November 8, 2011: Quiche Lorraine Recipe

Here’s my favorite version of the classic Quiche Lorraine. The filling is just enough for the shell without overflowing the crust, as many other recipes will do. Being that I always have eggs on hand, this is one of my favorite brunch dishes.

Quiche Lorraine

Crust:

1 cup flour

¾ t. salt

1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) shortening

3 T. cold water

Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the water over the top and combine with a fork. Shape into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and fit to 8” pie pan.

Filling:

6 slices bacon

1/3 cup diced yellow onion

6 ounces sliced Muenster cheese, cubed in small pieces

4 eggs

1 T. flour

1 cup half and half

½ t. each black pepper, mustard, paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel. Add the onions to the same pan and cook for a couple minutes, just until soft. Crumble the bacon into the pie crust. Remove onions from skillet with a slotted spoon and add to pie crust on top of bacon. Sprinkle cheese over all.

Whisk together eggs, flour, half and half and seasonings. Slowly pour into pie shell. Cover edges with foil or a crust guard. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until firm in the center.

November 7, 2011: Blue Corn Flour Tortillas

I’ve shared a recipe or two using the new corn/flour tortillas I’ve found at my local grocery store such as this one for Lite Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. Rather than buy another package, I decided to use the blue corn meal I had on hand to make my own version of these tortillas. Here’s what I came up – a tortilla that would be just as good in a taco recipe as a burrito or enchilada recipe.

Blue Corn Flour Tortillas

1 cup flour

1 cup blue corn meal*

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

3 T. shortening or bacon grease or lard

¾ cup warm water

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until thoroughly mixed in (like pie crust). Sprinkle on the water and mix with a fork. Form into a ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.

When dough has rested, pinch off small pieces of doll and roll into a ball. Flatten the balls as you would a hamburger patty. On a lightly floured surface, roll tortilla dough into a very thin circle (this may take some practice).

Heat a flat griddle to medium high. Place tortillas, one at a time, on the griddle and cook for about a minute per side, just until the dough gets slightly charred.

To use tortillas, fry briefly in very hot oil for soft tortillas, or cook longer and shape to make crispy taco shells.

*You may need to special order or visit a Latin grocery store in order to find the blue corn meal. For those of my readers who live locally, I found this ingredient at Cole’s in Clay Springs.

September 19, 2011: Sourdough Angel Biscuits

Here’s another recipe I took from Rita Davenport’s Sourdough Cookery. I made these biscuits for my women’s Bible study in addition to the rolls because I thought they would be perfect with my homemade peach butter. They’re called Angel Biscuits because they are light as a feather!

One of two pans with biscuits rising before baking.

Sourdough Angel Biscuits

1 t. yeast

2 T. lukewarm water

1 cup sourdough starter

1 t. sugar

4 T. shortening (try butter flavored Crisco)

½ t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 ½ cups flour

4 T. butter, melted

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add sourdough starter and sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking powder and flour. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the sourdough starter mixture and mix well. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently, adding more flour if necessary. Roll dough out to about ½ inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Dip in melted butter and place rounds, sides touching, in a greased cake pan.

Cover pan with a towel and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 to 14 biscuits.

Note: Next time I make these biscuits, I will double the amount of yeast to make them rise faster and lighter. Use 2 t. yeast dissolved in 2 T. water and proceed with the recipe as written.