MADE: Spinach, Mushroom, and Bacon Quiche

"Why all the cheese?" "It's quiche night, OBVIOUSLY."

One of my New Year's Resolutions was going to be "Eat less food whose primary ingredients are butter and cream." Then I got my Christmas present from Boss Tweed--a copy of Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table, and my New Year's Resolution crumbled before the New Year had even begun. It's an AMAZING cookbook, and almost every page contains a recipe as mouthwatering as it is undaunting. And full of cream and butter.
I fully intend to cook most of the items in this cookbook--perhaps when the Boss herself comes to visit me in March! (Be prepared for a slew of posts and jealousy, because it will be a cookingstravaganza for sure!) I started, though, with a quiche, more because I wanted to make a quiche than because I wanted to use the cookbook. But I figured that my new French cookbook would be a good place to start.

Greenspan's original recipe calls for a tart crust. It turns out that one has to refrigerate a tart crust for several hours, and I certainly didn't have time for that (I'm not known for planning ahead when it comes to cooking), so I fudged it a little bit, and perhaps ruined the tart in the process? The taste and texture came out just fine, though, so I'm inclined to think that the three-hour chill period is a scam.
Also, Greenspan's original recipe called for 1/4 cup cheese. I assumed that to be a printer's error, and used an entire cup of cheese. This is probably why my "cook for myself" philosophy has not been a weight-loss solution, but rather the opposite.

Spinach, Mushroom, and Bacon Quiche


Tart Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, cold or frozen, cut into 1/2 tbsp chunks
1 large egg
1 tsp ice water

Quiche Filling
6 oz spinach leaves
4 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 white mushrooms, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 large eggs
2/3 cup cream
1 cup shredded cheese (I used equal parts swiss, gruyere, and mozzarella)

To make tart crust:

Whisk together flour and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat together egg and water, and drizzle over the dry mixture, tossing with a fork until evenly moistened, and then mixing together by hand. Form dough into a ball, kneading until smooth, and then pat into a flattened disk. Refrigerate this for three hours (supposedly--I only refrigerated it for one, and things turned out fine).
Once you've refrigerated the disk of dough, bring it out and roll it out. Greenspan recommends rolling it between two sheets of plastic wrap, which worked pretty well and made flipping it into the pie pan pretty simple. Roll the dough into a circle big enough to cover a 9" pie pan--about 12" in diameter--and then turn the dough into a greased pie pan. Make sure there are no cracks in the crust, because it will probably shrink, and your filling will wind up leaking out if there are cracks. Puncture the dough lightly in several places with a fork, cover with foil, and refrigerate again for another hour or so. (This is a good time to make the quiche filling.)
Heat the oven to 400 F.
Bake the crust for 20 minutes with the foil insert, then remove the foil and bake for 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove partially baked crust from oven and let cool before adding filling.

To make filling:

Spinach first--rinse spinach leaves and then toss into a skillet while still wet. Cook over medium heat until the spinach is wilted but still bright green, about five minutes. Remove from heat and put spinach onto a napkin-covered plate to soak up the excess liquid. Then, when the spinach is cool enough, transfer it to a cutting board and chop it well.
Bacon next--put the slices of bacon onto a skillet over medium-high heat and fry until crispy. Remove from pan to a paper towel-covered plate. Drain off all but one tablespoon of the bacon grease from the skillet. When bacon is cool enough, chop well.
Now all the rest--put the onion and garlic into the bacon-greased skillet and sauté for two minutes over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for two minutes more, adding a tablespoon of water if the vegetables begin to brown.
Mix together chopped spinach, chopped bacon, onions and mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. When partially-baked crust is cooled sufficiently, spread the filling mixture evenly throughout the bottom of the crust.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and the cream together. Pour over the filling so that it fills in all the cracks. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top of the quiche.
Place quiche pan onto a baking sheet (to save your oven in case of bubbling over) and carefully put into the middle of the oven. Bake quiche for 30 to 40 minutes (still at 400 F), or until the filling has become puffy, even in the middle. Remove, let cool, and then DEVOUR.

EPIC CROWD PLEASER: Marianne's Sticky Toffee Cupcakes

WARNING: THESE CUPCAKES ARE RIDICULOUS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. YOU WILL WANT TO EAT THE WHOLE BATCH. DON'T EAT THE WHOLE BATCH.

There. Got that off my chest.

The goddess Marianne once--for no terribly good reason, if I remember correctly--gave me an entire box of these. I ate almost the entire box. Sure, I offered them to my family, but I offered them at different times, so that for each family member who ate a cupcake, I also ate a cupcake. I don't know if you guys know how many family members I have, but let's just say that it came out to me eating a ton of cupcakes.

Then Marianne gave me the recipe. And I saw the amount of butter involved. And I added up the amount of cupcakes I'd eaten in the past 12 hours. One of the worst/best days of my life. Best for my taste buds, worst for my heart (the physical one, that doesn't get along with butter so swell...).

This is why I urge again: Don't make these if you don't have a very specific distribution plan. Otherwise, you will pull the pans out of the oven and then wake up three days later from your sugar coma, face and hands sticky with toffee. And then you'll die of a heart attack. But a happy heart attack.

Marianne-is-a-Wicked-Woman Sticky Toffee Cupcakes


Cupcakes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (wrapper saved to grease tins)
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for tins
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brandy
8 oz plump, moist dates, halved and pitted
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

Toffee Glaze* 
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease the tins of a muffin pan with the butter wrapper (and additional butter, if necessary). Flour greased tins and dump out excess.

Bring water, brandy and dates to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and cook until dates are very soft--about five minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Let cool fifteen minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is thoroughly mixed in. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of date-brandy puree, and beating until just combined after each addition.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake, rotating the muffin pans halfway through the baking process, until a cake tester in the middle comes out clean--should be about 20 to 25 minutes.

Toward the end of the baking time, make the Toffee Glaze. In a medium saucepan, bring cream, brown sugar, and butter to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. (I love that direction.) Cook for three minutes. Stir in brandy and salt, and cook one more minute.

As soon as the cupcakes are removed from the oven, use a toothpick to lift one side of each cupcake so that they are all standing on edge, raised slightly out of the tins. Using your fingertips to lift each cupcake a bit more, spoon two tablespoons of glaze into each cup, then nudge the cupcake back into place. Let cool 10 minutes.

To finish, invert the cupcakes onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet (or just onto a baking sheet, if you don't have a wire rack handy) and spoon two more tablespoons of glaze over each one. Let set for about five minutes (if you can wait that long) and then DEVOUR. But Please--SHARE!

*The Toffee Glaze is AMAZING even on its own--probably has something to do with the fact that it's nothing but brandy, cream, and sugar. Oh, and butter. Any leftover glaze CANNOT be thrown out. Instead, put it on ice cream, toast, scones, a spoon, or anything else that needs a bit more deliciousness.

MADE: Scones!

I figured that since I'd finally put up the Apple Cheddar Scones--I'm still shocked about that glaring omission, by the dubs--that I'd fess up to my deeper love of scones in any variety. For a while in undergrad, my House raised money for charity by selling coffee and baked goods in the morning. I frequently volunteered to help sell the goodies, which entailed getting up at six thirty and dragging myself down to the lobby of my dorm. As I stumbled down the last few steps, I'd invariably be greeted by the dueling aromas of coffee and scones, and by the preternaturally happy visage of my dear friend Klara, the magnificent baker of said scones.

Klara was (and still is) a marvel and an inspiration. At six thirty on a Tuesday morning, she could reach levels of  happiness than some people don't achieve in their entire lives. And she was constantly spreading that happiness to others--through laughter, through volunteer work, through dancing and singing, and--probably most importantly--through scones.

Now, whenever I make or eat a scone, I can't help but think of Klara and get a tiny bit infected by her sunniness all over again.

Klara's Scones
2 1/4 cups flour
Pinch o' salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
1 cup cream
Fillers--these can be berries, baked apples, chocolate chips, or even chunks of caramel candies (that was such a good morning!)

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cream, kneading together by hand. Add in filler ingredients and knead into a ball, then roll out the ball onto a floured surface and press down to create a circle of dough about a half inch thick. Cut the dough circle into wedges and place onto a greased baking sheet, about 1" apart. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until just hard and slightly golden.
"Consume and be Merry!"--Klara

For my roommate's birthday, I made these with blackberries as a breakfast surprise. It went over well, if I do say so myself.

The picture is the scones in progress, obviously. The finished products themselves were devoured before photographic evidence could be obtained.

CURRENT OBSESSION: Apple Cheddar Scones

Woah woah WOAH Woah woah. Upon looking through my old posts to spruce them up with pictures--now that I FINALLY have all the relevant bits of gadgetry necessary to create, transfer, convert, and upload photographic evidence of my foodery--I have discovered that I NEVER MANAGED TO PUT UP THE APPLE CHEDDAR SCONE RECIPE.

Major. Fail.

If you've so much as brushed past my internet presence in the past three months you've probably heard me rave about these scones. If you've been in my actual presence, it's quite possible that I've baked them for you. (Really, it's less generosity and more a realization of the overwhelming guilt that ensues when one consumes an entire batch of scones in one sitting. Not that that's ever happened...)

The amazing Smitten Kitchen introduced me to them, of course, and I made my own little tweaks. SK calls them "October on a parchment-lined baking sheet," but I've been making them since waay past October, and I've never lined my baking sheets with parchment. Both choices have turned out pretty okay for me.*

Apple Cheddar Scones (Will Haunt You Forever)
2 firm apples (I used Galas most of the time, but that's just because they were around), cored, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 tbsp cubes
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Core and peel the apples, then chop them into smallish chunks. The original recipe called for them to be in 1/16ths, but those chunks seemed huge, and just had to be chopped down later. (Also, the smallish chunks cook faster. Bonus when you're really hungry for some sconey goodness.) Spread apple chunks evenly on a baking sheet and bake at the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, until dry to the touch and just beginning to turn goldeny brown. Remove from oven and cool completely, leaving oven on--if you're going to make the scones right away, that is. Turn it off otherwise. Sheesh.

Baked Apple Chunks--Health food, right?

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
With a pastry blender, cut in the cubes of chilled butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in cream and one egg until just combined. Mix in the shredded cheese as well.

Chop up the apple chunks a bit more until you'd feel comfortable encountering them in a scone, then mix the chunks in as well. You should have a delightful, sticky mess on your hands, just forming a ball. Toss that onto a floured surface and flatten slightly, until you've formed a circle about 1" thick and 8" in diameter. Slice the circle into six wedges--or eight, if you're feeling generous. Place dough wedges onto greased baking sheets, leaving about 2" between them for spreading.
For an egg wash (which is optional, but quite tasty), beat together the remaining egg and a pinch of salt. Spread the mixture over the top of each scone. Sprinkle each washed scone with sugar. Or, if it's Christmas Eve morning, sprinkle them with sugar and Christmas sprinkles! Bake for about 30 minutes, until the scones are nice and golden. Then DEVOUR. Also share. You might as well get as many people to understand the addiction as possible...

If you are keeping them to yourself, though, freezing several of the dough wedges is a good idea--the scones are really best when eaten immediately, and it's great to have scones ready-for-baking in the freezer on a bleary morning...

*In case you're wondering, though, ovens get really angry at you if you try to substitute wax paper for parchment. It wasn't for this recipe--don't worry--but every mention of parchment paper in cooking makes me flash back to that experience. Eeesch, the smell...

MADE: Guinness Shepherd's Pie

I currently live in a city that is rainy and grey for most of the winter months. When I come home from a day that never got sunny, I just can't bear the thought of anything less than a blanket-like dinner in which to wrap myself (figuratively--don't worry) and forget the grim exterior conditions.

For inspiration, I figured I'd turn towards cuisine of similarly-climated locales, and shepherd's pie seemed like a no-brainer. If it's good enough to fortify soggy peasants in Ireland, then it can help me soldier on through the Seattle winter. Tossing in a portion of my leftover bottle of Guinness seemed like a logical addition, for similar reasons. (It turned out to be not only logical, but DELICIOUS as well--but I'm putting the cart before the horse. Perhaps several carts before several horses.)

Guinness Shepherd's Pie

Brown Sauce Filling
4 tbsp butter, divided
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
10 (or so) white mushrooms, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Guinness
1 cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter into a skillet. On medium heat, caramelize the onions--stir in the salt and sugar to bring out the natural sugar of the onions themselves. Stir the onions occasionally, and if they begin to stick to the pan, add about 1/4 cup water and stir vigorously for about 30 seconds. This is called "deglazing," and it's one of my favorite science-cooking processes. (Second only to bechamel, which we'll get to in a minute...) Continue the stir/simmer/deglaze process for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the onions start to become darker brown and smell delicious. Then add the chopped mushrooms and stir, simmering until the mushrooms become a little softer, but not mushy.
Meanwhile, (probably while the onions are caramelizing, actually, since you'll be bored anyway) melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Once the butter is just beginning to sizzle, add 1/4 cup flour and whisk or stir rapidly, until thoroughly mixed. Then, quickly add the Guinness and 1 cup water, small bits at a time in alternation, stirring after each addition. (The Guinness will get all bubbly, so you don't want to add in too much at once.) Then, add the onion and mushroom mix to the sauce (which should at this point be delighting your nostrils with the decadent smell of beer and butter) and stir, adding in salt and pepper to taste.
This filling can also be made to include other vegetables (peas and carrots are common), as well as meat. If I'd had it, I probably would have thrown in ground beef or chunks of sausage at the mushroom phase. No such provisions were in my freezer at the time, unfortunately, but I'm sure they'd be delicious for you!

Potato Topping
5 or 6 large potatoes, washed and chopped into large chunks
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cream
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar.)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Boil potatoes in saucepan of water for about 15 minutes, or until tender. You should be able to poke a fork into a potato chunk and have it split in two. Drain almost all the water from the potatoes, but feel free to keep a little bit. Mash those spuds up with the butter and cream, adding in the garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper until the potatoes have reached (almost) optimum deliciousness.
Grease the bottom of a medium casserole dish. Layer in the Guinness-mushroom mixture, then spoon the potatoes on top in heaps, patting down to form a solid layer over the top. Sprinkle cheese over the whole thing, and toss into the oven for about 30 minutes, or until you're too hungry to wait anymore.
DEVOUR, while drinking the leftover Guinness.

MADE: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been a rough, rainy week, and while grumpily trudging along yesterday, an idea appeared to me like a warm, shining beacon through the bluster of wind and spit that Seattle calls rain--Peanut Butter Cookies.
As I almost dashed home, the lure of future cookies pulling me onward, I called KPBH for aid: "Can you find a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies? One that will make thick, chewy, warm, melt-in-your mouth cookies? One that will erase the frustrations of a malfunctioning apartment and fill me with warmth to drive away the wet winter chill?"
He was less than helpful.
"Well, they're all pretty much the same...Oh wait. Here's one without butter..."
I almost had a conniption fit, there on the sidewalk. "Cookies made WITHOUT BUTTER? Do I even KNOW YOU?"
Eventually, I took matters into my own hands, and of course found myself at the (figurative internet) door to Smitten Kitchen. I basically used the recipe here, but didn't I have peanut butter chips (who has peanut butter chips?) and I didn't roll the cookies in sugar at the end of the process (thus making them a health food?).
The result? DELICIOUS. Perfect little chunks of peanut buttery goodness, with a thick shortbready consistency and a delightful softness that lasts at least until the next morning. I'm not sure how long it would take these cookies to get hard and crunchy, but it is less than the amount of time that it took for the batch to get devoured by myself and my roommates.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter, room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter until creamed. Add sugars and blend until creamy. Beat in egg, cream, and vanilla. Add in dry mixture a bit at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Finally, stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving a little room for expansion. Press down with a fork to make that classic "peanut butter cookie" crosshatch. (Does anyone know why that's such a peanut butter cookie tradition? Does it help bring out some otherwise latent peanut butteryness?) Bake for 10 minutes, and do not overbake. The cookies won't be browned, but they'll be done, and they'll be DELICIOUS.
Devour, wriggling your toes as the snuggly warmth of childlike bliss fills your soul.

MADE: Grilled Brussel Sprouts

Apparently, when I was little, I used to eat brussel sprouts all the time. Gobbled 'em up. Thought they were great. Then, one fateful day, my mother walked in on the horror of her oldest child eating brussel sprouts and shrieked "WHAT are you FEEDING her? Brussel sprouts? EEEEW." (N.B.: My aunt Marilou was the royal feeder in charge of my nutrition at this point in my life.) I apparently then threw the fork down and refused to eat brussel sprouts ever again.

This little piece of BlissandTell lore is at once a cautionary tale and an explanation for the current recipe. Cautionary tale: Children are ridiculously impressionable, and therefore perfect fodder for social experimentation.  Recipe explanation: Lately, I've been trying to overcome the food prejudices of my youth and experiment with ways of delectifying foods that once grossed me out. Hence, brussel sprouts.

While on a brief, glorious stop through Chicago recently, KPBH's roommate--who's prone to cooking extravaganzas of his own--was whipping up these grilled brussel sprouts, and offered me a taste. Delicious! Probably too delicious to actually be retaining any of the nutritive value of the original sprouts, but I can pretend. Also, they are ridiculously easy to make. So really, this is less a post meant to impress everyone with my cooking prowess and more a post for me to have a record for the recipe, so I won't have to send frantic text messages asking "Hey, can you send me that brussel sprout recipe PLZ? KThx. Lol."

Grilled Brussel Sprouts

1 1/2 lbs brussel sprouts

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp freshly ground sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 F.

Chop brown stem ends off of brussel sprouts and cut in half, lengthwise. Toss the brussel sprout halves into a big bowl and throw in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir and toss to thoroughly coat the sprouts, then pour them onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally so that all sides brown evenly. Remove when brussel sprouts are beginning to be brown and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Devour.

MADE: Irish Car Bomb Cake

This one goes out to all the kids.
Dear kids: Make friends with people older than you. That way, when you turn 21, they will be able to go out with you, party, buy you drinks, and--best of all--make you a cake of delicious liquory complexity.
My awesome (and ickle) roomie found herself in just such a situation a few days ago, as she turned 21 in a fog of cake and booze. The best kind of fog, really. She had requested a Guinness cake a few months back (probably when I was making my Guinness cupcakes), and I decided to turn her request into a full-blown Irish Car Bomb homage.
Good idea, or best idea ever? The votes aren't quite tallied, but it's certainly up there. Make it and decide for yourself. And then invite some friends to help you consume the leftovers!

Irish Car Bomb Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup Guinness
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (mine was, of course, a mix of mostly white and a smidge brown)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 325 F. Grease two 9" cake pans, or whatever you're planning on making this cake in.
Melt the butter in a smallish saucepan over medium heat, add Guinness partially through the melting process. Bring both to a low simmer and add the cocoa powder, whisking until smooth and delightfully chocolatey smelling (WARNING: Don't lick the batter at this point. Unsweetened cocoa powder will lure you with its chocolatey smell and then punch you in the face with capital-U Unsweet.) Set aside and let cool slightly.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and sour cream until smooth. Fold in the chocolate-butter-Guinness mixture and beat until just combined. Then fold in the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Divide batter evenly among cake pans and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester in the center comes out clean.

Whiskey Chocolate Filling
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp heavy cream
Splash whiskey
Splash brandy (for fun)

Melt these delectable ingredients together in a double boiler after you've pulled out the cakes. Pop one of the cakes out of its tin and spread the melty liquory chocolate over the top. Then finagle the other layer of cake on top. (This was the trickiest bit for me. Well, this and managing not to drink all the Guinness pre-baking...)

(Also managing not to eat the cake before it was finished...)

Irish Cream Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp Irish Cream Liquor
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

This, I played by ear, which is what one has to do with frostings. You just add sugar and butter and cream and liquor until it looks right, tastes right, and seems like it will spread alright on a cake. The measurements above are probably close..ish?
Mix butter with an electric mixer until it's nice and creamed. Add a tablespoon or so of the liquor to give it a bit more liquidity. Then add in the confectioner's sugar (armed with the expectation of getting a fine dusting of it all over yourself), mixing it a bit at a time. Alternate with dollops of sour cream, whipping cream, and liquor.
When you're done, frost that cake! Then eat the cake! Then use your leftover ingredients to do some Irish Car Bombs with your friends! Because it's college, and that's what you do.
A lesson for the kids, from BlissandTell.