Tag Archives: French

Healthy Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Recovering from vacation . . . it’s painful. So I plan on telling you all about Alaska, but that day is not today. Today, I will drown my sorrows in food. Specifically, some good food.

My lovely friend Cassia has a lovely food blog. Granted, she hasn’t had much time recently to post since she’s entering her second year of graduate school and is up to her ears in books and papers and such, but that doesn’t stop me from gleaning delicious recipes from over yonder, such as this pasta, and now–this quiche.

Cassia made this quiche for our friend Jess Strickler’s baby shower last year. I remember thinking “Oh man! I’ve got to make this!” Then, a year went by. And here we are today, resurrecting the dreams of yesterday.

As you may have guessed by the title, this is not a cheesy, rich quiche (click here for that experience). It only has 4 eggs, a splash of milk, and no cheese. Hence the “healthy.” The real whammy from my perspective is: no half and half. No heavy cream. Let’s get this healthified fungi fest on the road!

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

2 TBS butter
1 1/2 lbs sliced mushrooms
6 cloves garlic
4 shallots
3 green onions
1 1/2 TBS fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
4 eggs
3/4 cup 2% or whole milk
1 unbaked 9 inch frozen pie crust

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Pop in the frozen pie crust for 10 minutes.

When you remove it, it should be nice and golden all over.

Lower the temperature to 375 F.

Dice the shallots and garlic . . .

. . . slice the mushrooms (if they don’t come pre-sliced like mine), and chop up those green onions, for gosh’s sake!

Sorry, I had some bossiness urges that I had to get out there. If not, they fester and I become BossMan McMonsterPants. And I guarantee that’s not what my husband is looking for when he comes home after a long day on campus.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. When melted, add the mushrooms, garlic, shallots, green onions, and all the spices and seasonings.

I added the green onions a little later because I like ’em a little on the crispier side.

Don’t you love fresh oregano? This isn’t the first time that mushrooms and oregano have got together in my kitchen and shown the world they were meant for each other.

Cook over medium high to high heat, stirring occasionally, until all the mushroom liquid has evaporated.

Remove the mushrooms from the heat and let them cool completely. I was kind of in a hurry due to the rumblings of certain stomachs in the household, so I sped things up by Extending My Long Arm of Justice and placing the mushrooms in the freezer.

Break the eggs into a bowl and add the milk.

I’m sorry, heavy whipping cream. I’m sorry I abandoned you!

Whisk together the eggs and milk.

Once the mushrooms are cool, add them to the eggs.

 Stir to combine . . .

. . . then pour the mixture into the pie crust.

Beat yourself over the head because the innards don’t fit in the outtards.

Then stop beating yourself when you realize you can bake the remaining filling in an adorable red ramekin. Phew.

Bake the quiche for 40 minutes, or until puffy and starting to brown on top. Here’s the red ramekin-full, which I took out after about 30 minutes:

Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving–this will allow it to set inside.

She’s a beaut, alright.

Serve with fresh oregano leaves sprinkled over top.

Next time I need to buy a bigger pie crust, because this one ended up simply too full–and I like a higher ratio of crust-to-innards.

See? Totally overstuffed.

But still delicious.

P.S. When we ate the leftovers the following night, the quiche was even better. This may be because I sprinkled all kinds of fresh Parmesan over the top before popping it in the oven to get hot.

“Healthy-schmealthy,” said my taste buds. Whoops. I think they learned that from me.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Healthy Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Coq au Riesling

I think it may have been a month since I posted my last recipe here. A month! *shivering with horror* I may not have cooked very much recently, due to our holiday travels . . . and the few times that I did cook, I failed to photograph! Ay, me. This is why it’s going to take me a little longer than usual to blog about an incredible Spicy Tuscan Soup, a creamalicious Chicken Artichoke Fettucinne, delectable Spicy Mulled Wine, and addictive Roasted Green Beans. They were all so good. But I can’t well write about them without photographs, so I’ll be making them all again one by one in order to bring them to you! Because I care. I care about your taste buds. I want them to feel loved, excited, cherished, and believe me–all of these dishes will romance the socks off them. Yes, food is part of a love story you have with your own tongue.

Does that sound creepy? Because I’m really not talking about French kissing with yourself. Like that’s even possible!

Or maybe we’re doing it all the time and just don’t notice it. Even creepier.

Okay, let’s turn off the creepy switch and turn on the Coq au Riesling switch. *click* There!

This is another Tasty Kitchen treasure with my adjustments (click here for original), and I loved every bite. Simple dishes are sometimes the absolute best, eh? (Note to Canadian friends: when I say ‘eh?’, do you relate to me better?)

Ingredients

1/2 lb thick cut bacon

1 medium onion

2 leeks

5 cloves garlic

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 bay leaves

10 sprigs of thyme (5 are for garnish)

1 bottle (750 ml) Riesling

10 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms

Salt and pepper, to taste

First, grab a trusty Dutch oven. Chop the bacon into small chunks, and fry them over medium high heat until they’re almost crispy, around 12 minutes.

In the meantime, chop up the onion and leeks and mince the garlic.

Toss the fibrous dark green part of the leeks–just use the white and light green parts. I stopped at the point where the leaves divide in the picture above.

When the bacon is starting to get crispy, add the onion, leeks and garlic, and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the vegetables are getting tender.

Trim the chicken thighs of fat and pat them dry with a paper towel. Really! This is important because removing the moisture will allow them to brown much better.

Salt and pepper them on both sides. Am I allowed to use ‘pepper’ as a verb?

I give myself permission by royal decree.

Add the thighs to the Dutch oven, moving the vegetables aside and on top of the chicken so that the thighs are touching as much of the bottom of the pot as possible.

Basically, scoop and pile.

There we go! Now brown them thoroughly, about 6 minutes on each side.

Time to add the mushrooms. I chose the prewashed, presliced bag. Do you still love me?

Stir them in evenly, and cook for another 3 minutes.

Now pour in that lovely bottle of wine . . .

Add the bay leaves and 5 sprigs of thyme. Some of the thyme I pulled off the little branches . . .

. . . but some I left on the sprigs. I was getting impatient. I mean, I wanted to give it a rustic feel.

Bring ‘er to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.

*insert imaginary picture of covered pot on the stove*

Alright! We’re almost there. Hang in there with me! Don’t abandon ship now! Uncover the pot . . .

. . . and simmer for another 15 minutes, shredding the chicken with two forks and adjusting seasoning to taste.

Serve over rice or noodles, with fresh thyme from the remaining 5 sprigs sprinkled on top.

That big, fat mushroom is calling my name.

Winter ain’t over yet, folks, and this is the kind of dish that will help you through. Warm your stomach. Give you strength to face the wind and the snow.

Unless you live in Australia. In which case, don’t even tell me how warm it is in Other Hemispheres.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Coq au Riseling