Crustless Swiss Quiche with Bacon & Spinach

"A quiche is basically a frittata poured into a pastry shell." ... or not. Today we enjoyed a crustless version so, by definition, did that make it a frittata instead of a quiche? I don't know, don't really care, since the quiche pan held a deliciously loaded custardy something we both enjoyed. Filled with bacon, swiss cheese, spinach and green onions, it was a well-received taste treat. Who says real men don't eat quiche? RL loved it.

Quiche Lorraine was the darling of the menu for ladies-who-lunched in the 60's; a light but rich, sparsely filled, one crust custardlike pie. Over time I recall it morphing into a dense, custardy casserole filled with unusual ingredients and baked in a soggy crust. Not an improvement. Thus my preference for crustless quiches, or it might be my utter lack of the pie-crust baking gene.

We enjoyed half of this quiche/frittata served warm at lunch, and some remaining wedges served chilled the next day. Maybe next time I'll play with a pie crust... or not. 
      

Crustless Swiss Quiche with Bacon & Spinach

8 luncheon servings, 4 main dish

6 strips streaky bacon, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 bunch spinach, rough chopped
1 generous cup swiss cheese, shredded (or cut in smallish chunks)
5 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt & white pepper, to taste

Prehea the oven to 375 degrees F.

Use a large skillet and cook the bacon until done, but not super crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked bacon to an 8 or 9-inch quiche pan. Remove all but 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat from the skillet. Add the onions and spinach to the skillet and heat until wilted. Layer evenly on top of the cooked bacon. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top of the spinach.

Whisk together the eggs, dairy, & seasonings. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the layered fillings. Place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer or until the center is just set. Remove from the oven, let cool for several minutes to firm up; cut and serve warm. 

Sweet Potato - Fully Loaded

Inspired by a photo in Diana Henry's cookbook Simple, one lone sweet potato hanging out in the crisper became 'Breakfast for Dinner'. Containers of caramelized mushrooms and braised kale already lurked in the fridge along with several links of chorizo sausage, making this a quick cook. The recipe called for an accompaniment of baby spinach leaves, but the earthy bite of braised kale better balanced the potato's sweetness and the mushrooms' savory umami. Topped with a soft-yolk cooked egg, each bite was an ooey-gooey, savory-sweet delight.

This deceptively simple, boldly flavored dish was nearly effortless to construct, reflective of Henry's desire to offer a book of low-effort food ideas.

"What we mostly lack are ideas. That's what I tried to give... here. You don't have to be a chef. I'm not. You just need some inspiration to help you turn the ordinary--the building blocks of meals--into something special."

Simple inspiration comes through text and photos, most of Henry's recipes offering suggestions of alternate ingredients, plating notions or food pairings. So far I have played with recipes in chapters on Toast, Pasta & Grains, and Vegetables, adapting each to suit our palate and available ingredients. 

Loaded potatoes are nothing new, but this loaded sweet potato was indeed 'something special', perfect for any time of the day, even Breakfast for Dinner.

Cooking notes (suggestions rather than a recipe)

Bake or microwave a sweet potato in your regular manner. Split lengthwise and squish slightly to open up the inside (I sliced lengthwise into halves for 2 portions). Place on serving dish.

While the sweet potato is cooking, or ahead of time:

 - Heat butter and/or olive oil in a saute pan; add mushrooms (cut into thin wedges or slices) and cook until they give up their juices; continue cooking until liquid evaporates.   

 - Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat; add 3 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup diced onion and cook until soft. Add 1/2 bunch of destemmed lacinato kale, coarsely chopped and 1/2 cup stock or water. Toss to coat greens, then cover and cook until softened and wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook until liquid evaporates. Toss with a heavy splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. 

Top the cooked sweet potato with a generous amount of the mushrooms and kale.

Add cooked coins of chorizo, or your favorite spicy sausage. 

Top with an egg or two, cooked with the yolk left soft and runny. This egg was fried...

...and this egg was poached. Mmmmm, good either way.

Japanese Cabbage and Shrimp Pancakes - Okonomiyaki revisited

My iPhone camera roll is out of control! Too many pictures in too few albums make it impossible to locate anything quickly. Last week I decided to tackle the disorganized mess, discard the surplus shots and organize the rest. Like several other ambitious plans, an enthusiastic start soon bogged down in the details. Progress slowed as I gazed at each shot, flooded with memories of the occasion. So many photos recalled special friends, fun adventures, brief moments of scenic beauty, tasty meals, etc. Gazillions of shots still need organizing, but I did find a cache of food photos, perfect for menu planning inspiration. Those colorful restaurant food shots reminded me of countless tasty meals, prompting an online search for recipes. 

Photo: Okonomiyaki plate at Arnie's in Edmonds

This amazing okonomiyaki luncheon plate shown above, an October 2014 daily special from Arnie's in Edmonds, topped my newly-inspired "must make" list. Two airy pancakes, plated atop braised spinach and a puddle of tangy sauce were so tasty I didn't want to share a single bite... though I probably offered, just to be polite. 

This week Hilary ran across the okonomiyaki recipe in my Food52 cookbook and recalled enjoying this Osaka specialty treat during a recent trip to Japan. 

I have made these savory cabbage and shrimp pancakes before (link), but wasn't thrilled with the results. Now, with renewed photo inspiration and a kitchen helper, it was time to revisit this delicious savory treat.

Hilary mixed the ingredients, aiming for a loose egg batter that would produce crispy, crepe-like pancakes. Ron grabbed a spatula and joined the party at the stove. We soon had two skillets heating on the cooktop, the oven warmed and a bowl of dipping sauce mixed and set aside. Let the okonomiyaki cookoff begin. 

The most successful technique involved adding 1/4 cup batter to a hot, oiled skillet and smooshing it out flat with a large spoon. Flatter pancakes cooked more evenly and were much easier to flip than those that held mounds of filling.

The smooth surface of the cast iron pan accounted for easy release and flipping, while the small ridges on the bottom of a Circulon skillet resisted releasing the pancakes. Messy, but doable.
  

We ended up with plump pancakes rather than flat, crispy edged crepes. No matter. The pancakes were delicious; tangy, crunchy, eggy little disks packed through with toothsome cabbage and shrimp. Tasty enough on their own, their flavor really popped with the addition of the dipping sauce. Hilary added more sriracha, Ron reached for the sweet Thai chili sauce, and I claimed more dipping sauce for myself. Win, win.

The iPhone camera roll still awaits organization, but now I'm eagerly looking for the next food inspiration as I begin to sort through the photos. 

Cabbage and Shrimp Pancakes - aka Okonomiyaki

based on a recipe at Food52.com

Yield: 12 medium pancakes

Pancakes:

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons lime Ponzu (or soy sauce and a splash of lime juice)

1 teaspoon hot sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional, I find the Ponzu salty enough)

1/3 cup AP flour

2 cups thinly sliced cabbage shreds (we substituted 1/2 cup carrot shreds and red cabbage for some of the green cabbage) 

6 green onions, sliced thin

1 cup salad shrimp (or chop larger shrimp into small pieces)

Minced pickled red ginger, to taste (optional, but it adds a nice bite)

Canola oil for the skillet
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Dipping sauce*

1. Whisk together the dipping sauce ingredients and set aside while you make the pancakes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 F, to hold the finished pancakes as you make several batches.
3. Using a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Ponzu, spicy sesame oil and salt. Add the flour in several batches, whisking to blend completely after each addition. Fold in the cabbage, green onions, shrimp and pickled ginger(optional).
4. Drop a few tablespoons of canola oil into a cast iron or nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Give the batter another stir or two to mix in any egg mixture that might have settled out; add a heaping serving spoon of batter to the pan. Smooth out the batter to an even thickness, tidy up the edges, and cook for several minutes until golden brown. Flip carefully and cook a few more minutes until the second side is golden brown. Keep warm, covered, in the oven as you work with the remaining batter.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup lite Best Foods mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lime Ponzu sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha, adjust more or less to your own taste (we recommend more)

Note: use as a dipping sauce or add to a squirt bottle and squeeze over the pancakes.

Cheese, Chorizo and Onion Frittata with Za'atar

Yes, it's one more frittata recipe, I'm averaging about one per year recently:
2011 Pasta Frittata, 
2012 Vegetable Frittata, and mini Frittata Muffins, 
2013 Tex-Mex Pasta Frittata, and now today's concoction.

 I can't help myself, I love these easy-to-prepare, make-them-with-my-eyes-closed, tasty breakfast dishes. Frittatas are so versatile, adapting to whatever is in the fridge for a casual family meal or starring as the favorite item in a company brunch buffet. 

Easy to cook? Yes, super easy because I use the cooktop-plus-oven method. You could get fancy and flip the entire thing over to cook the second side; it's not a big deal and I've done that before. Flipping means turning the partially set frittata upside down on another plate and sliding it back into the skillet to finish cooking. It does require some careful attention and a steady hand... or a bit of luck. Pick your favorite method, the frittata will be delicious either way.

An Everything Frittata

Serves 2-4, depending on appetites

Fillings: 

1 small onion, diced
1 small potato, cooked and diced (or rice or pasta)
1 link Chorizo sausage, diced (or bacon or other meat)
1 Roma tomato, diced
And/or any other tasty vegetables or other items you find in the fridge

Seasonings:
1 heaping teaspoon seasoning; think assertive herbs and spices like za'atar, oregano, basil, smoked paprika, cumin, ground chili, etc.
salt and pepper, to taste

Basic Frittata Mixture:
1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheese (mix of hard cheese & melting cheese)
4 large eggs (or 3 eggs plus some liquid egg white mix)

Directions:

1. Sauté & season the filling: Use a nonsitck skillet and cook the chorizo (or other meat) first. Discard most of the chorizo oil. Add the onion and potatoes and cook until the onion bits are softened and the potato has begun to brown. Stir in the tomato and seasonings and heat until warm. Taste and adjust seasonings; remember that this flavoring will stretch to include the egg/cheese mixture as well.

2. Add the Cheese: Spread the vegetables into an even layer; scatter 2/3 of the cheese on top and let it just start to melt.

3. Add the Eggs: Whisk the eggs and pour them over the filling and cheese; stir to incorporate. Cook until the eggs begin to set at the bottom and along the edges of the pan, pushing in the edges and tilting the pan to flow the liquid egg from the center onto the outer edges around the pan. When the liquid no longer runs move the pan into the oven.

4. Bake the Frittata: Put the entire pan into the oven and cook  until the eggs are nearly set. (Check by slicing into the center of the frittata.) Scatter the remaining cheese on top and return to the oven to finish cooking, but don't overcook. To crisp the top, broil for a minute or two until the cheese melts and begins to brown. Cool for several minutes before slicing into wedges. 

Serve with salsa, kimchi, sour cream or your favorite other accompaniments. Leftovers, if any, will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator. Enjoy them at room temperature or chilled.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs with a Lox Rosette

A Spring 2015 Brunch Menu

Mention a celebration brunch and I immediately envision Eggs Benedict with extra Hollandaise... Sticky Buns dripping with caramel... Onion Bagels loaded with Lox and Cream Cheese... Creampuffs... Shrimp and Creamy Cheese Grits... Oh, how that list goes on. This year I aimed for a lighter menu when planning a brunch with friends to welcome Spring. Reality check: Pat prefers healthy meals and Rick is training for an April IronMan triathlon, so I lost any real excuse to get wild and crazy with butter and sugar. Okay, that also meant I would spend less time on last-minute cooking and more time visiting with guests - always a good thing.   

Not that every item was light and low calorie (think ham-and-cheese filled croissant with herb sauce), but the buffet did offer a variety of choices; hopefully something for everyone. Conversation flourished, the hours flew by, and Spring joined the party with a fine display of ever-changing weather. 

Brunch Menu: Spring 2015

Smoked Salmon Squares

Caprese Salad with a Light Vinaigrette

*Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs With Lox

Fresh Fruit Platter with Minty Honey Lime Sauce

Baked Croissants with Ham, Havarti, Sliced Pear & Herb Sauce

Mini Cheese Quiches with Peppers, Spinach & Chicken Sausage

Orange Juice (Champagne available)

Coffee

My favorite brunch choice? I thought it would be the small croissant sandwiches, but instead I ate more than my share of the deviled eggs. That shouldn't have been a surprise when both smoked salmon and lox were involved! The filling was an unusual flavor departure from any of my previous favorites (link), but why stick to just one filling when so many tempting recipes are available? (link) 

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs Plus Lox

adapted from a recipe in a SeriousEats post by J. Kenji López-Alt: 9 In-Your-Face Deviled Egg Variations

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 heaping tablespoons cream cheese (reduced fat)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (Best Foods lite)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon, grated

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (Colman's)
1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds, plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon toasted onion powder (not onion salt)
heaping 1/4 cup minced smoked salmon
Kosher Salt

For garnish:
Thinly sliced scallions 

Paper-thin slices of lox, cut into strips and rolled into rosettes

Capers, rinsed and drained

Directions:
Place all of the yolks in a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, dry mustard, sesame seeds, onion powder, and smoked salmon to the yolks. Use a sturdy whisk or a fat fork and combine thoroughly -mash, stir and whip together until thoroughly combined. Season with salt to taste.



Note: To prepare these ahead of time, the filling and egg white halves can be stored separately overnight in covered containers in the refrigerator before filling. (Place the egg white halves cut-side-down in a single layer.) 

If you have a steady hand, use a spoon to fill each egg white half. For a more attractive result spoon the filling into a ziplock bag, cut off a corner of the bag and pipe the yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Either way, mount the filling to slightly overstuff each cavity. Garnish each deviled egg with sesame seeds, scallion rings, capers and a lox rosette. Serve immediately.

A Lighter Lox Omelet

Lox - there's still one small chunk remaining in the fridge, part of the summer's salmon catch. I woke up thinking about that treasure, considering how to enjoy it this morning. So many choices! It's hard to beat the classic combination of thinly sliced lox piled on a fresh bagel, loaded with layers of cream cheese, red onion, capers, and a bit of dill weed. Each bite is salty, sour and tangy, smoothly creamy yet chewy, and downright delicious. Those same ingredients (minus the bagel) plus some added bacon and soft cheese, translate well into the richly satisfying Lox Omelet Loaded With Flavor (link). Rich, however, isn't always a good thing, not if I want to fit in my jeans instead of sweatpants. 

Here's today's lighter version of that favorite breakfast dish, still tasty and satisfying but a lot less filling.

Photo: Omelet ingredients without any bacon or meltable cheese.

Photo: It's important to slice the lox super thin.

Photo:Barely-set omelet topped with slivers of lox, sliced onion, capers and a sprinkle of dill weed.

Photo: Lighter Lox Omelet topped with sour cream and a few more slices of lox on the side.

A Lighter Lox Omelet

2 eggs (I used 2 eggs + an extra egg white)

Sprinkle of dill weed (NOT dill seed)
a splash of milk
lox (smoked salmon) torn into piecesthin slices of onion

1 tsp capers, rinsed & drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Sour cream for topping (optional)

1. Whisk eggs, egg white if using, dill weed and milk together in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat a medium nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and as it melts, rotate the pan to spread it out. Add the egg mixture and let it cook undisturbed for a bit to set the bottom. After the bottom begins to firm up, use a spatula to gently push the sides toward the center, tilting the pan to let the liquids run out to the edge.  
3. While the center is still somewhat moist but liquid no longer flows, scatter the pieces of salmon, onions and capers over the top. Season with salt and pepper, then fold one side over the other to form an omelette.
4. Serve topped with sour cream and sprinkle the top with a bit more dill weed. Add a toasted mini bagel if you need some crunch.

Eggs in a Lacy Nest

Does this look familiar? It might if you read seen my earlier three-recipe post for an April 2011 Daring Cooks' Challenge: Edible Containers. Today, two weeks before Easter, with the inevitable excess of hard boiled eggs, seems the perfect time to revisit this recipe. 

Stuffed eggs, deviled eggs, are standard fare in many kitchens but the twice-cooked preparation sets these beauties apart. Imagine eggs stuffed with your favorite filling, cooked cut-side down in butter until the edges crisp and caramelize.... mmmmmm, delicious! Serve them nestled on a bed of lightly-dressed greens inside a frico nest for a first course worthy of company... or just plate a few to enjoy all by yourself. Try them; if you love eggs you will thank me for this repost.

Prepare the eggs:

Cook the eggs, cool completely and peel carefully. Use your favorite savory deviled egg stuffing recipe or search online for a new twist (link). I  favor a Dijon mustard/mayo combination with a hint of dill pickle relish, capers and some minced green onions and parsley blended in with the egg yolks. Taste and adjust to suit your own palate. Fill the empty halves only to the top of the whites, patting the stuffing down gently and leveling the surface.

(You can stuff the eggs a day ahead and hold, covered, in the fridge until you are ready to sauté them, a nice do-ahead feature when serving a crowd.)

Bake the cheese nests: 

Mound 1/8 cup grated fresh Parmesan on a silpat-covered cookie sheet; tap down with a tablespoon and smooth into a thin circle.
Bake at 375 F until golden and bubbly, but don’t overcook to the browned stage.
Remove from the oven; quickly mold over an upturned glass, or place inside a muffin tin and gently press down with the bottom of a thin glass to form into a bowl.
Let it cool until firm, about 5 minutes.
Repeat for more nests. 

(These should hold, covered, at room temperature for a day, though I've not tried it. Kitchen elves would eat them if left unattended in my galley.)

Saute the stuffed eggs:
Heat a pat of butter in a skillet and sear the flat, filled side of the eggs until just browned. Do not cook the rounded side. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan and place, filled-side up, on a crispy cheese nest filled with lightly-dressed baby greens. 

This sautéed egg sits atop a crisp bacon rosette, adding a special note to a brunch dish... and who can resist bacon? A sprinkle of paprika would add a colorful finish. 

Potato Hash with Brussels Sprouts and Fennel

I am easily influenced by the many tempting recipes and photos I find online. This week is a perfect example, and the reason I am making hash for breakfast... again. I should stay out of the kitchen for a couple of weeks, the 30 stitches in my right arm need time to heal, but left-handed chopping works if I'm very slow and careful. 

This post for potato and Brussels sprouts hash (by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats) launched my renewed interest in hash, and then Joy the Baker's mushroom and sprouts recipe and photos finished me off completely. I really, really craved a skillet of crispy, savory hash. All that left was the question of potatoes or mushrooms. I already knew there should be bacon involved. "Mushroom and Maybe Potato Hash with Bacon, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Onions and of course, Bacon and Topped With Eggs", might be a bit too long for a catchy blog post title, but it sounded heavenly to me. 

Reality set in. There were w-a-y too many ingredients to incorporate into just one skillet of hash, and my favorite cast iron skillet is only 8 inches wide. Those delicious individual flavors would be lost in the scrum. An obvious solution was to cook different combinations and play with the ingredients over several days. No problem there, I can make hash day after day after day. Several of my hash recipes are already posted here and here, though I usually create each new skilletful off the cuff.

Skillet One began with a riff off Kenji's vegetarian recipe. It combined potatoes, Brussels sprouts, onion, fennel with some non-vegetarian chicken andouille sausage. Then salt and pepper, fresh basil and parsley, lemon zest and smoked salt joined the mix. What? no bacon? No, I thought the smoked salt might handle that flavor component. I topped my serving with an oven-baked egg and, as usual, RL went with hash, no egg, and an overly generous dollop of salsa on top.

Photo: Cooked Yukon Gold potatoes drain and cool

Photo:Fennel, andouille, parsley, Brussels sprouts and onion; missing are the basil, lemon and smoked salt

Photo: Vegetables join the skillet of browned potatoes

Photo: The hash is ready for eggs and a finish in the oven

The result: The hash was pleasant enough, and we cheerfully ate every bit of it. Though filling and fine for a family breakfast, it was not special enough for a company meal. It was just... hash. I love fennel, but could not locate it as a separate, licoricey taste. Even the sprouts were quite mildly well behaved. Smoked salt was a major flavor hit as a finish, but that's no surprise. I'm tempted to drop the smoked salt and the andouille next time, and substitute smoked bacon instead for the delicious salty/smokey/fat combination that I missed. Or maybe I'll just move on to a mushroom and sprouts hash, ignoring the potatoes a la Joy the Baker. Next time I guarantee, there will be bacon.

Potato Hash with Brussels Sprouts and Fennel

2 generous servings

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, 3/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
6-8 large Brussels sprouts, sliced thin vertically or shredded
1 link spicy chicken Andouille sausage, diced (optional)
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thin vertically
1 small white onion, diced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, rough chopped
1/8 cup basil, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs (optional)
smoked salt to finish

Preheat the oven to 425 f. Slice and dice the vegetables, sausage, and herbs. Zest and juice the lemon. Combine the parsley, basil and lemon zest; place in a small bowl and set aside. Now you're ready to cook.

Put the diced potatoes into a small pan, cover with generously salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a rolling simmer and cook until barely tender (about 3 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers, but don't let it smoke. Add the drained potatoes and spread into a single layer. Add salt and pepper to your liking and let the potatoes cook undisturbed for several minutes until their bottoms begin to brown. Turn and cook until browned on most surfaces (this will take roughly 5 minutes). Be gentle when you turn the taters, you don't want to mash them.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the sausage (if you're using it), shredded sprouts and fennel to the skillet and cook for 2 or 3 minutes to warm and soften the leaves. (If you did not use spicy sausage, this is the time to add a dash or two of your favorite hot sauce.) Add the onion and cook, turning over occasionally until the vegetables just begin to get crispy. 

Remove  from the heat, stir in half of the lemon zest, parsley and basil mix. Use a large tablespoon or ladle to press 2 depressions in the hash and gently break an egg into each spot. Place the skillet in the preheated 425 f oven  and bake until the eggs are done to your preference (whites are set sufficiently after 4 minutes in my oven).

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with lemon juice and the remaining lemon zest, parsley and basil mix. Serve and top each serving with a sprinkle of smoked salt. Have bowls of hot sauce, salsa and/or sour cream available.