hungry, folks, cause I'm gonna get reading, and then I'm gonna GET COOKIN! - stay tuned...

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Mushroom Quiche

Real Men, I was told in 1982, don't eat quiche - but for a girl's pool-side brunch, quiche is just the thing!


Just LOOK at all these mushrooms!!! YUMMMM!!!!!!!!


I love this recipe from “The Eggs & Cheese I Love” by Jules J. Bond, 1978, probably because it contains my favorite product in the world, Worcesershire sauce. This recipe also calls for shallots, but I had some nice scallions which I used instead, which just goes to show how adaptable quiche is. You can throw in nearly anything you have, and Ta-Da! Lunch. If mushrooms aren’t in season, might I suggest…lobster?

Mushroom Quiche

1 pie crust **
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. minced shallots
1 lb. firm button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp. grates nutmeg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup light cream
4 eggs
½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat butter in a skillet, add shallots, saute for about 3 minutes until they are translucent and soft. Do not brown. Add mushrooms and lemon jice, saute for 3 or 4 minutes over moderate heat until mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from fire, season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce.
Beat eggs, cream and cheese in a bowl until well blended and smooth, then blend with the mushrooms.
Pour into crust and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until the quiche is well set.

Serves 6





** Oh, Pour into crust, you say - so I need to make a crust? 

Yes you need to make your own crust. No I do not approve of using pre-made crust. Just NO. If you have a food processor, you have no excuse – that’s what my mother told me, after she taught me her 2 minute pie crust recipe, and she wasn’t kidding. Below is a similar recipe from The Grand Master, James Beard, who embraced the Cuisinart whole heartedly. Mother's variation on this is even quicker - no egg, and she doesn't even roll the crust, and it is splendid. I used it here with a strawberry pie (mmmm!!!) 






Easy crust, yummy quiche - a total hit at brunch!