Baking is one of my favorite ways to cook. Don't get me wrong, I still love my skillet, but there is just something about mixing everything together at leisure and then sitting back while it undergoes a magical process in the oven to become something amazing. For this meal I made three quiches with different special ingredients as well as a very well received salad. Start with the pie crusts, then the special fillings, then make the quiche. While the quiches are baking there is plenty of time to make the salad and clean up the kitchen.
To make the quiche gluten free I tossed with Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour and poured the quiche mixture into metal baking cups to create individual quiches without crusts (make sure to remove the paper). For a low lactose version of the quiche, I used lactose free milk and an aged cheddar (aged cheeses have minuscule amounts of lactose because lactose breaks down over time; so if you're lactose intolerant, stick to the hard and aged cheeses).
Pie Crust
(makes 3 crusts)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
7-10 Tbs cold water
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Sift flour if you live in a humid area and have clumps.
3. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour (I just use my hands to combine the butter and the flour, making sure that the flour covers the butter as I squeeze it until there are no lumps of butter).
4. Add water until the dough is able to form a ball that doesn't fall apart.
5. Divide into three parts and roll out each part on a flat surface until the dough is able to cover a pie tin.
6. Carefully lay dough into a pie tin and remove excess. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom and sides.
7. Bake pie crust until it begins to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Quiche Filling #1
Ingredients:
1 orange bell pepper seeded and diced
4 pieces of prosciutto broken into small pieces
1 Tbs olive oil
Preparation:
1. Heat oil in skillet over high heat until it smells like olives, but isn't smoking.
2. Add bell pepper and jostle the pieces so they don't burn until they smell cooked (2-5 minutes)
3. Remove from heat and place into a pie shell along with prosciutto pieces.
Quiche Filling #2
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
3 Tbs chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tbs olive oil
Preparation:
1. Heat oil in skillet over high heat until it smells like olives, but isn't smoking.
2. Add spinach and jostle the pieces so they don't burn until they release water smell cooked (2-3 minutes)
3. Remove from heat, drain liquid and place into a pie shell along with sun-dried tomato pieces.
Quiche Filling #3
Ingredients:
2 precooked sausages cut lengthwise then sliced along the length to create small pieces (I used Aidells Mango Sausages)
1 package of sliced cremini mushrooms
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs cooking sherry
Preparation:
1. Heat oil in skillet over high heat until it smells like olives, but isn't smoking.
2. Add mushrooms and sausages and jostle the pieces so they don't burn, until they start to smell cooked (2-5 minutes)
3. Add cooking sherry and continue to jostle until all of the liquid has evaporated
4. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes.
5. Drain excess liquid and place into a pie shell.
Quiche Recipe
makes 1 quiche, so do it three times unless you have a really huge bowl
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
dash of salt and pepper
pie crust
filling (go wild with this, above are just a few examples, just make sure the items are cooked first and that you don't use too much or the quiche will overflow)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl toss cheddar and flour
3. Add milk, eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper.
4. Place filling into pie crust and pour cheese mixture over filling. If your quiche is filled really high, place a baking tray under to catch any spills.
5. Bake until set (that means it doesn't giggle when gently jostled) about 50-60 minutes.
Mixed Greens Salad
serves 12
Ingredients:
1 large box of mixed herbs and greens pre-washed salad salad
2 cartons of blackberries (or raspberries or sliced strawberries, whatever looks the best)
1 carton of heirloom cherry tomatoes cut into halves (quarters for the bigger ones)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pine nuts
2-4 Tbs vinaigrette dressing to lightly cover greens
Preparation:
1. Toss greens with salad dressing in small batches so that the greens are evenly covered but not swimming in dressing.
2. Cover greens with other ingredients making sure not to toss the salad because all of the heavy items will fall to the bottom.
3. Serve as soon as possible because dressed salads don't last more than a day even in the fridge.
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