Mushroom & Shallot Quiche for Gabby's First Playdate

My daughter, Gabby, is 9 months old now. She's ready for playdates, and I hosted my first playdate at home the other day. I had another mom over who has a son who is a few weeks younger than Gabby. It was such fun to watch them play together. I made my favorite quiche for my friend and it was perfect with a bit of salad alongside. This quiche is from Dorie Greenspan, featured in the October 2006's Bon Appetit. I love Ms. Greenspan's crust, but I've changed up the filling ingredients a bit. I've posted her recipe as seen in the magazine, and in parentheses are my changes. Quiche should be served warm or at room temperature, but I always love how the leftovers taste directly out of the fridge. Recipe follows after the jump.









Mushroom and Shallot Quiche
Dorie Greenspan, Bon Appetit, October 2006


Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots (about 2 medium)
1/2 pound mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices (I use baby bellas or white button)
5 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided (I usually omit this, as well)

3/4 cup whipping cream (I use 1 full cup of whole milk instead)
2 large eggs (I increase eggs to 3 large eggs)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
2 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely grated Gruyère cheese
(I also add 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg)

Preparation
For crust: Blend flour, salt, and sugar in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and 1 teaspoon cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process just until moist clumps form. Transfer to work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 4 turns. Form into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Do ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Butter 9 1/2-inch round fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to pan, pressing onto bottom and up sides of pan; trim any excess dough. Chill 1 hour. (I've skipped this step on occasion & just put the crust directly into the oven, however... I've read that a super cold crust turns much flakier and tastier than a room temperature crust does in the oven).

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with egg white. Cool. Do ahead: Can be baked 6 hours ahead. (I've left it overnight and it's been just fine). Let stand at room temperature.

For filling:
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and sauté until liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme and cook 1 minute. Transfer mixture to plate. Cool mushrooms completely.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cooled crust in pan on baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Drain mushrooms, if needed. Scatter mushrooms over thyme. Whisk cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Pour egg mixture over mushrooms. Sprinkle with green onions and cheese.

Bake quiche until custard is set, about 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Madhur Jaffrey's Sweet and Sour Okra

I grew up eating Indian food for nearly every meal while I lived under my parent's roof. As I've told you before, this did not please my burgeoning tastebuds. I only craved what I could not have, i.e. processed junk. I did not learn to appreciate Indian food's complexities and layers of flavor until I went away to college and could finally have all the processed junk I had been denied thus far. Needless to say, I quickly tired of how bland and uninspiring this food can be. Whenever I visited home during semester breaks, I pestered my mother to share her recipes. My mother is an excellent cook, but she does not rely on recipes. It's all off the top of her head. Indian food lends itself very well to this, because it has the same basic formula which can be altered depending on what is on hand. One unfortunate by-product of cooking without recipes is that consistency is lost; that is, subtle differences exist between two supposedly identical dishes. When pressed, my mother frequently will say "oh, you know, just a bit of tumeric" or "I just eyeball it" (when referring to exact quantities of a certain spice). It's quite frustrating to have this fantastic resource, a bona fide arsenal of Indian recipes, yet be unable to access it! So, I've turned to the internet for finding exact measurements and recipes for Indian food. And I struck gold with Madhur Jaffrey's Sweet and Sour Okra. Fresh lemon juice makes it tangy and a combination of whole cumin and ground cumin give it a classic spicy/smoky flavor. The proportions of spices are perfect, so much that I've altered here and there, with the addition of tomatoes and once, the addition of potatoes, and every single time, it's been a showstopper.



Madhur Jaffrey's Sweet and Sour Okra

1 1/2 lbs fresh okra, defrosted or 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen okra, defrosted
2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
7 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice


Instructions:
1) If fresh okra is used, trim off any tough stems.
2) If frozen okra is used, defrost and drain.
3) Cut each pod into 3/4 inch lengths.
4) Put the garlic, pepper flakes and three tablespoons of water in the blender and blend as thoroughly as possible.
5) Empty the mixture into a small bowl and add the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric and blend well.
6) Heat the oil over medium high heat in a nine inch skillet and add the whole cumin seeds.
7) Cook briefly until the seeds start to sizzle and add the spice paste.
8) Cook, stirring, about one minute.
9) Add the okra, salt, sugar and lemon juice and the remaining four tablespoons of water.
10)Stir to blend.
11)Bring to a simmer, cover closely and cook over very low heat about ten minutes.
12)Serve with basmati rice or naan.

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Pizza Dough from Above

My husband and I often make pizza. He finds joy in creating the dough so that's his responsibility. Now that I think of it, I do very little when it comes to our pizza. Not by choice, mind you. I've been forever relieved of any dough-making responsibilities because I've killed yeast one too many times. So, now, my sole contribution to our pizza nights are preparing toppings only. Our favorite crust up until a week ago was Mario Batali's famed crust, the one with honey and white wine. This crust is pretty great, but seemed finicky. It wasn't consistently delicious, and occasionally dense which makes for a heavy, chewy crust. After reading about Peter Reinhart's extraordinary crust, we decided to give this one a go, even though it is quite intimidating. It's an involved crust, using cold water and cold flour to slowly coax the yeast into action. And then it rests overnight in the refridgerator, taking up all kinds of room because the dough requires flat, prime real estate to do it's thing. But after tasting this magical pizza dough, I'll cough up space in the fridge anytime. This crust had it all; it was thin, light, crisp in all the right places, yet it had flavorful chew where it needed to. You know the kind of pizza I'm talking 'bout. This dough is worth trying. It's worth the trouble, it really is.
Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough
By way of 101Cookbooks
4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)(David used oil both times we've made this dough and it seemed to make it more supple)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.
2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.
3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)
4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Let rest for 2 hours.
5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.
6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift a piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. One the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also ty using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.
7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. A "kitchen sink" approach will weigh down your dough and could make the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.
8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.
9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.
Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.
from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press) -

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Chicken Pot Pie

My husband was out of town last week so I used the opportunity to look into the depths of our freezer and use up food that has been in there for quite awhile. I happen to come across two frozen chicken thighs. After much pondering, and taking into account the cold rainy weather, I decided that those thighs were destined for chicken pot pie.

I have never actually made chicken pot pie before, so I glanced over a few recipes online to get an idea of how to put it together, and came home that evening ready to embark on creating it totally from scratch.

Normally this would be a good meal to use leftover already cooked chicken, but my chicken was not cooked. So, I poached the thighs in chicken broth and saved the broth to use in the sauce. I used a combination of veggies that were in my fridge: lima beans, green beans, corn, peas. A bag of mixed frozen veggies would be the easiest way to go, but I absolutely hate cooked carrots, so I buy veggies individually. I added pesto to the filling and it was all the herb flavoring needed to make this delicious.

I also made a homemade pie crust for the top. Some people swear that pie crusts are extremely hard to make, but for some reason I have always had really good luck. You just have to remember to keep everything cold and to work quickly. I make my pie crusts in the food processor. When done properly I think they can be put together much faster and kept cooler than trying to do it by hand. It is important to make the crust dough before the filling so that it can be put back into the fridge to chill before going on top of the pot pie.

This recipe does take a little time, but it is well worth the effort. If you can plan ahead, say make the pie crust the night before then it will be that much quicker. I was able to put the whole thing together in about 45 minutes and it took another 45 minutes or so to cook in the oven. This is enough filling for a 10 x 7 inch pan which made about 4 servings.

Hope you give this one a try.

Pie Crust
1 ¼ cup flour
1 teas. salt
5 tbs. cold butter, diced
3 tbs. vegetable shortening
1 tbs. vinegar
3 tbs. cold water, more if needed

1. Place four, salt, butter and vegetable shortening in food processor. Pulse the processor on a few times to chop up the butter. The mixture should look like coarse meal.
2. With the motor running, stream in vinegar and water until just incorporated (about 10 seconds). The dough is finished if when you squeeze a handful of dough it stays together. Add more water by the teaspoon full if needed and pulse again. The dough will not be formed together in one cohesive ball at this time.
3. Dump dough onto a floured board and press together to combine. The dough will be a little crumbly, but that’s okay.
4. Form the dough into the relative shape of whatever pan you plan to make the pot pie in. I used a rectangle pan, so I formed by dough into a rectangle. You will roll the dough out later into the proper size.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Note: If you don’t have vegetable shortening then you can use 8 tbs. cold butter.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 tbs. oil
1 ½ cups potatoes, peeled and diced small
½ cup diced shallots or onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups frozen vegetables (any combination you like)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 ½ tbs. flour
3 cups stock (I used a combination of chicken and vegetable, but use whatever you have on hand)
2 tbs. pesto
½ cup milk
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat a medium sized pot on medium heat. Add oil. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in potatoes, cook another 7 minutes. Stir often so potatoes don’t stick.
3. Stir in mixed vegetables and chicken. Cook 1 minute.
4. Add flour, stir well to combine and cook 1 minute.
5. Pour in stock. stir well to get rid of any lumps of flour. Bring this mixture up to a simmer. It should begin to thicken. Add a little more stock if it gets to thick.
6. Stir in pesto and milk.
7. Pour mixture into a 10x7 inch pan.
8. Roll out pie crust large enough to cover pan with a little overhang.
9. Brush edge of pan with the beaten egg then place the crust on top. Push the crust down around the edges to seal. Cut off any extra crust. I you want to get fancy you can pinch the crust edge like you would for a pie.
10. Brush top of crust with the beaten egg. Sprinkle top with a little salt.
11. Cut a few vent holes in the crust to let the steam escape.
12. Place on a cooking sheet and cook about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
13. The pot pie is done when the crust is brown and the filling is bubbly.

Enjoy!

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Lamb Biriyani

Growing up in an Indian household, I hated Indian food. All I wanted to eat was mac & cheese (out of a box, with loads of the powdered, flourescent orange "cheese") and hotdogs; you know, the kind of food I envisioned my American counterparts eating at every meal. I guess eating boxed, processed foods was my idea of assimilation. It took going away to college where I ate 3 bland, flavorless meals a day at the cafeteria for me to develop an appreciation for the complexities of spices and taste involved in Indian cooking. This dish I'm sharing with you is a traditional Indian meal that both my parents continue to make on special occasions. Biriyani is a layered casserole-style dish of rice, meat, (I've used lamb, but chicken is also very popular), and vegetables. I've tweaked this recipe over the years, and I hope that I took the best from both my parent's recipes. Indian food, initially, is time consuming, with the chopping of garlic, onions, ginger, serrano peppers, etc, but once it goes in the cooking pot, you can forget about it while it simmers itself into a cohesive bounty of deliciousness. Please don't let my lack of photography skills deter you from making this great dish!

Lamb Biriyani

serves 6

Step 1: Make marinade for lamb

2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into chunks, excess fat cut away

Marinade (directions follow):

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground tumeric

In a large bowl, combine lamb with marinade ingredients. Stir well to coat lamb with marinade. Refrigerate anywhere from 3 to 24 hours.

Step 2: Make Biriyani

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch ginger knob, minced

2 serrano chili peppers, sliced very thin (optional)

Salt to taste

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen peas

1 tsp garam masala * see note below

1/2 cup whole milk

pinch saffron

2 cups rice, preferably basmati rice, nearly cooked (see step 2 for clarification)

Garnish: cilantro, cashews or sliced almonds

To prepare Biriyani:

1. In a large, heavy pan, over low heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add onion and fry until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and serrano peppers and fry an additional 5 minutes. Add lamb and marinade to onion-garlic-ginger mixture. Add salt (I used approx 2 tsp). Reduce heat to low and simmer until lamb is tender, approx 45 minutes. If liquid level gets too low during cooking, add water to pot in 1/2 cup amounts.

2. Prepare rice, using whatever method you favor. I use the microwave for fool-proof rice: 2 cups of basmati rice(rinsed), 3 cups of water, a large pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil into a covered dish x 12 minutes. For the biriyani, aim for nearly cooked rice because the rice will finish off in the pot with the lamb mixture.

3. Add 1/2 cup of water to lamb mix, add mushrooms, mostly cooked rice, and frozen peas.

4. In a coffee mug, heat up 1/2 cup whole milk to boiling in microwave. Add pinch saffron. Steep x 15 minutes. Add this hot milk mixture to lamb (I poured it through a sieve because of the "skin" which formed after heating the milk). Add garam masala.

5. Stir everything together, and simmer for approx 15 additional minutes. Make sure the rice, peas, and mushrooms are soft. Garnish with nuts, cilantro.

**store bought garam masala is fine to use. However, if you are feeling adventurous, you can make your own mixture. The garam masala I've used is made from The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl.

In a spice grinder, grind into a powder:

1 tablespoon Cardamom seeds (I use less, approx 1.5 tsp)

1 (2 inch) piece cimmamon stick, broken into pieces

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp whole cloves

3/4 tsp black peppercorns

1/4 nutmeg

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