Red White and Blue Quiche

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs red onion, thinly sliced

4 oz white mushrooms, sliced

3.5 oz blue cheese, crumbled

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar

2 cups flour

3.5 oz cold butter

3/4 cup whipping cream

3 eggs

2 tsp fresh basil, chopped

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (blend of basil, marjoram, oregano, sage)

Directions:

1. Process flour and butter in food processor for 15 seconds. Add Parmesan, Italian seasonings, and 1-2 Tbsp water. Continue processing until mixture just comes together.

2. Roll dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

3. Heat oil in large pan (e.g. a wok).

4. Add brown sugar, onions, and mushrooms. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until onions are soft and slightly golden. Remove from heat.

5. Roll out dough thinly onto floured surface.

6. Fit dough into greased 8.5 inch round pan. Trim excess dough from edges. (Significant other used the end of a butter knife to make a ridged design on the edges).

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit..

8. Chill crust for additional 10 minutes.

9. In mixing bowl, whisk together whipping cream, eggs, blue cheese, basil, and black pepper.

10. Cover crust with waxed paper and bake for 10 minutes.

11. Remove waxed paper from crust and continue baking for 10 minutes until crust is lightly golden.

12. Add onion mixture to crust.

13. Pour egg mixture evenly over onions.

14. Bake for 35 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

This quiche was awesome. I don't know about you, but I love quiche. The crust was nice and flaky and delicious, and the combination of blue cheese with red onion was heavenly.

We had some friends over for dinner when we made this. I told them that I would post a picture on my blog of them enjoying this meal, so here they are:

**Edit** I named this Red White and Blue Quiche not because it's at all a patriotic dish, no, quiche actually comes from the Germany/France area of Europe, according to Wikipedia. It's red, white and blue because it contains RED onions, WHITE mushrooms, and BLUE cheese. I thought the name was adorable, myself. The recipe in my cookbook didn't call for mushrooms, I just added them because I happened to have some in the fridge. And then that little addition inspired this adorable name that even significant other didn't understand, despite the fact that he helped make this and knew all of the ingredients.

Cheese and Red Pepper Roulade with Herb Sauce

Roulade base ingredients:

butter and grated Parmesan for coating

1/4 cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup half and half

4 eggs, separated

1 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Roulade filling ingredients:

4 large red peppers

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Herb Sauce ingredients:

4 Tbsp finely chopped herbs (I used basil, cilantro, and green onion)

1 cup Greek style plain yogurt

salt and pepper, if desired

Directions:

1. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with waxed paper. Grease the paper with butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

2. In a large bowl, mix 1/4 cup cottage cheese and half and half until smooth.

3. Beat in egg yolks then stir in grated Gruyère.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Cut bell peppers into quarters; remove seeds and core.

7. Pour cheese and egg mixture into prepared pan. Bake until risen and firm in center. (12-15 minutes)

8. At the same time, put bell peppers in broiler until skin is black and blistered.

9. Place a piece of waxed paper this size of the roulade next to the oven. Sprinkle paper with Parmesan cheese.

10. Remove roulade from oven and place it upside down on waxed paper. Remove waxed paper used to line pan from the top of the roulade. Let cool.

11. Using a knife and your fingers, gently peel the skin from the bell peppers.

12. Spread cottage cheese over the roulade base, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides.

13. Cover with red peppers.

14. Roll up the roulade.

15. Place the roulade with the seam on the bottom so it cannot unroll.

16. In a small bowl, mix yogurt and fresh herbs.

17. Spread some herb sauce on a plate and place a slice of roulade on top of it. Serve immediately.

This was a nice summery meal. By letting the base and the peppers all cool down, the dish is cold when you eat it, and the sauce is cool and refreshing. We ate the leftovers the next day straight out of the fridge, which was great because we didn't have to turn on the oven or stove, which makes the kitchen unbearably hot.

My roulade didn't turn out as pretty and thick as the picture in my cookbook. Significant other thought I said to add the egg whites when I said to add the egg yolks, so our egg whites got added too soon, before we'd whipped them stiff. It didn't matter, because it still tasted delicious. As I was eating it I said, "I love this! This combines all my favorite things: eggs, cheese, and herbs!" But I claim that a lot of ingredients are my favorites, so those three things don't make up my entire list of favorite foods. I think I was just really enjoying this meal.

Lentils and Basmati Rice

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp oil

1 leek, white part only, sliced thinly

1/3 large red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tsp garam masala

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup lentils

3 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. In a separate saucepan, begin to heat up the vegetable stock.

3. Add leek, onion, garlic, and garam masala to the saucepan with the oil. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft.

4. Add rice and lentils and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Pour hot vegetable stock into mixture and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until all stock has been absorbed.

7. Garnish with green onion and cilantro and serve.

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks and realized I already had everything it called for, except for one medium white onion. I did have 1 leek and 1/3 of a red onion, so I decided that was an acceptable substitution. It was very tasty, and the garam masala in this made the kitchen smell so good while it was cooking that it made my mouth water!

Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Ingredients:

rotini or penne pasta

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

4 oz sun dried tomatoes*

2 Tbsp olive oil*

1/3 cup green onion, chopped*

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped*

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped*

*all measurements are approximate, and you should alter them to suit your own tastes or dietary needs

Instructions:

1. Place pasta in boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes or until fully cooked.

2. Drain pasta and return to pot.

3. Add herbs, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and olive oil.

4. Toss evenly and serve.

This was a quick dinner I threw together a couple of nights ago. I wanted pasta, but didn't feel like a heavy sauce, so I figured I would just throw together some good-tasting stuff with some pasta. It turned out really great. Significant other was very impressed when I told him I just made this up, it wasn't from a recipe. Maybe he was just happy because this dinner was waiting for him when he got off of work, and any food is exciting and impressive when you've been on your feet all night.

Pasta with Lemon Caper Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

cooked pasta

5 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

juice from 1 lemon

2 Tbsp capers

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Put capers in small bowl and crush half of them with a spoon. Leave the other half whole.

2. Melt butter in a pan over the stove. Add spices or herbs of choice. Suggested: thyme, rosemary, black pepper.

3. Add cream to pan before butter is completely melted. Stir together.

4. Add lemon juice and capers.

5. Stir sauce for several minutes until slightly thickened.

6. Add Parmesan and serve immediately over cooked pasta.

A couple of years ago, I was eating at Souplantation when they were having a promotional "Lemon Month" and one of the lemon dishes they served was pasta with lemon caper cream sauce. It was so delicious that I went back to Souplantation 2 more times in the same week to eat that pasta! Then I realized it would probably by really easy to make at home (and that I probably shouldn't be eating at a buffet restaurant 3 times a week). So, this is the recipe I made up to copy Souplantation. It worked out because now I can have the pasta anytime, not just during lemon month. I've made it for a several different people over the past couple of years and all have seemed to enjoy it. I love lemons! But who doesn't really?

Dessert Triangles

Ingredients:

sheets of phyllo dough

butter, melted

anything you want to fill your desserts!*

* For our fillings. we used many different combinations using ricotta mixed with sugar and Kahlua, cream cheese mixed with sugar, key lime pie filling, fresh raspberries, fresh blackberries, chocolate chips, coconut shavings, almonds, and sliced banana.

Directions:

1. Cut your phyllo dough sheet in half lengthwise.

2. Brush phyllo sheet with melted butter.

3. Near the top of the sheet, place around 2 Tbsp worth of filling.

The examples above are ricotta, almonds and chocolate chips; key lime pie filling, cream cheese and bananas; and cream cheese, melted chocolate chips, raspberries.

4. Fold the top corner of your phyllo sheet over the top of your ingredients so that it forms a triangle.

5. Continue folding your triangle until you reach the end of the strip, making sure the edges are sealed.

6. Bake in the over at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 6 minutes or until edges are brown and crispy.

7. Top with your choice of toppings (we went for caramel syrup and powdered sugar) and serve immediately.

We finally used the phyllo dough we had leftover from making the money bags. The money bags were very fragile on the bottom, especially when moist ingredients like the cooked spinach were involved. Some of them actually burst apart when we tried to move them onto our plates to eat them. I think this triangle shape is the way to go when making phyllo dough treats. It's much sturdier!

Mortar and Pestle

Every Christmas and birthday my mom asks me to make a list of things I'd like. I always oblige, but I'm not really sure why, because inevitably our phone conversation will go something like this:

Me: I emailed you my list today.

Mom: I saw. You ask for weird things.

Me: What? What's weird?

Mom: A mortar and pestle, why would you ask for that?

Me: Because I don't have one and I want one.

Mom: But... why do you want that?

Me: So I can grind up fresh spices and herbs and stuff! That's what it's for!

Mom: That's... strange.

I like practical gifts. For recent Christmas and birthday gifts I have asked for useful things such as an external hard drive to back up the files on my computer, a bicycle to bike to work, a crockpot, and a set of pots and pans.

Last weekend while visiting my grandma my mom started telling a group of family members about how her daughter always asks for "weird" gifts. (For the record, the things I asked for this time around that she found to be bizarre were a) a backpack that fits my laptop so I can bring it to school with me easily by bicycle b) rainboots because I'm soon moving to a much wetter climate and c) the aforementioned mortar and pestle).

When she mentioned the mortar and pestle, my grandmother pointed to the high shelf directly above her head and said, "Jessica, do you want this mortar and pestle? It belonged to my father."

I was speechless for a second, then I blurted out, "I would love it!"

My grandma made me promise to take good care of it and to never get rid of it. As if I ever would! I'm so thrilled! Not only do I have the mortar and pestle I wanted, I have a family heirloom!

Thanks Grandmama!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

6 large mushrooms

2/3 cup cream cheese*

1/4 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

green onion, chopped, as a garnish

*amount is approximate. may need to adjust amount of cream cheese depending on size of mushrooms.

Directions:

1. Cut stems from mushrooms. Be sure to remove the entire stem, up to the mushroom cap.

2. Chop mushroom stems finely.

3. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, chopped mushroom stems, diced bell pepper, minced garlic, and 2 Tbsp water. Stir until evenly mixed.

4. Fill mushroom caps with mixture.

5. Turn broiler to HIGH setting and put mushrooms in broiler for about 6 minutes.

6. Garnish with green onion and serve immediately.

Significant other loves mushrooms, so I knew these were going to be a hit. He loved them, and so did I. I'm sure making a larger batch with smaller mushrooms would make an excellent appetizer, but we ate these as a main course along with a salad and some tomato soup. Yum!

Money Bags

Ingredients:

Phyllo dough

Butter

random things you want to put in your money bags!

We found a very specific recipe that said to fill these "money bags" with just ricotta and Parmesan cheese, but we decided it would be more fun to make different combinations of ingredients for the filling in each one and have a variety! We made all kinds of different combinations, including

- blue cheese, fresh basil, tomato, garlic, olive oil

- grated and fried potato (hash browns), red pepper, swiss cheese

- grated and fried potato (hash browns), onion, cheddar cheese, cream cheese

- cooked spinach, tomato, ricotta

and many other combinations that I can't remember! Here are some general steps for money bags:

1. Cut a sheet of phyllo dough in half, into 2 squares about 5 inches across each.

2. Brush one sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter.

3. Place the other square of phyllo on top, slightly askew.

4. Put your filling in the middle.

5. Gather the edges and bunch them together at the top to form a pouch.

6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately.

We have extra phyllo dough left from this experiment, so we're hoping to make a yummy dessert version of this later this week. If they turn out well, they'll be posted on here soon!

Cooking with Beer - Cheese and Leek Strata

Ingredients:

1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 leeks, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1/2 cup beer or ale

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt

pepper

Directions:

1. Place half of the bread cubes on the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish.

2. Sprinkle half the leeks and half the bell pepper over bread cubes.

3. Cover with 3/4 cup Swiss cheese and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese.

4. Add the remaining bread, then remaining leeks and bell pepper and top with remaining cheese. Set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, beer, garlic, salt and pepper. Beat until well-blended.

(As you see, we used Rolling Rock as our beer. You should use whatever beer you have on hand, but I recommend making sure to drink a bottle/can/glass of your chosen beer with the meal, because it complements it well. Or maybe I just really enjoyed drinking that nice cold beer. Hard to say.)

6. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the strata.

7. Cover your baking dish with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

8. Uncover your baking dish and bake the strata at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes.

9. Serve immediately.

My significant other bought me the most awesome birthday present ever last week: a Slap Chop! I've been really wanting one, and for the past several months any time I've cooked something that required a lot of vegetable chopping I whined that I needed a Slap Chop. I was especially whiny whenever I chopped onions, because it makes me cry. But, all that has changed! We tested out the Slap Chop last night when we made our strata, and it was everything I hoped for. Here I am, chopping garlic with my new toy. It chopped it so fast, it was awesome!

Hazardous Oven

I haven't updated my blog at all this week. There have been a few reasons for this, but the main one is that my oven is broken! Let me tell you a story.

I came home from work on Tuesday and the first thing I noticed when I opened my front door was that it smelled like gas. It smelled very, very strongly of gas in fact. Usually when I open the door my cat comes running up to greet me (by "greet", I mean she meows at me until I feed her) but this day she was nowhere to be seen, so of course my first thought was, "Ohmygodtheresagasleakinmyapartmentandmycatisdead!" But I called out her name and she emerged from the kitchen cupboard next to the fridge that has become her new favorite napping place.

I called the gas company, and they sent someone out right away. He checked out everything in my kitchen and announced that some part of my oven needs to be replaced and that I should not use the oven until my apartment building replaces the part. He then turned off the gas supply to my oven so that it can't be used, and also tagged the oven with a "Hazardous" sign in case I'm an idiot and still try to cook in an oven that's been shut off.

So, I haven't cooked at my apartment this week, but I did actually mix up some batter at home and then transported it over to significant other's apartment to bake it, but that is a story for another post.

I'm not sure if my apartment building is going to replace my oven part by the time I move out of here next weekend, so I may not get to do any more cooking in my apartment. How sad, the last thing I "made" in my oven was toasting some hamburger buns for the veggie burgers we grilled up on Monday night. (I love Gardenburgers, I wish I could have one right now!)

Baked Polenta with 4 Cheeses

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups polenta*

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 1/2 oz Havarti cheese, sliced

3 1/2 oz mascarpone** cheese

3 1/2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

7 Tbsp butter, thinly sliced

*Polenta is also known as cornmeal, and may be marked as such at your grocery store.

**Mascarpone is a creamed Italian cheese. It may be difficult to find at a regular grocery store, but my significant other was able to find it at Whole Foods.

Directions

1. Put the vegetable stock a 2 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.

2. Add the polenta and stir continuously for 10 minutes until very thick and smooth. You want to try to get the lumps out; in my case, I stirred the polenta while my significant other mashed it with a potato masher, which worked pretty well.

3. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. (Save the other 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top later).

4. Brush a 7 cup loaf tin with oil. Spread the polenta into tin and smooth the surface.

5. Refrigerate polenta for 2 hours.

6. When the polenta is ready, it should be completely solid and have a spongy texture. Remove it from the tin and cut it into slices about 1/2 inch thick.

7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Brush an 8' x 8' baking dish with oil.

9. Place a layer of polenta slices on the bottom of the dish. On top of the polenta, add a layer of half the Havarti, half the blue cheese, half the mascarpone, and half the butter. Add another layer of polenta slices. Add the remaining Havarti, blue cheese, mascarpone, and butter.

10. Add a layer of polenta, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges form a golden brown crust. Serve immediately.

I love cheese. I may have mentioned this before. This dish combines my two favorite cheeses: Havarti and blue cheese, so I knew this was going to be a winner as soon as I read the ingredient list. And as you see in the above picture, the cheese was so hot and gooey, it was wonderful!

Waiting the two hours while the polenta was chilling in the fridge worried me at first, because I thought we would be starving by the time it was finished chilling, but I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful boyfriend who went and bought all the ingredients we needed while I was at work so that we could start cooking as soon as I got home. For those who have a partner who also works late, or are single, I'd recommend making this on a weekend or making the polenta the night before and letting it chill overnight. But this cheesy goodness is definitely worth the wait, trust me.

Curried Lentils

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

3 1/2 Tbsp butter ghee

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 large green chilli, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils and drain well.

2. Put lentils, vegetable stock, and turmeric in pot or large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally to make sure lentils are not sticking to bottom.

3. Meanwhile, heat the butter ghee in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook until soft and golden.

4. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.

5. Add the onion mixture to the lentil mixture.

6. Add the tomato and simmer over very low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Add coconut milk.

8. Stir until heated through and season to taste. Serve with rice and/or naan.

My significant other and I made this a couple of nights ago. (That's his hand pouring the coconut milk; he commented that his hand looks super strong gripping that can.) I've had a cold for the past few days, and I'm only now starting to feel a bit better. The night we made this, I ate some of it, but I could hardly taste it due to my cold, so I didn't really enjoy it. Significant other assured me that it was very good, and very flavorful though. I ate the leftovers tonight, now that I can taste things again, and he was right, it was good! I think I still would have added more spices at the end, especially black pepper, the king of all spices, but maybe that's just my temporarily restricted tastebuds talking.