Quiche Glorious Quiche

So here’s my quiche story:

I was working as a prep cook and server in a very busy and quite fancy corporate cafeteria. It was an aggressive sales oriented company with a young, sometimes "over-exuberant" staff (ahem-hem). I had a reputation as being friendly and accommodating but not one to suffer fools.

One day, a huge group of corporate trainees were in the cafeteria creating chaos when over the din, one Irish bloke asked what was being served up. I gave him his choices which included a quiche Lorraine. Thinking he was being funny (and maybe not knowing what quiche was) he trotted out the old joke that ‘real men don’t eat quiche.’ “Fine,” I told him. “How about I do you a ham and cheese omelet?” He thought that would be good so I handed him a quiche plate and said” Here you go; I put it in a pie shell for you. Now &*^# @&&, ya pouf!” After the laughter died, I never had a problem with that group of trainees again. That guy and I are still friendly today!

I have made an awful lot of quiches over the years. They are great for a catering event whether as part of a buffet or as hors d’oeuvres. They can be served hot or cold and so do well for dinner, lunches, brunches, and pic-nics.

I am including here two very basic but nice quiches. Go ahead and make both at once for a dinner party and offer your guests a bit of each. I have also included instructions to turn them into quick and freezable hors d’oeuvres.

Mushroom Quiche

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup homo milk or light cream*
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp dried basil
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Swiss or Emmental cheese

Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough.

In a frying pan, melt the butter over a medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms for about 30 seconds or until they are somewhat browned on both sides. Spread mushrooms and butter evenly in the bottom of the pie shell.

Beat milk or cream, eggs, salt, pepper, basil and cheese together -just to mix- then pour into the pie shell. Bake at 375° F for 40-45 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow the quiche to cool and settle for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Alternatively, you can make 12 -3 inch minis for hors d’oeuvres. I recommend buying the frozen mini pie shells available at any grocery store. Dice the mushrooms finely rather than slice them. Do not mix the cheese into the egg mixture. Place an equal measure of sautéed mushrooms in each of the shells topped by an equal measure of the grated cheese. Mix the eggs, cream and spices in a container with a pouring spout and fill up each shell. Bake at 375° F for 30 minutes. These minis freeze well and can be reheated from frozen at 350° F for about 15 minutes.

Spinach Quiche

1 small onion, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup of cooked spinach, well drained or one package of frozen spinach, thawed
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 cup homo milk or light cream*
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg
1/4 tsp oregano
1 cup grated Swiss or Emmental cheese

Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough.

In a medium to large frying pan, sauté the onion in the butter until soft. Add spinach and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Beat eggs, milk and spices together. Add spinach and onion and mix well. Pour into the pie shell and bake at 375° F for 40 minutes. Check after 35 minutes as the cooking time for this quiche can vary depending on the size of your eggs.

As with the previous recipe, you can make 12 -3 inch minis for hors d’oeuvres. Do not mix the cheese or spinach into the egg mixture. Place an equal measure of spinach and cheese in each of the shells. Mix the eggs, cream and spices in a container with a pouring spout and fill up each shell. Bake at 375° F for 25-30 minutes. These minis freeze well and can be reheated from frozen at 350° F for 15 minutes.

* The more fat in your cream or milk, the better the taste and texture of your quiche. I worked in a restaurant where quiches were made regularly with heavy whipping cream! (Eeeeep! Disgustingly rich, I don’t recommend trying it.) If you are fat conscious you can make quiche with lower fat milk although skim does not produce a nice pie at all. Before using anything below homogenized milk though, you should question whether you really want to eat what is basically a cheese heavy omelet in a pie shell anyway.

Stuffed Zucchini

I love zucchini and incorporate them into many of my meals. Whether as a steamed or fried side vegetable, as fillers in pasta sauces and pizza or in the case of this recipe as a main course dish, zucchini are certainly versatile.

Stuffed Zucchini

2 medium zucchini –about 6 oz (150-200g ) each
1/3 cup finely minced onion
1 small clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsps all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Simmer in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) thick shell. Set shells aside and finely chop the pulp with the clove of garlic. Set aside. Beat egg in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, cook onion in oil until soft. Add zucchini pulp and garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in flour, basil and pepper. Add milk and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook for about 1 minute longer.

Gradually add zucchini mixture to the egg in the bowl. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into the zucchini shells and place them in a low-lipped baking dish.

Bake uncovered at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until filling is lightly browned.

2 halves is a main course or 1 half as a side dish.

This recipe can be made ahead by filling the zucchini and refrigerating up to 1 day. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Adapted from a recipe on BHG.com

Corn Scallop

The period spanning 25 years on both sides of the 20^th century was one that marked a profound change in the eating habits of North Americans. This was a time when mass produced processed foodstuffs began to buckle grocers shelves. Many of the brand names and pantry staples we grew up with have their origins in this period; notably amongst many others: Kraft, Nabisco, Kellogg; Oreos, Saltines, and Campbells condensed soups. Home cooks had to learn to assimilate these products into their daily lives. Manufacturers often sponsored recipe contests urging women to come up with ways to use their goods and then published recipe booklets as marketing tools.

If you are old enough, you may remember those horrid casseroles made with condensed cream of mushroom or chicken soup, crackers, canned peas and what not that made regular and justifiably maligned appearances at the dinner table. Chances are that most of those dishes had their origins in the 30s, 40s and early 50s. Few people realise the role that these inexpensive and relatively quick types of meals played in social history. For instance, during the 2^nd World War, many women had to work in the factories and fields while the men were off fighting. The advent of processed foods eased the task of feeding themselves and their children not to mention the armed forces wherever they might have been.

The recipe that follows is an example of the type of thing that would have been prepared in many North American homes in the first half of the 20^th century. I have modified it to suit more modern tastes. The original called for canned creamed corn (aaaaaaagh!) but I am suggesting at the very least to use frozen organic kernels if not fresh corn in season.

Corn Scallop

3 cups of fresh cooked or frozen corn kernels (thawed)*
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp savory or oregano
pepper to taste
3/4 cup crushed whole wheat soda cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup warm whole or 2% milk

Butter a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Beat eggs and combine with corn, seasonings and cracker crumbs. Add melted butter and fold in the hot milk. Pour into the dish and bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes or until well set.

Serve with a salad and fresh steamed veggies.

* You can process the corn kernels briefly in a food processor if you like or leave them whole.