Cook & Be Merry » Sandwiches

Hard-Cooked Eggs on Toast with Béchamel Sauce

Lynne — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:05:49 +0000

The day after Thanksgiving I was perusing the leftovers in my refrigerator, when, gasping with horror, I realized I had three hard-cooked eggs that I had been planning to use in an appetizer, but hadn’t had time to make. Now I had three eggs that I had to use within a day or they would be wasted. Oh no!

Well, I’m not really an egg salad sandwich kinda gal and I didn’t feel up to a big project like a Nicoise salad. I could have put them on toast with goat cheese and a mint pesto, but that just didn’t sound appealing at the time. So what to make. Then I remembered a simple supper dish my Mom used to make in the 1950’s when I was a kid – hard-cooked eggs on toast covered with a white sauce. Well, what are the holidays about but tradition and the comfort food of our childhood. So I decided to recreate that humble dish for a trip down memory lane.

Béchamel is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine and is also used in Macaroni & Cheese, Italian lasagna, Greek moussaka, and on an English Parmo, which is a breaded fried chicken fillet topped with béchamel and cheddar cheese, which is then grilled or baked to melt the cheese. It is also the base for sweet and savory soufflés.

This sauce is named after the Marquis Louis Bechameil, who was a financier and chief steward to French King Louis XIV. It first appeared in a cookbook by LaVarenne in 1651.

Béchamel is the base for other classic sauces to serve over eggs, veal, lamb, fish, vegetables and steak, such as:

Mornay Sauce – add Parmesan or Gruyere and egg (optional)
Cream Sauce – add heavy cream or crème fraiche
Mushroom Sauce – add mushrooms and lemon juice
Soubise Sauce – add cooked onions and put through a fine strainer
Tomato Sauce — add tomato paste
Curry Sauce – add minced onion, curry powder and chopped tomato, strain
Cheddar Cheese Sauce – add cheddar, dry mustard, Worcestershire
Escoffier Sauce – add oyster liquor, egg yolks, poached chopped oysters
Nantua Sauce – add crayfish, butter, cream

I hope this is giving you good ideas for some experimental fun. I know it did for me.

Hard-Cooked Eggs on Toast with Béchamel Sauce

To Assemble

Place one or two slices of toast on serving plate. Top with sliced or quartered hard boiled eggs. Knap Béchamel sauce over eggs. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

Make the Toast

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil.

2. Using one or two pieces of toast per person: cut off crusts and place firm sandwich bread on sheet pan.

3. Bake 7-8 minutes to desired color. Set aside.

Note: You can also just use your toaster and leave the crusts on.

Make the Eggs

1. Place 1-2 eggs per person in saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil.

2. When boiling starts, remove from heat and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 minutes.

3. Drain hot water from pan and fill with cold water. Let sit for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Peel the eggs and reserve.

Make the Béchamel Sauce

Makes 1 cup
Recipe may be multiplied with these ratios up to 4 cups of milk

1 cup milk
Slices of onion
Bay leaf
½ teaspoon peppercorns

1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
dash of nutmeg, optional

1. In a saucepan, add onion, bay leaf and peppercorns to milk and bring to a boil. Cover and turn off the heat and infuse for 10 minutes.

2. To make the roux, melt butter in another heavy saucepan. Whisking constantly, add flour to butter and cook until foaming around the edges, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Pour the hot milk slowly through a strainer into the roux, whisking constantly until it thickens. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg if using.

4. Return to heat and bring to a boil, lower heat to medium low, whisking for two minutes. Adjust seasoning.

5. If your sauce is too thick for your use, add additional milk by tablespoons to desired consistency.

Note #1: You may prefer a more or less thick Béchamel:
Thin Béchamel: 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour in above recipe
Thick Béchamel: 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in above recipe

Note #2: You can skip the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns if you prefer. Your sauce won’t be quite as flavorful, but this sauce is so sweet and wonderful, it will be fine.

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The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Lynne — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:46:39 +0000

When I was a kid, my Mom would make grilled cheese sandwiches for my lunch from Wonder Bread and Kraft American Cheese. You know, the one the size of a brick. I remember enjoying them very much, along with tomato or chicken noodle soup. Campbell’s, of course.

However, things have changed since back in the day. When I went to make my grilled cheese sandwich recently, I found, to my surprise, that I had 12 different kinds of cheese in my fridge. Every drawer and shelf was populated. There was:

1. Grated mozzarella
2. Grated sharp cheddar. My kid uses them to make a quick quesadilla.
3. Blue Cheese
4. Queso Fresco from the Chorizo & White Bean Soup I posted about.
5. Monterey Jack
6. Boursin with Garlic & Fine Herbs, thanks to Chef Jesse at Baleen
7. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
8. Whole Milk Ricotta
9. Comté
10. Emmenthaler
11. Gruyere
12. Parmigiano Reggiano

I decided to go with the Gruyere, which is so nutty and umami-ish. I put a layer of cheese on a sour dough slice, then some deli ham I needed to use up and a bit of Dalmatia Fig Spread to balance the salty cheese and ham. I spread the outside of the bread with mayonnaise (instead of butter) and grilled it, covered, over medium low heat.

And the result was really messy and sticky and absolutely fantastic.

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bread slices, with a dense crumb
Gruyere cheese
Ham slices
Dalmatia Fig Spread
Mayonnaise

Build your sandwich with the amount of cheese and ham that makes you happy. Use a conservative amount of Fig Spread, as it melts and runs out all over everything. Spread the outside of the bread slices with a thin layer of mayo. Brown in a covered non-stick pan over medium low heat. Check after 2 minutes to make sure it is not too brown. Lower the heat if it is browning too fast, before the cheese is melting. Turn and brown the other side. Let cool until warm to the touch, as the Fig Spread is really hot. Enjoy.

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Mirepoix Meatloaf Recipe ~ Simple & Easy

Lynne — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:45:47 +0000

After writing my post about Leftover Oddments Soup and mentioning the best leftovers possible – meatloaf sandwiches – all of a sudden I just had to make meatloaf. Imagining that sandwich with soft white bread, mayonnaise and a thick slab of meatloaf had me rushing to the market to buy the ingredients. In fact, I have had such a sandwich for the last two days, first with lightly toasted sourdough and today with plain soft egg bread. Today was definitely the winner. So satisfying. Such a trip down comfort food memory lane.

My Mom used to make meatloaf in the 1950’s, but it was a simple recipe with hamburger, chopped onions, an egg, a squirt of ketchup and mustard, and crushed saltine crackers. We usually had it with baked potatoes and canned spinach (which I loved). She probably learned to make this during WWII when cooks were stretching their meat with a number of additives, such as bread, rice, oatmeal and vegetables.

Cooked mixtures of minced meat go back to Roman times, but the meat had to be chopped laboriously by hand. Meatloaf in its modern form didn’t appear in cookbooks until the invention of the meat grinder in the late 1800s. Early recipes called for veal, which was cheaper than beef and meatloaf was the mainstay of American cuisine during the Great Depression. Variations of meatloaf appear in many countries, many with hard-boiled eggs tucked inside. One theory is that American meatloaf had its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times.

The little cousin of meatloaf is the meatball. I actually kept out enough meat mixture to make two big meatballs, which I’m planning on using with a pasta recipe. A meatball is just a small meatloaf, really, isn’t it? While I was surfing the net for meatloaf info, I ran into a couple of websites about the world record for the biggest meatball on the planet. I figured maybe the size of a basketball? Oh no, these babies were 200 pounds, 222.5 pounds and 400 pounds. And, in my opinion, they look like big meatloafs to me.

Mirepoix Meatloaf Recipe ~ Simple & Easy

1 small or ½ of medium onion
1 small celery stalk
1 small carrot
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 teaspoon parsley, minced
1 teaspoon basil, minced
½ teaspoon fresh oregano, minced

1 pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
2 slices bread, crusts removed, chopped small or processed

Sauce
½ cup ketchup
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, whiz the onion, celery and carrot until finely minced. Or finely mince or grate by hand. I started with my large processor and then transferred to my mini-chopper.

3. Place the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

4. Add the beef and pork to the bowl. With your hands, incorporate the vegetable mixture into the ground meats just until homogenous. Add the chopped bread and mix in.

5. Place the meat mixture in a loaf pan and round the top and sides.

6. In small bowl, mix together the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over meatloaf top and sides, smoothing evenly to desired thickness. I like lots. You may have ketchup mixture left over.

7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

8. Remove from oven and carefully decant the juices surrounding the meatloaf into a small bowl. Secure the meatloaf in the pan when pouring so it doesn’t fall out. I used a skewer. Skim fat from reserved pan juices in bowl.

9. Place meatloaf on serving platter and slice to desired thickness. Serve with mashed potatoes. Drizzle pan juices over sliced meatloaf on plate.

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Holiday Sweet Potato and Turkey Empanadas from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

Lynne — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:41:13 +0000

The Holiday Harvest Afternoon Tea at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen was a cornucopia of six delicious dishes that could be prepared for your own holiday gatherings. It started off with Spirited Fruit and Cheese Hors d’Oeuvres, Roasted Pear and Blue Cheese Salad, and Savory Green Onion Scones. Then when our taste buds were all tingly with anticipation, we were treated to the wonderful Holiday Sweet Potato Empanadas with Mango Chutney Dipping Sauce, which were the highlight of our tea, with their beautiful color and savory sweet flavor. And we ended with Toffee Pumpkin Bars that were drizzled with caramel sauce and Chocolate Pecan Praline Tassies. Just reading this, isn’t it making your mouth water?

To make the Empanadas, Grace-Marie started off by dicing the sweet potato and sautéing it with the turkey, cumin and cinnamon. When the sweet potato was fork tender and the mixture cooled completely, she stirred in Jack cheese, mango chutney and cilantro to complete the filling.

Next, the prepared pie dough was unrolled, circles were cut out and about a tablespoon of filling placed on each round. Then each circle of dough was folded over and the edges pressed down to seal them.

The edges were crimped with a fork, brushed with beaten egg and dusted with a smokey Spanish Paprika. I could hardly wait to taste these babies, with all the wonderful ingredients in the filling. They were baked for about 15 minutes and they smelled so good.

Here they are with their beautiful appetizing color, all ready to be dipped in the Mango Chutney and Sour Cream Sauce. Grace-Marie has outdone herself again. Can you imagine these empanadas on your brunch table. Oh yes!

This class was really fun, with everyone very chatty and laughing. And of course the food was marvelous. These are the Ladies and Gentleman who came to tea. Thank you so much and I hope to see you all again.

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the new schedule of cooking classes, visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Holiday Empanadas from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen

Serves 8

Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup red or yellow onions, finely diced
1 pound ground turkey meat (or leftover roasted turkey)
1 pound yams (sweet potatoes), peeled and diced small
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
To season – kosher or sea salt & ground black pepper

8 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese (or any favorite), shredded
1 cup mango chutney – chopped if mango pieces are large (or cranberry relish)
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Warm the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and turkey. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the turkey is no longer pink.

3. Add the sweet potatoes, cumin and cinnamon. Continue to cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender (about 7 minutes). Cool completely in the skillet then transfer to a bowl.

4. Once cool, stir in the cheese, chutney and cilantro.

Empanadas
2 packages prepared pie crusts (cut into 3”-4” rounds) (or puff pastry or refrigerator rolls rolled flat)
2 large eggs, fork beaten with a bit of tap water
Spanish Smokey Paprika to garnish

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Arrange the crust rounds onto a work surface. Brush the egg wash along the edges. Place a tablespoon or more of the filling into the center of each.

3. Fold over one side of the crust to meet the opposite side (creating a “half moon” or turnover). Gently press down to seal the edges then crimp with a fork to create a decorative edge.

4. Arrange 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Lightly brush with remaining egg wash and dust with the paprika.

5. Bake until risen and light golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheet before removing.

Serve

1. Make a dipping sauce by mixing mango chutney and chopped cilantro, to taste, in about 1 ½ cups of sour cream.

2. Transfer empanadas to a serving platter. Serve warm or room temperature with the dipping sauce. Garnish with leftover cilantro springs.

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Garlic Buttered Crostini with Rustic Kale Pesto

Lynne — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:43:56 +0000

If you like garlic, this is the food of the Garlic Gods. I adore garlic, so when I eat these garlic-butter-slathered toasted crostini liberally spread with the garlic-y kale and olive oil pesto, I am transported to heaven. Every time I make this, that first bite stops me in my tracks, as I savor the flavor of the hearty earthy green kale with the garlic butter. OMG. Mmmm…

These Kale Pesto Crostini are a perfect appetizer for your holiday feast. It’s one of those where the guests just sort of stand around the platter, chewing and not talking. Until all the crostini are gone. They are also good with a bowl of rustic vegetable soup, or, if you are like me, you make a bunch of them and eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Which I did tonight while I was typing up this post. So inspiring.

Kale is a form of cabbage, green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. The species Bressica oleracea also contains broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens and brussels sprouts. It is considered a highly nutritious vegetable and is very high in beta carotene, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin and calcium. It contains a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties, boosts DNA repair in cells, and is an antioxidant.

Until the end of the middle ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe. Russian kale was introduced into the US. by Russian traders, via Canada, in the 19th century. Kale is a main ingredient in the national dishes of several countries. In Ireland it’s mixed with mashed potatoes to make Colcannon. In Portugal it’s combined with potatoes and sausage to make the soup Caldo Verde. In Scotland, kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in dialect Scots is synonymous with food.

A whole culture has developed in north-western Germany, where there are social clubs that visit country inns to consume large quantities of boiled kale, Mettworst and Schnapps. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a “Kale King” (or queen).

When you boil the half pound of kale leaves, less the center ribs, they reduce in volume to about the size of a handball. I use my mini food processor for this job and it works perfectly. Sometimes I get kale that is a thicker variety and while it tastes the same, it requires a little longer cooking and a little more olive oil added to the processor to make the mixture the right spreadable consistency. If you are not a garlic freak like me, use only 1/4 tablespoon of minced garlic in the pesto, instead of the full monty ½ tablespoon. I hope you try this. It’s fabulous.

Crostini with Rustic Kale Pesto

5 servings

1/2 pound fresh kale, (1 bunch) center ribs discarded, leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ – ½ tablespoon minced garlic

5 tablespoons salted butter
½ tablespoon minced garlic

Ten ½-inch-thick diagonal slices cut from a baguette of sourdough bread

1. Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale, cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Test a little bite to make sure it is quite soft. Drain and refresh under cold water. Using your hands, squeeze as much moisture as possible from the kale.

2. In a mini food processor combine the kale, salt, olive oil and ¼ to ½ tablespoon garlic, per your taste. Process until smooth, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add up to two tablespoon additional olive oil if necessary if it is dry. (The pesto can be made several hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

3. In a small bowl, melt the salted butter with the remaining ½ tablespoon garlic in the microwave on high for 55 seconds. Toast the bread in a toaster. With a pastry brush, brush one side of each toast liberally with the garlic butter. Cut each toast in half if desired. Spread each buttered side of toast with some of the kale pesto and serve immediately.

Note: The Kale Pesto will keep, refrigerated, for 4 days. But make the crostini fresh each day. They’re not tasty reheated. The garlic butter will keep 3 days in a closed container and can be reheated.

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Rosti Tuscan Kitchen and a Pizza Competition

Lynne — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 05:51:27 +0000

Recently I received an invitation to join in a visit to Rosti Tuscan Kitchen in Encino, CA, along with ten other LA food bloggers, for a pizza-making competition. The invite said Rosti would provide the rolled-out dough and a slew of farm-fresh ingredients, and we’d each get to make our own fabulous pizza creations. These would be baked up, judged and voted on. And (trumpet salute) the winning pizza would be featured on the restaurant menu in the Santa Monica and Encino restaurants along with the name of the winning blog. Well, how could I pass this up? Pizza, an afternoon with my blogging friends and a friendly contest. I’m so there!

We were welcomed by the owner of Rosti, Kevin Goldfein, and seated at a long table in the dining room, as you can see in the photos above, which was covered with bowls of all the ingredients we could use to build our pizzas. Wonderful things like artichokes, anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, minced garlic, meatballs, mushrooms and kalamata olives. I had no idea what I was going to put on mine, but I have a shrimp pizza I like to make. But I saw no shrimp. Darn. Kevin explained that each of us would be supplied with a dough-round and when all were constructed, they would be baked and we would each get a small piece of each pizza. We received a ballot to record our first three choices, which would be counted at the end. If we didn’t see an ingredient we would like to use, we could ask him if the kitchen could provide it.

Here is my blank canvas. I had no clue what to put on it. So I decided to ask if they had shrimp…and they did!

Here is my pie, pre-baking, with pesto, shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, arugula, mozzarella and parmesan. We put our pizzas on a table to wait for everyone to finish. Meanwhile I checked out Rosti’s menu. Wow, they have every Italian category possible: starters, appetizers, starter salads, soups, panini, sandwiches, hearty salads, pasta dishes, chicken and fish dishes, calzones and a kid’s menu. And PIZZAs. They have the standard combinations, but they have some that are definitely not your grandma’s, like The GCOP~ Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions & Crisp Pancetta; and Pesto Hazelnut Pie~ Fresh Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes, Hazelnuts and Pesto. Plus you can build your own pizza from a list of 26 different ingredients!

And here is my pizza after baking.

Meanwhile everyone was busy constructing their pies. Here on the left you can see Kim of Rustic Garden Bistro, whose main ingredients were anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. On the right is Cheryl of Black Girl Chef’s Whites applying chicken, Italian sausage, pesto and caramelized onions.

I thought the most photogenic pie was made by Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking, with artichokes, pesto, caramelized onion and a twirl of perfect pink prosciutto on each piece.

On the left is our host, Kevin, and Minty, holding her mushroom, marinara and mozzarella pie. On the right is Gaby of Whats Gaby Cooking, Minty and her mom, Lucy, of Ladles and Jellyspoons, and Paulette of Girl+Fire.

Photo courtesy of Erika Kerekes

And the winner is Paulette of Girl+Fire !! and her pie adorned with pesto, mozzarella, pancetta, caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, bread crumbs and a honey-balsamic drizzle. I voted for this pie as my first choice. It was so good. In fact, it is on the menu at both restaurants this week, if you’d like to taste it also.

And second place went to Greg of SippitySup for his pizza with caramelized onions, goat cheese, pancetta and balsamic vinegar. Yea, Greg!

The third place winner was Lucy of Ladles and Jellyspoons for her butternut squash, gorgonzola, mozzarella and sage pie. Doesn’t that look delicious?

Here on the left you can see Greg of Sippitysup and Pam of My Man’s Belly waiting for the pies to be baked. Pams pie featured marinara, meat balls, pepperoni and mushrooms. What a great combination. Yum. On the right is Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen and Kim of Rustic Garden Bistro. Erika’s pie was adorned with figs, goat cheese, bacon, olives and rosemary and it smelled so divine!

Sitting next to me at the table was Mr. Rustic Garden Bistro (aka Barry). As we were served a little slice of each pie, Mr. RGB took one big bite and then carefully placed the slices in perfect layers around his plate. What kind of clue is this about you, Barry?

And here is our group, photo courtesy of Rosti Tuscan Kitchen. I was so stuffed with pizza. Together, the eleven of us polished off eleven pizzas. Groan. Those pizzas were so delicious… every one really was a winner. Thank you all for such a great event!

By the way, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen recently started offering gluten free and vegan menu items… and a monthly pizza contest, which you can find on the Rosti Facebook page. If you win, you get free pizza for a year!

Where to find Rosti:

Santa Monica: 931 Montana Ave at 10^th Street, 310-393-3236

Encino: 16350 Ventura Blvd near Havenhurst, 818-995-7179

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Shredded Potato Crust and the Top 10 Googled Recipes

Lynne — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:25:59 +0000

If you have been following along with me, you know I am fascinated with the search engine terms people use to get to my blog. So the other day I asked Google what the most googled food recipes are. Apparently there aren’t any lists compiled for 2010 yet, but there were several lists for 2009 that I thought were really interesting. For instance:

Top 10 Most Googled in U.S. in 2009
(per Serious Eats)

Chili
Meatloaf
Cheesecake
Banana Bread
Pancakes
Salsa
Hummus
Lasagna
Apple Pie
Meatball

Top 10 in Australia in 2009
(Brisbane Times)

Pancakes
Banana Cake
Banana Bread
Scones
Pumpkin Soup
Quiche
Cheesecake
Fried Rice
Tiramisu
Pavlova

Top 10 in U.K. 2009
(The Sunday Times UK)

Butternut Squash Soup
Fondant Potatoes
Banana Bread
How to cook perfect Steak
Cauliflower Cheese
Eton Mess
Homemade Garlic Bread
Potato Dauphinoise
Coronation Chicken
Blueberry Muffins

So far from these lists I have Chili, Meatloaf, Cheesecake, Pancakes, Quiche and Banana Bread recipes on my blog. I also have a recipe for Maple Pecan Bread which is a very similar quick bread. Do you notice that all of these recipes are for everyday comfort foods? And Banana Bread is on all three lists.

I was intrigued as to what Eton Mess was and found it is an English desert made up of strawberries, broken meringue cookies and whipped cream.

Fondant Potatoes are cut in a barrel shape, poached in chicken broth until it is a glaze, then roasted in the oven until crisp and brown.

Cauliflower Cheese is a cauliflower gratin made with cheddar cheese. Similar to mac and cheese.

Coronation Chicken is a mayonnaise-based chicken salad usually flavored with curry powder and eaten cold as a salad or on sandwiches.

So now I’m adding another quiche recipe and it’s a really good one. I love the shredded potato crust and the peppery green salad on top. This is perfect for a light lunch, brunch or a starter for a special meal. I cut it in serving size pieces, wrapped them in plastic wrap in a zip-close bag and froze them. Today I microwaved my portion for about 3 minutes, covered, and it was as good as when it came out of the oven. I just love food you can freeze!

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Shredded Potato Crust

Serves 4 as entrée

3 tablespoons butter
4 Idaho Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled
½ cup finely minced onion
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Two 5-ounce containers fresh baby spinach, stems removed
¼ cup water
8 ounces mushrooms, ¼-inch slices
3 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup milk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salad
4 cups mixed whole arugula and Italian parsley leaves, plus other herbs of your choice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoon sherry vinegar, or your vinegar of choice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate with 1 tablespoon (or less) butter.

2. Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the potatoes. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, onion, cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer the potato mixture to the skillet and pat into a 10-inch disk. Cook about 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown.

4. Loosen potatoes and place pie plate top side down onto crust. Flip over, browned side up, onto the pie plate. Using your palm, move crust so edges are even around rim of plate. Bake about 20 minutes.

5. While the crust is baking, heat the skillet over high heat. Add the spinach and ¼ cup water. Keep turning with a tongs until completely wilted. When cool enough to touch, squeeze out as much water as possible by hand, then wrap in paper towels and squeeze again. Chop in small pieces. Reserve.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until brown and liquid has evaporated, stirring several times, about 10 minutes.

7. Add the spinach to the mushrooms and season with salt. Put half of the spinach mushroom mixture in the crust, sprinkle the Swiss cheese evenly over, then the parmesan. Put the remaining spinach mixture on top.

8. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, egg whites, milk, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoons pepper and nutmeg. Pour over the filling in the pie plate. Elevate the top mushrooms that are submerged so they will show when finished. Think presentation.

9. Bake 20-25 minutes until set. Let cool about 20 minutes before cutting.

10. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the salad greens and toss to coat.

11. Cut quiche into quarters, place on serving plates and top each with 1 cup of salad. Eat!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Spinach & Feta Quiche with Kalamata Olive Tapenade and the Food Bloggers LA July Meeting

Lynne — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:37:32 +0000

Last Saturday the FBLA (Food Bloggers Los Angeles) group got together to eat, talk and discuss. It is so much fun to be with this group and just talk about food blogging, and nobody thinks you’re boring or crazy. Everyone brought food for the buffet, and it was a delicious spread. I brought the Spinach and Feta Quiche with Kalamata Olive Tapenade and here is a mosaic of the dishes everyone brought.

After stuffing ourselves on our magnificent food, Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk led a discussion on the relationship between food bloggers and PR reps – the ethics, how to get ads, how to get sponsorship, etc. We talked about what you can and can’t do if you have a personal sponsorship when you attend a conference or event. Also what you can offer your personal sponsor. We also talked about ways to promote our blogs, such as sending out newsletters.

The smart and talented bloggers who attended this very interesting and informative meeting were:

Adair of Lentil Breakdown
Agi of One More Bite
Cheryl of Black Girl Chefs Whites
Dorothy of Shockingly Delicious
Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen
Gisele of Small Pleasures Catering/painperdu
Greg of SippitySup
Nancy of A Communal Table
Patti of Worth the Whisk
Suz of You Can’t Eat What?

We will be having a meeting in August, so if you are a food blogger who lives in Los Angeles and would like to attend, let me know. I’ll get the information to you.

Spinach & Feta Quiche with Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Note: If you are serving this as an entrée, the tart slices can be set on a bed of Tomato or Marinara Sauce of your choice. This makes a beautiful presentation and adds another dimension to the wonderful flavors.

425 F / 375 F
11-inch tart pan

Pastry
3 cups (15oz) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (8oz) (2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
6-8 tablespoons ice water
¾ cup (3oz) shredded Swiss cheese

Spinach Filling
2 packages (10oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion or shallots
10 green onions, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup (1oz) chopped fresh dill
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half cream
½ cup heavy (double) cream
¼ pound (4oz) feta cheese, preferably French

Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Tomato or Marinara Sauce, if using

1. To make the pastry, in a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. In a small bowl, using a fork, beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of the ice water. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture and 2 more tablespoons ice water. Using the fork, mix lightly, adding more ice water as needed until the mixture holds together. Pat into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

4. On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry into a round about 3/8-inches thick. Transfer to an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, fitting snugly into sides and bottom. Run rolling pin over top edge of tart pan and remove excess dough. There will be enough excess for another small tart. Cover the outside of the tart pan with aluminum foil, to prevent leaking in your oven. Prick the bottom in several places with a fork. Press a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side down, onto the crust, and freeze for about 30 minutes.

5. Bake the foil-lined pastry shell for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the crust looks dull, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the Swiss cheese.

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

7. Meanwhile, make the filling: Drain the spinach and squeeze dry in paper towels. Remove any large stems and thoroughly chop the spinach. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Add the yellow and green onions and garlic, and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes.

8. Add the spinach and sauté, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until completely wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the dill and pepper and continue sautéing for about 2 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasonings: the mixture should taste peppery. Let cool for 5-6 minutes.

9. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then whisk in the half-and-half and cream. Crumble the feta cheese into the spinach and stir in the cream mixture. Pour into the prebaked shell. It will look like there is too much filling, but it really fits perfectly. Move the solids towards the tart rim.

10. Bake until the filling is puffed and light brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes.

11. Cut into serving-size pieces and spread each with Kalamata Olive Tapenade. Serve. Pass extra tapenade in a small bowl.

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Makes about 1 cup

1 1/4 cup black Kalamata olives with pits, yielding 1 packed cup of olive meat
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
4 large leaves basil, minced (1 tablespoon)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon orange zest (optional)

1. Remove pits from olives.

2. Place all ingredients in a mini food processor and process until a paste is formed.

3. Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate until needed. Will keep three to four weeks.

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Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

Lynne — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:19:13 +0000

A Patriotic Family Picnic was the theme last Saturday for the cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. Grace-Marie said she wanted to choose recipes from the four corners of our country, so we had the pleasure of Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread, California Coast Grilled Vege Picnic Salad, Alabama Back Roads BBQ Chicken and Maine Countryside Blueberries and Lemon Cream Bars. These are all homey recipes that are perfect for a picnic or BBQ and, in fact, the salad and chicken have grilled ingredients, so you get those smoky, charred flavors. This bread can be reheated on the grill and the Blueberry Lemon Cream Bars are totally portable. Let’s take our picnic to the park or the beach right now, shall we?

The truly spectacular thing about this bread is that under the crisp, browned, toasted top layer of cheddar cheese is a soft gooey cheesy layer full of garlicky ham and onions. The mayonnaise, mustard and hot sauce give the cheese mixture an interesting complex flavor that just makes you go Mmmmm. And to make it more wonderful, the original soft bottom crust of the bread becomes crispy, with the soft bread inside. You have to make this bread!

Here’s what the topping looks like before it goes in the oven.

And here is what it look likes when it comes out of the oven.

I am just doing the Gooey Cheddar Bread today, and I will be doing another post about the other recipes in the near future. Stay tuned.

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread

Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups red onions – diced small
1 cup ham – diced small (or cooked bacon, or pancetta)
2 tablespoons garlic – minced
To season – Kosher or sea salt & ground black pepper

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons hot sauce (any favorite)

½ pound (8 ounces) cheddar cheese – shredded
1 cup green onions – very thinly sliced (or chives)

Warm the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, ham and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until the onions are very soft. Cool in the skillet until slightly warm.

Combine the mayonnaise, dry mustard and hot sauce with the slightly cooled skillet mixture.

Fold in the cheese and green onions.

Bread
1 loaf French or Italian Bread – sliced in half lengthwise.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the bread, cut side up, onto the baking sheet. Spread a thick layer of the topping mixture over the bread.

Bake until the bread has toasted and the topping has melted, about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

Serve
Cut into slices and serve warm or room temperature.

Note: Can be made ahead and reheated on the grill (nestled in foil) or in an oven (on a baking sheet).

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Roasted Red Pepper & Provolone Sandwiches

Lynne — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:06:41 +0000

I don’t usually take a photo of what I eat for lunch, because it’s probably pretty pedestrian. A bowl of soup, a container from the freezer heated up, Burger King. The other day I was going through the freezer and I found some corndogs. Had a couple with Frenches mustard. They were ok. But today..oh man…my sandwich was totally photogenic. So out came the camera.

But there is a story behind this sandwich:

In the recent past I got on this sun-dried tomato kick, especially sun-dried tomato tapenade. I regularly bought these little jars of sun-dried tomatoes in the produce department at Ralph’s market to use in my recipes. They were the best I had ever found. Then one day they were gone, replaced by jarred generic artichoke hearts. I was devastated. I looked all over the store, but they truly were gone.

There were several other brands in different places in the store, so I bought four different ones to see if any would suffice. I was going to use the last jar today, so I opened it up, and lo and behold, it was a jar of roasted red peppers. Must have been adjacent. Well, they were red. I had to think fast for a way to use them and this recipe I’ve had for about twenty years came into my mind. I had all the ingredients, so I made it. Photographed it. And ate it. It was really good.

Roasted Red Pepper, Basil & Provolone Sandwiches

Do NOT use jarred roasted red peppers for this recipe. If you do I’ll have to ban you from my website forever. Roast in the oven, grill or flame char, yes. Jar, no no no. Please.

4 sandwiches

¼ cup olive oil, or more as needed
1 large garlic clove, pressed, or more to taste

8 slices French or Italian bread baguettes, cut diagonally into ½-inch slices
6 slices provolone cheese
2-3 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded and cut in 1-inch strips
1 bunch of fresh basil, sliced thin

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Mix garlic with oil. Lightly brush baking sheet with some of the oil mixture.

3. Place half of the bread slices on prepared sheet. Place half of the cheese on bread slices. Top with roasted red peppers. Cover each with a generous amount of the shredded basil.

4. Top with remaining cheese and bread slices. Brush tops with garlic oil.

5. Bake sandwiches uncovered until bottoms are golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Turn sandwiches over and brush with more of the oil, as needed.

6. Return to oven and bake until second sides are golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Cut in half with a serrated knife. Serve hot or room temperature. Or cut crosswise into 1-inch slices for an appetizer.

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