I love quiche. Love love love it.  I eat a lot of eggs, so they are a very special treat indeed when they are enveloped in deliciously buttery pie crust.  Unfortunately, said deliciously buttery pie crust is famous for making ridiculously fatty stomach rolls.  So, I tend to opt for the much healthier frittata, which has no crust and a little bit of milk instead of half and half.

BUT, you see, it turns out that my unpublished 31st task for 30 by 30 was to get really fat. Clearly if  you’ve looked through my blog lately (and could see the ice cream in my freezer and the fact that I’ve enjoyed both cupcakes AND donuts the last few days), you could see I’m going to do a bang-up job of THAT.

At any rate, this quiche is very similar to quiche Lorraine, but with smoked gouda instead of Swiss cheese.  Why, you ask?  Well, because it’s infinitely better.  Something about Swiss cheese has always made me turn  up my nose.  I think at once point I decided it smelled like sweatsocks, so that could be it.  And yet, I find gruyere to be one of the best cheeses ever.  Go figure.

I’ve used my favorite pie crust recipe here, but feel free to use any one you like or even a store-bought crust.  Once the crust is blind-baked, this comes together in a snap.  If you are making your own crust, though, you will probably want to do this on a day when you have more time because of the chilling of the dough that is required.  Sadly, I don’t  have a tart pan, so I made this in a pie pan.  Not nearly as pretty but delicious just the same.

Bacon and Smoked Gouda Quiche

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1 pre-baked 9″ pie/tart crust (recipe follows)
5 slices bacon, cooked and chopped/crumbled
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 cup shredded smoked gouda
a few grates of nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375.

Whisk together the eggs and half and half.   Add the bacon, gouda, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and whisk until just combined.  Pour into the pre-baked pie/tart shell.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until custard is puffed and set, but still a little jiggly in the center.

Pate Brisee Pie Crust
Joy of Baking

1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/4 – 1/2 cup ice water

Whisk or pulse-process the flour, sugar, and salt together.  Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 seconds.  Alternatively, use a pastry blender to combine the butter into the flour.   Pour the water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched.  Do not mix for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a ball.  Flatten into a disc, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least half an hour before using.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to fit into an 8-9″ tart or pie pan. (Place your pan upside down on the dough circle to make sure it’s big enough – the dough should be about an inch wider than the pan.)  Move the dough into the tart or pie pan (I do this by rolling it onto my rolling pin and then unrolling it into the pan).  Press the dough into the pan and remove any excess dough.  Prick the bottom with a fork and then refrigerate or freeze for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400.  Place a sheet of parchment on top of your chilled pie dough and then weight it down with pie weights, dried beans, or rice.  I didn’t feel like wasting rice this time so what I did was put a pie pan that was smaller than the one I was using on top of the parchment and pressed it down a bit.  Worked perfectly.)

Bake for 20-25  minutes in center of oven, until crust is dry and lightly browned.  Let cool on a wire rack before proceeding with the quiche recipe.

I’ve been on a burger kick lately.  In fact, this is one of three burgers currently sitting on my camera’s memory stick, ready to be posted.  And there may be another by the time I get around to posting them all!

This burger is pretty classic as far as burgers go.  The patty is simply seasoned and topped with sharp cheddar.  I love caramelized onions, so I decided to add those as well as some barbecue sauce to the burger, too.  The barbecue sauce goes great with the cheddar and caramelized onions complement…well, pretty much anything.

I used ground sirloin for these.  I know there is a “rule” that you should make burgers with 80/20 beef or something similar, but I have always preferred the taste of sirloin, and since I don’t overmix or overcook the patties, I don’t really have much of an issue with them staying juicy and tender.  Plus, sirloin is so much healthier.  Of course, if you prefer a ground beef with a higher fat content, by all means, use that here, or use a mix of chuck and sirloin – which is a great way to get some more fat and juiciness from the chuck, and flavor from the sirloin.

Sirloin Burgers with BBQ Caramelized Onions and Cheddar

Serves 4
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1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large vidalia onion, sliced
1 tsp. honey
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1 to 1.25 lbs. ground sirloin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1.5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
4 toasted buns

In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil.   Once hot, stir in the onions and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.  Add a pinch of salt, reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking until the onions are a dark golden brown, about 20-25 minutes longer.  Stir in the honey and cook an additional minute or so before adding the barbecue sauce.

Meanwhile, lightly mix together the sirloin, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire.  Form the mixture into four patties.  Grill, broil, or pan-fry (I cooked them stove-top, in a cast iron skillet) until done to your liking.   Add the cheese and cover the pan or grill, just to melt.  Top the burgers with the onions and serve on buns with your desired garnishes.

Key lime pie is one of those things that, while incredibly simple to make, was added to my 30 By 30 List because I’d never made it.  With a graham cracker crust & smooth tart filling, how could you not like this and want to make it?

This recipe came together in no time and tasted great.  I completely forgot to garnish the pie with additional lime zest, but thankfully since there was already lime zest in the filling, it still tasted great.  Neither my husband nor I are big whipped cream people (I know, right?), so I only whipped a cup of cream (the original recipe calls for 1.5 cups), and served it on the side for people who are less strange than Tom and me.  I think 1 cup is enough, though, even if everyone likes a healthy dose on their pie.

Key Lime Pie

Adapted from Martha Stewart

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4.5 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice
1 Tbsp. grated lime zest, plus more for garnish
1 cup chilled heavy cream

Heat the oven to 375.  Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 3 Tbsp. sugar.  Mix well and press into a 9″ pie plate.  Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lower oven to 325.  In a medium bowl, gently whisk the condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and zest.  Pour into the prepared crust. Bake until center is set but still quivers when pan is nudged, about 15-17 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Shortly before serving, combine the cream and remaining 1.5 Tbsp. sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Whisk on medium speed until soft peeks form, about 2-3 minutes.  Spoon over the cooled pie, garnish with additional lime zest, and serve immediately.

Braising is awesome.  It’s true.  It leaves meat so tender and flavorful and it really doesn’t take a lot of effort.  And it doesn’t have to just be for red meat.  Braising chicken thighs is a great alternative.  They have tons of flavor, and the combination of the bone and dark meat make them incredibly moist so they don’t dry out.  Mushrooms and bacon certainly don’t hurt, either.

I skinned this chicken because braising does not produce a crispy skin (which, obviously, is when skin is at its tastiest!).  But, I have braised chicken with skin on for more flavor, removing it before eating, and that works, too.  I used a mixture of beef and chicken broth because that’s what I had, and I tend to love beef broth with marsala, even if it is a chicken dish.  That said, use whatever broth you have around or want to use!

I served these with roasted asparagus and some mashed cannellini beans.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Bacon

Serves 2
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2 thick strips of bacon, chopped
2-4 bone-in chicken thighs (depending on size)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 sprig of thyme or small pinch of dried thyme
2 cloves garlic
1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup marsala
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup beef broth
salt and pepper

Heat a small dutch oven/casserole to medium-high.  Add the bacon and cook until your desired doneness and the fat has rendered.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Drain off the fat if there is more than 1/2 Tbsp. remaining.

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to the hot pot, searing on both sides.  Remove and set aside.

To the pot, add the onion, (add a little olive oil if  you need more fat) cooking until translucent.  Add the mushrooms, thyme & garlic and saute an additional few minutes until the mushrooms have released most of their moisture.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook it off for about a minute.  Pour in the marsala and deglaze, scraping the browned bits up and allowing the wine to evaporate almost entirely.

Add the broth and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, add the chicken back in, and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and cooked through.  Season to taste if necessary.  Stir in the bacon and serve.

There’s not much to dislike about queso fundido.  Bubbly, melty cheese, spicy chorizo, and earthy, roasted poblanos.  I guess there is, in fact, nothing, to dislike about queso fundido.

I love ordering this as an appetizer in Mexican restaurants, but I’ve never made it myself, which is why I decided it would be perfect 30 by 30 territory.  It’s certainly nothing fancy or difficult, but it’s so tasty and quick.  Wrapped with in some warmed tortillas, you have a fabulous snack or appetizer, or even a meal.

I didn’t use exact measurements for the recipe since I was only making it for the two of us.  I definitely used more chorizo, proportionately, but that was A-OK with us.  I may have overbrowned it, though (shhh).

This was delicious, of course.  Although I know I’ll make it again, I have to hope it’s not *too* often because I show no restraint when it comes to queso fundido…and it’s not exactly the lightest recipe.

Since I didn’t use precise measurements and the recipe that inspired me did, here’s the link to the recipe from The Homesick Texan.

Lentils may seem like an odd choice in the summer, but quite honestly, I’ve been eating a lot of them lately.  You saw I braised them with vegetables here, and I had some lentil soup the other day, even though it was quite warm out.  But if you’re not into hot lentils during hot months, you may be a little more into this cool lentil salad.

This is a nice change of pace from the usual potato and pasta salads of summer.  It’s heartier, full of fiber, and healthy.  It’s great as a dinner side or as a stand-alone lunch.  I’ve used Mediterranean ingredients here, all of which are pantry staples for me.  This would be equally great with fresh tomatoes in place of the sundried ones and some roasted red peppers, too.

This salad is best served at room temperature, but cold leftovers are just as good.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Serves 6-8
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1.5 cups lentils
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup sliced sundried tomatoes
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 shallot, minced
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a pot of water and the bay leaf to a boil.  Rinse and pick over the lentils, and then add them to the boiling water.  Cook  until soft, about 20-25 minutes.

Drain the lentils and set aside to cool slightly.  Toss with the sundried tomatoes, olives and parsley.

Whisk together the shallot, red wine vinegar and dijon.  Slowly add the olive oil, whisking constantly until the dressing emulsifies.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour the dressing over the slightly warm lentils and mix to combine. Top with goat cheese crumbles.  Serve at room temperature.

Mexican Everyday has easily become on of my favorite cookbooks.  Tom’s never used it, but he claims it’s one of his, too, since he’s really enjoyed every recipe from it.  I do have one small qualm about the book, and that is that several of the recipes ask you to make a significant amount of marinade and “save the rest for another time” rather than just having you make a smaller portion or simply telling you to use, say, 1/2 cup of the marinade found on page 24.  Similarly, this recipe calls for a can of chipotles in adobo, asks you to puree them, and then save what you don’t  use for later.  Instead, I just pureed about 4 chipotles and a little adobo sauce.

At any rate, these tacos were delicious and could not possibly be easier.  Who doesn’t like a 1-ingredient marinade?  Well, I guess technically this isn’t even a marinade, but I made it one.  The chipotle was nice and smoky and spicy and paired wonderfully with the caramelized onions.  I topped our tacos with some goat cheese because really, what’s a taco without cheese?  The goat cheese was a tangy, cool counterpart to the spicy beef & onions.  Quite honestly, I don’t think you need extra salsa or hot sauce because the tacos are flavorful enough, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

These are also fairly healthy.  I don’t think I used a whole 3 Tbsp. of oil to be honest and even if you do, it’s less than a tablespoon per person with no other major calorie bombs.  Flank steak is quite lean and corn tortillas are perfectly healthy, when they aren’t fried. :)

Chipotle Beef Tacos with Caramelized Onions

Serves 4
Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

4-5 chipotles in adobo
1 lb. skirt or flank steak
3 Tbsp. canola, divided
2 medium onions, sliced 1/4″ thick
12 warm corn tortillas
sea salt
goat cheese (optional)
Smoky chipotle salsa, bottled salsa, or hot sauce for serving

Puree the chipotles in a small food processor until smooth.  Brush each side of the steak with a light smear of the chipotle (go a little heavier on flank steak).  Marinate for an hour or two in the fridge or for up to 20-30 minutes on the counter.

Turn the oven to the lowest setting.

Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook  until golden but still a little crunchy, about 5 minutes. (I took them a little further, because I prefer my caramelized onions to be a little softer).  Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and set in the heated oven.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat, and add the remaining Tbsp. of oil.  Once hot, lay in the steak, and cook until it’s done to your liking (3 minutes per side for medium-rare skirt steak, 5 minutes per side for medium-rare flank steak).  Let the meat rest (it’s best to do it on a wire rack over a plate or dish in the oven) for 5-10 minutes before slicing against the grain.

Toss the meat with the onions, and season to taste with the salt (about 1 tsp.).

Serve with the warmed tortillas, goat cheese, and salsa.

The point is this hoisin 5-spice chicken, which started out as just that: hoisin and 5-spice on some chicken.  And then Cathy had the foresight to add some other delicious ingredients to the mix.   But, see, I didn’t find the recipe until t-pox posted it, and by then Bella had marinated the chicken, rather than just brushing the hoisin mixture on it.  And now, for my part, I’ve added some crushed red pepper for heat and some toasted sesame seeds.  I also roasted it at 425 rather than 500, because I was afraid the garlic and the sugars from the hoisin would burn.

This chicken turned out great.  It took about 2 minutes to throw together in the morning and then not a lot of time to toss onto a baking sheet and roast until it was nice and caramelized and done.  It’s like Asian barbecue.  Really delicious!

We had this with brown rice quickly stir-fried with some bok choy and soy sauce, with a few peanuts thrown in for good measure.

Hoisin 5-spice Chicken Drumsticks

Adapted from Cathy’s Kitchen Journey/Epicurious

4-6 chicken drumsticks
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
pinch of red pepper flakes
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Whisk together the hoisin sauce, 5-spice, garlic, honey, soy sauce and red pepper flakes.  Add the chicken and marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and roast in the upper third of your oven until cooked through, about 25 minutes.

July is national ice cream month!  And I will, only somewhat shamefully,  admit to recently picking up a box of Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake bars, a childhood favorite.  (Have those gotten smaller or  have I just gotten bigger?)

But, I wish I would have celebrated ice cream month every single day with this ice cream.  Sadly, it didn’t last in our house anywhere near a month.  This ice cream is oh-so-good.  A delicious vanilla base that I already raved about, chocolate-covered peanuts, and an old school fudge ripple.  How could you possibly go wrong with that combination?  Really, the only way this could be even better in my opinion would be with the addition of a caramel ripple – which I may try next time.

I’ve never heard of tin roof ice cream, and what a travesty. Have I mentioned I really liked it? Yum.  It actually reminds me a bit of Dairy Queen’s peanut buster parfait, but it’s better, of course.  Despite being made of three components, this ice cream is still incredibly easy to put together.  The peanuts take no time and the fudge ripple comes together in just a few minutes.  Once everything is chilled, you are ready to go and then after that  you are ready to eat one of the best ice creams ever.

I honestly didn’t even realize I was only supposed to use half of the chocolate-covered peanuts, so I used them all.  I would definitely go this route again because otherwise, I don’t think it would be enough. I also used salted peanuts even though the recipe called for unsalted because I’m a big fan of salty-sweet combos.  Other than that, I made no changes to this recipe, because it doesn’t need changes.

Tin Roof Ice Cream

adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

3/4 cup whole milk
2/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1.5 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 batch of chocolate-covered peanuts (recipe follows)
1 batch fudge ripple (recipe follows)

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup cream in a medium saucepan.  With a sharp paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, as well as the pod, to the hot milk mixture. Cover and remove from heat.  Steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Rewarm the milk mixture.  Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly.  Scrape back into the saucepan.  Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a spatula or wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the mesh strainer and sit it into the cream to cool.  Add the vanilla bean back into the custard and stir the mixture until cool over an ice bath.  Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the mixture according to your ice cream manufacturer’s directions.  Fold the peanut pieces into the frozen ice cream as you remove it from the machine, and layer it with the fudge ripple.

Chocolate-Covered Peanuts
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts

Put the chocolate pieces into a dry heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to melt the chocolate.  Stir until smooth.  In the meantime, stretch a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper over a plate.

Once the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanuts, coating them with the chocolate.  Spread the mixture onto the lined plate and chill.

Before mixing them into the ice cream, use a sharp knife to chop the chocolate-covered peanuts into bite-sized pieces.

Fudge Ripple
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles at the edges.

Continue whisking until it gets to a low boil. Cook one minute, whisking frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Let cool and then chill in the refrigerator before using.

I  haven’t watched Food Network in a really long time.  The shows are becoming worse and worse (another show for Sandra Lee? Really?), and the ones I can stomach just keep airing episodes I’ve already seen a million times.  Plus, I don’t have a whole lot of time to watch TV these days.

About a week ago, though, I happened to have the new Cooking Channel on in the background, and an older episode of Everyday Italian (a show I actually like!) came on.   Giada was making a balsamic barbecue sauce, which sounded delicious to me (despite the fact that I missed the beginning of the episode and didn’t know the ingredients).  Even when I do see things on food channels that sound appealing, I generally don’t look up the recipes online because I a) am forgetful and b) already have four times more recipes saved than I could ever make in a lifetime.  But this one sounded so good and so easy that I immediately went and  bookmarked it on my web browser.

This is definitely more of a sweet barbecue than a spicy one.  If you want to make it spicier or smokier you could add a minced chipotle, or even substitute chili sauce for the ketchup.  I definitely recommend using a good quality balsamic vinegar; otherwise, if you use an overly acidic one, it will only become more acidic and concentrated as it reduces.

This was a really great sauce. It’s a nice change of pace from the typical barbecue sauce, and incredibly easy to make with ingredients we always have on hand.  I’ll definitely make it again and will try it next time with the chicken grilled.  I also think this would be great with pork.  We ate the balsamic barbecue roasted chicken with some cheddar mashed potatoes and a salad.

Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 4-6

1 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. dijon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Preheat the oven to 425.

Combine the first 8 ingredients together in a small saucepan, and stir until all ingredients are incorporated. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, season your chicken pieces with salt and pepper and rub with a little olive oil.  Roast in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.  Brush reduced sauce on the chicken and continue to roast until cooked through, about 25 minutes longer.  Brush with additional sauce before serving.