I don't know if this is a girl thing, or because I like French food, but I absolutely love quiche. It can be made in a million and one ways, be heavy or light, and as long as it's done right it's always good. I think you can put just about anything in a quiche, and as you'll see from the next few recipes, one little change can make a huge and yummy difference.
My father hates goat cheese, and I know that there are some people who are staunchly against this mild yet tangy cheese. But, it is extremely versatile and can mesh well with so many foods. It is a perfect companion for quiche because unlike some other cheeses, it does not get oily when heated and doesn't blend so much that the taste gets hidden. Here are three different options to this quiche, each one more delicious than the next.
Basic Goat Cheese Quiche
Ingredients:
- 5-6 eggs
- 1 pie crust (I like Pillsbury the best)
- 1/4-1/3 cup of cream
- 1 small container of crumbled goat cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray some nonstick cooking spray on your baking dish. This is especially important on the bottom edges as your pie crust there will stick the most.
2. Whisk eggs and cream together. You can either do this with a hand mixer or by hand. Whisking adds air to the eggs, and the more you whisk, the fluffier the quiche will be. Just don't whisk so much that the cream whips.
3. Add in the whole container of goat cheese and your other ingredients. Mix a little bit, then dump into your pie dish. Make sure the ingredients are spread out evenly in the dish and bake until the top is just starting to brown.
Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche
-1 medium onion
-3 tbsp olive oil
-3 tbsp vinegar
-3 tbsp sugar
1. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients.
2. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked
3. Then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
4. When adding to your quiche mixture, scoop out the onions with a slotted spoon. You don't need to add all those juices otherwise the vinegar and sugar are a little overpowering to the rest of the dish.
Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche
- 1 Small Red Pepper
1. To make a roasted red pepper you must be ok with getting your stove top dirty. Turn on your gas burner (I think you can probably do this on a grill as well if you don't have a gas burner).
2. Put the red pepper on the burner. Turn the pepper until it's all charred on the outside (make sure you watch it, the pepper will catch fire -which is ok- but you don't want it to get out of control and burn your house down.
3. When it's cool enough to handle take the burnt skin off with your hands.
4. Slice into bite sized pieces and add to your quiche mix.
Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Quiche
(this one's super simple)
- Smoked Salmon (I really like this from Trader Joe's. It is the freshest and least fishy smelling brand. I get the smaller sized pack.)
1. Slice up Smoked Salmon into bite sized pieces. And make sure you remove all the bones.
2. Add to the quiche mix.
I'm assuming you could add just about anything to the basic quiche and it would taste good (broccoli, peas and mushrooms, bacon, etc.). And the best part is that this dish can be great any time of day. On it's on for breakfast, with a salad for lunch, or as a side at dinner. I'd love to hear some ideas!
Showing posts with label caramelized onions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label caramelized onions. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Nick's Birthday Dinner - Red Wine soaked Buffalo Steak with Caramelized Onions and Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes
So in continuing with the theme of Nick's birthday I thought I would share our activities for the evening in a series of entries. First up, what I made for dinner!
As you probably know by now, Nick and I don't really eat meat. For all intents and purposes we are vegetarians, but when the meat is raised/treated ethically and there's no hormones, etc. pumped into it, then we will eat it. And since one of Nick's favorite things in the world is steak, I decided to make him a steak dinner (with meat carefully selected from Whole Foods of course).
For the steak:
-Red wine
-Olive Oil
-Rosemary
-Minced Garlic
For the potatoes:
-depending on size of potatoes, about 1 to 1 1/2 potatoes per person. I like Yukon Gold the best for just about every potato recipe ever.
-salt
-milk
-butter
-smoked gouda cheese
For the caramelized onions:
-For two steaks, half of an onion
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TBSP vinegar
- 3 TBPS sugar
1. First I combined some good quality red wine (as Rachel Ray always says, if you don't want to drink it, then you don't want to cook with it), a few fresh cloves of garlic that I chopped up, some fresh rosemary from our herb garden, and a little bit of olive oil in a bowl. I let the steaks soak for about an hour on each side. NOT IN THE FRIDGE (cooking your meat when it's cold messes up the time it takes to cook and the texture). I have meat loving cats, so I usually stick it in the microwave for safe keeping.
2. Next I boiled the peeled potatoes in salted water. Depending on size of potatoes this could take up to 45 minutes. The key to non chunky potatoes is cooking them longer. So I like to make sure the potatoes are so soft when you try to lift them out of the pot (with a fork or tongs, they are already breaking apart).
3. While the potatoes were boiling I got to work on my caramelized onions. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
4. Since all of these things take a while to cook, I spent some time setting the table, making my cupcakes etc. You can keep close to the onions if you want, but once you set them on low and forget about them, you probably have a good 30 minutes to yourself before you have to pay attention to anything again.
5. By now just about everything should be done cooking. You can turn off the potatoes and put them into your pot/mashing bowl/whatever. But the longer you cook those onions the better (just remember to keep them on the lowest setting so they don't crunch up), so don't worry about turning those off. Turn on your grill pan that you're going to use for the steak. Next mash with your masher, a lot (I don't use a ricer because again, the longer you cook your potatoes, the less you have to worry about chunks). Add your milk and butter (I did half a stick of butter and a 1/3 of a cup of milk for 3 1/2 potatoes) and a generous amount of salt. Give a good stir, you can add more to taste.
6. By now your grill pan should be super hot and you can put the steaks on there. I usually dump a little bit of the soak on the pan before putting the steaks on there. Then dump the rest on top. Cook for 5 minutes on each side for medium.
7. While the steaks are cooking grate your smoked gouda cheese. You need at least half of a cup, but you can add more if you want to bring out the smokey flavor more (I usually do more and flavor to taste). Because your potatoes are still very hot, the cheese should melt find. But if you want you can always stir everything in and either put your pot over heat again (or nuke if it's in a bowl) then stir some more.
8. Once your steaks are done you can transfer them to the plate. Put some caramelized onions on top and blue cheese if you want (I chose one that smelled a little bit sweet and it tasted awesome). And of course potatoes to the side.
You can serve the same red wine as you made the meal in if you want. And for all your non-red wine drinkers (like myself), don't be afraid to cook with it. It just enhances the flavor, doesn't overpower it. So you can still enjoy the steak too!
I set the table with lots of candles, played some jazz in the background, and it was almost like we were at our own little romantic bistro. (Who says men don't like to be wined and dined too.)
And just to let you know, you can enter into the contest until Thursday and I'll announce the winner on Friday night.
As you probably know by now, Nick and I don't really eat meat. For all intents and purposes we are vegetarians, but when the meat is raised/treated ethically and there's no hormones, etc. pumped into it, then we will eat it. And since one of Nick's favorite things in the world is steak, I decided to make him a steak dinner (with meat carefully selected from Whole Foods of course).
For the steak:
-Red wine
-Olive Oil
-Rosemary
-Minced Garlic
For the potatoes:
-depending on size of potatoes, about 1 to 1 1/2 potatoes per person. I like Yukon Gold the best for just about every potato recipe ever.
-salt
-milk
-butter
-smoked gouda cheese
For the caramelized onions:
-For two steaks, half of an onion
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TBSP vinegar
- 3 TBPS sugar
1. First I combined some good quality red wine (as Rachel Ray always says, if you don't want to drink it, then you don't want to cook with it), a few fresh cloves of garlic that I chopped up, some fresh rosemary from our herb garden, and a little bit of olive oil in a bowl. I let the steaks soak for about an hour on each side. NOT IN THE FRIDGE (cooking your meat when it's cold messes up the time it takes to cook and the texture). I have meat loving cats, so I usually stick it in the microwave for safe keeping.
2. Next I boiled the peeled potatoes in salted water. Depending on size of potatoes this could take up to 45 minutes. The key to non chunky potatoes is cooking them longer. So I like to make sure the potatoes are so soft when you try to lift them out of the pot (with a fork or tongs, they are already breaking apart).
3. While the potatoes were boiling I got to work on my caramelized onions. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
4. Since all of these things take a while to cook, I spent some time setting the table, making my cupcakes etc. You can keep close to the onions if you want, but once you set them on low and forget about them, you probably have a good 30 minutes to yourself before you have to pay attention to anything again.
5. By now just about everything should be done cooking. You can turn off the potatoes and put them into your pot/mashing bowl/whatever. But the longer you cook those onions the better (just remember to keep them on the lowest setting so they don't crunch up), so don't worry about turning those off. Turn on your grill pan that you're going to use for the steak. Next mash with your masher, a lot (I don't use a ricer because again, the longer you cook your potatoes, the less you have to worry about chunks). Add your milk and butter (I did half a stick of butter and a 1/3 of a cup of milk for 3 1/2 potatoes) and a generous amount of salt. Give a good stir, you can add more to taste.
6. By now your grill pan should be super hot and you can put the steaks on there. I usually dump a little bit of the soak on the pan before putting the steaks on there. Then dump the rest on top. Cook for 5 minutes on each side for medium.
7. While the steaks are cooking grate your smoked gouda cheese. You need at least half of a cup, but you can add more if you want to bring out the smokey flavor more (I usually do more and flavor to taste). Because your potatoes are still very hot, the cheese should melt find. But if you want you can always stir everything in and either put your pot over heat again (or nuke if it's in a bowl) then stir some more.
8. Once your steaks are done you can transfer them to the plate. Put some caramelized onions on top and blue cheese if you want (I chose one that smelled a little bit sweet and it tasted awesome). And of course potatoes to the side.
You can serve the same red wine as you made the meal in if you want. And for all your non-red wine drinkers (like myself), don't be afraid to cook with it. It just enhances the flavor, doesn't overpower it. So you can still enjoy the steak too!
I set the table with lots of candles, played some jazz in the background, and it was almost like we were at our own little romantic bistro. (Who says men don't like to be wined and dined too.)
And just to let you know, you can enter into the contest until Thursday and I'll announce the winner on Friday night.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Top 5s of Partying and Entertaining: Part 2
Last year around this time my husband and I decided that we really wanted to throw a theme party at our apartment. Actually, that's a lie. I decided I wanted to have a theme party and he just put up with my wild idea (which tends to be how it goes, we're very much a Lucy and Ricky kind of couple, except I'm the Hispanic one...and hopefully we won't get divorced). I can't remember why, but I decided that the theme should be 1950s Cocktail Party (this was before we were into Mad Men, but I think this kind of a party would be great for a premiere or season finale of that show). And we required everyone to get dressed up, we served little finger foods, and hard drinks.
A lot of our friends don't know each other (we've got our core social group, but then tons of people who aren't part of that), so I really wanted to promote conversation. As I mentioned in my last Top 5 entry, I spread out all my little finger foods all over the apartment to try to get people to mingle and talk. This sort of backfired, but for a very good reason. People were too busy eating all the food to be bothered with socializing. Once they were done eating, then things really kicked into high gear.
So what did I serve them? A variety of things. The normal go-to's like cheese and crackers and nuts, but most of the things I put out were homemade. Cooking for me is a labor of love, and I love entertaining just as much. So while I know sometimes it requires a lot of time and effort to put together a meal, I didn't mind making a ton of little finger foods for our guests (please note, I think I might be insane...or a robot). However, even though most of my dinner recipes take a lot of time, these appetizers don't require anywhere near as much effort.
Enjoy!
1. Zucchini & Cheese Crostini
2 zucchini grated
1 2/3 cups of Gruyere Cheese
1 small egg
a dash of worcestershire sauce (or any really high quality smokey meat sauce, plain old BBQ won't do, needs to be really thick and smokey)
a loaf of good bread
Cook in a preheated broiler (or just turn the oven on really high and cook on the top shelf)
Put the grated zucchini in a clear dry kitchen towel and twist tightly, squeezing out all the excess juices. Put in with the rest of the ingredients. Slice up bread and spread on top. Then put on a cookie sheet until the tops get brown (watch very closely it will be different for every oven, mine is usually 5-10 minutes depending on how high I turn it).
This recipe is based on a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Easy Breakfast & Brunch
2. Granny's Dates
Pitted dates )if you can't find any, you can always take the nut out yourself)
Crumbled Blue or Gorgonzola Cheese
Bacon
This recipe (brought to you by my Granny), doesn't have any measurements because how much you need is based on how much you want to make.
First fry your bacon like you would normally do (but don't fry it until it's completely crispy, you want to make sure it's still pliable enough to work with). While those are cooking, slice the dates in half on one side (make a little slit, don't completely cut in half) and stuff with as much cheese as you want. I think a medium amount works best. Press the date back together and when the bacon is cool enough to handle, wrap half a piece around the date and secure with a tooth pick. All done! They can be served warm or cold.
3. Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese
1 Red Pepper
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Fresh Basil
To make a roasted red pepper you must be ok with getting your stove top dirty. Step 1, turn on gas burner. Step 2, put the red pepper on the burner. Step 3, turn the pepper until it's all charred on the outside (make sure you watch it, the pepper will catch fire -which is ok- but you don't want it to get out of control and burn your house down. Step 4, when it's cool enough to handle take the burnt skin off with your hands. All done!
Next you slice the peppers into slivers. You're going to be rolling these up, so they should be thick enough to put some cheese in and not so long that the roll in several layers. Then take some of the goat cheese and a basil leaf and roll inside one of your pepper slivers with a tooth pick. All done!
This recipe is based off of one from Vegetarian Food for Friends.
4. Caramelized Onion Puff Pastries
Half of one medium sized onion (or one small onion)
SMALL puff pastries you can get in your freezer section at the Super market
Gouda Cheese
Start the onions first. These take a long time to cook, but you can start them and then forget about them and come to them towards the end of your meal and you'll be ok.
Generally the rule is one medium onion requires 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 of olive oil, and 3 of vinegar. If you're working with a smaller onion use 2 of each and add more as necessary. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
Next, cook the pastries according to the directions on the box. When they're done, take the tops off and put in a little bit of cheese and a little bit of your onions. Put the top back on and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes (just enough to get the cheese a little melty). Then you're done!
This can also be done with the larger puff pastries and made into individual appetizers if you're having a sit down dinner party.
5. Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes
Who does not love this appetizer? I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't love part or all of it. It's just that good!
1 Long Log of BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (you can use any brand, but this is my absolute favorite brand, the cheapest, and you can get coupons for it too)
2-3 Tomatoes from the vine
Olive Oil
Very good quality vinegar
Basil (optional)
Slice the tomatoes the slice the cheese in pieces needed to cover the tomatoes. Put them together (with the basil as an option, if you're doing the Roasted Red Peppers I wouldn't, too many of the same flavors running around), then place them on your serving dish. Next drizzle the olive oil and vinegar on the plate. The end.
Wow, this just made me really hungry, I think I need to go make myself some breakfast now.
Enjoy!
PS. With the exception of the Fresh Mozzarella, all of the cheeses on here you will have some left over of. With the block cheeses, you can easily cut them into a more presentable shape and serve them with crackers and with the crumbled cheeses you can either save them to put on top of a pasta dish or make a quiche with the rest of the package. Nothing gets wasted here!
A lot of our friends don't know each other (we've got our core social group, but then tons of people who aren't part of that), so I really wanted to promote conversation. As I mentioned in my last Top 5 entry, I spread out all my little finger foods all over the apartment to try to get people to mingle and talk. This sort of backfired, but for a very good reason. People were too busy eating all the food to be bothered with socializing. Once they were done eating, then things really kicked into high gear.
So what did I serve them? A variety of things. The normal go-to's like cheese and crackers and nuts, but most of the things I put out were homemade. Cooking for me is a labor of love, and I love entertaining just as much. So while I know sometimes it requires a lot of time and effort to put together a meal, I didn't mind making a ton of little finger foods for our guests (please note, I think I might be insane...or a robot). However, even though most of my dinner recipes take a lot of time, these appetizers don't require anywhere near as much effort.
Enjoy!
1. Zucchini & Cheese Crostini
2 zucchini grated
1 2/3 cups of Gruyere Cheese
1 small egg
a dash of worcestershire sauce (or any really high quality smokey meat sauce, plain old BBQ won't do, needs to be really thick and smokey)
a loaf of good bread
Cook in a preheated broiler (or just turn the oven on really high and cook on the top shelf)
Put the grated zucchini in a clear dry kitchen towel and twist tightly, squeezing out all the excess juices. Put in with the rest of the ingredients. Slice up bread and spread on top. Then put on a cookie sheet until the tops get brown (watch very closely it will be different for every oven, mine is usually 5-10 minutes depending on how high I turn it).
This recipe is based on a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Easy Breakfast & Brunch
2. Granny's Dates
Pitted dates )if you can't find any, you can always take the nut out yourself)
Crumbled Blue or Gorgonzola Cheese
Bacon
This recipe (brought to you by my Granny), doesn't have any measurements because how much you need is based on how much you want to make.
First fry your bacon like you would normally do (but don't fry it until it's completely crispy, you want to make sure it's still pliable enough to work with). While those are cooking, slice the dates in half on one side (make a little slit, don't completely cut in half) and stuff with as much cheese as you want. I think a medium amount works best. Press the date back together and when the bacon is cool enough to handle, wrap half a piece around the date and secure with a tooth pick. All done! They can be served warm or cold.
3. Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese
1 Red Pepper
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Fresh Basil
To make a roasted red pepper you must be ok with getting your stove top dirty. Step 1, turn on gas burner. Step 2, put the red pepper on the burner. Step 3, turn the pepper until it's all charred on the outside (make sure you watch it, the pepper will catch fire -which is ok- but you don't want it to get out of control and burn your house down. Step 4, when it's cool enough to handle take the burnt skin off with your hands. All done!
Next you slice the peppers into slivers. You're going to be rolling these up, so they should be thick enough to put some cheese in and not so long that the roll in several layers. Then take some of the goat cheese and a basil leaf and roll inside one of your pepper slivers with a tooth pick. All done!
This recipe is based off of one from Vegetarian Food for Friends.
4. Caramelized Onion Puff Pastries
Half of one medium sized onion (or one small onion)
SMALL puff pastries you can get in your freezer section at the Super market
Gouda Cheese
Start the onions first. These take a long time to cook, but you can start them and then forget about them and come to them towards the end of your meal and you'll be ok.
Generally the rule is one medium onion requires 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 of olive oil, and 3 of vinegar. If you're working with a smaller onion use 2 of each and add more as necessary. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
Next, cook the pastries according to the directions on the box. When they're done, take the tops off and put in a little bit of cheese and a little bit of your onions. Put the top back on and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes (just enough to get the cheese a little melty). Then you're done!
This can also be done with the larger puff pastries and made into individual appetizers if you're having a sit down dinner party.
5. Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes
Who does not love this appetizer? I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't love part or all of it. It's just that good!
1 Long Log of BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (you can use any brand, but this is my absolute favorite brand, the cheapest, and you can get coupons for it too)
2-3 Tomatoes from the vine
Olive Oil
Very good quality vinegar
Basil (optional)
Slice the tomatoes the slice the cheese in pieces needed to cover the tomatoes. Put them together (with the basil as an option, if you're doing the Roasted Red Peppers I wouldn't, too many of the same flavors running around), then place them on your serving dish. Next drizzle the olive oil and vinegar on the plate. The end.
Wow, this just made me really hungry, I think I need to go make myself some breakfast now.
Enjoy!
PS. With the exception of the Fresh Mozzarella, all of the cheeses on here you will have some left over of. With the block cheeses, you can easily cut them into a more presentable shape and serve them with crackers and with the crumbled cheeses you can either save them to put on top of a pasta dish or make a quiche with the rest of the package. Nothing gets wasted here!
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