Quiche Revisted

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Roasted Jim Nardello Peppers, Caramelized Onions with Bacon and Fresh Chèvre + Spring Baby Green Quiche with Fresh Feta and Caramelized Mushrooms

Quiche has been a favorite recipe within the last few months. The beauty of quiche is always in its simplicity and can be put together with nothing but eggs and whatever else you have on hand. Quiche became a go to recipe for me when dealing with all the fresh produce in our farm share. What do you do with a pound of springs greens, zucchini and green beans? You make a fabulous quiche ya fancy pants!

Now there has been much confusion amongst my inner circle as to the difference between a quiche and a frittata, and the short answer is simply that quiche has a crust. Now of course there is cultural backgrounds at stake, as 'frittata' is an Italian word meaning 'egg cake', and quiche a german word, derived from the word Kuchen meaning cake, and then made famous by the french (seriously) as an egg cake with the addition of a pastry crust. So gluten intolerant friends, if you can't do the crust, simply make a frittata and you won't be missing a thing! 

The basic building of a quiche should always be simple and dependent on your personal preferences. I generally go with some sort of cheese, veggies, herbs & spices, and of course eggs! Using healthy farm fresh eggs is a real game changer in this recipe so be sure to use the good stuff. 

BASIC QUICHE CRUST-

1 cup flour

pinch salt

1/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable, olive oil)

1/4 cup water 

Combine dry ingredients, whisk together oil & water and combine. In between to sheets of wax paper, roll out to fit a 9 inch pan or a cast iron skillet.

CARAMELIZED ONION, CHEDDAR, PURPLE POTATO AND CHIVE QUICHE

1 onion, caramelized

1 bunch chives, minced

1 purple potato, diced

salt & ground pepper, to taste

4 large eggs

1/2 cup cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs cream, herbs and salt & pepper together until the egg yolk and white are totally incorporated. Lay curst in greased pie pan and shape. Add cheese layering veggies and pour egg mixture on top. Bake covered with tinfoil for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook until golden. Enjoy!!!

This recipe is very basic, all veggies can be modified. Keep your basic crust and egg mixture and explore some creative combinations with your leftovers! I have also found that if you do not have cream available that 2 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup milk work as a good substitute as well as creme fraiche, yogurt or sour cream. For more quiche inspirations, visit my previous recipe .

Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Claire & Natalie of The Sun Flights and I talk about breakfast a lot on our tour Roam To Ramble. I'll go as far to say it is one of our favorite meals. Since we've been on the road for the last two months it’s been a challenge to maintain a healthful diet.  From the late nights, long drives, and unfamiliar territories, we try our best to eat well and are working on a project to share our experience. I have found that starting your day with a hearty breakfast really helps when you're on the road. If you have access to a kitchen while traveling, it doesn't take much to whip up some killer biscuits and gravy. 

Like most meals, I prefer ‘em homemade. We have been talking about biscuits and gravy for quite some time. Dehydrated and exhausted, Natalie and I labored one morning to make some of the best biscuits and sausage gravy I've ever had. The gravy was made of the drippings from the sausage and we added some mushroom stock. It was killer. These biscuits are super simple and a breeze to make with a food processor, though I kneaded them by hand this time around. 

It’s hard for me to remember my first biscuits and gravy, and at this point I've had it so many times, I've lost count. It's one of those iconic diner plates. One of the best was at a truck stop in Omaha Nebraska called 11-Worth Cafe. It was 7am when my best friend and I rolled in before our long drive to Colorado. It was a real local joint with all the early birds, well on there 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee, working their way through cigarettes and gossip. The joint was so famous for their sausage gravy, that you could even buy it vacuum sealed. Making biscuits and gravy also works well for a crowd, as you can prep everything beforehand. Though waking your friends up with the smell of fresh biscuits and sausage on the range is one my favorite ways to greet the day. 

BISCUITS & SAUSAGE GRAVY

Biscuits

3 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 stick (3/4 cup) cold butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

red pepper/chili powder to taste

In a bowl add flour, baking powder and salt. Knead or in a food processor, add butter until a crumbly mixture forms. Add buttermilk and seasoning. Roll or press dough into 1-2 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden. Makes about 20 biscuits.

*The dough is pretty fool proof and can be as simple or as dressed up as you'd like. I used butter for this batch but animal lard takes it to the next level, giving it a more savory depth (lamb lard being one of my favorites). Substitute lard in equal parts (3/4 cup).  

Sausage Gravy

1 pound good sausage

2 tablespoon flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 teaspoons Black Pepper

pinch of salt 

Cook sausage until brown. Remove meat, keeping the drippings in the pan. On low heat slowly stir in flour and whisk until smooth. Continue whisking and cook mixture until flour begins to brown. Add milk, cream and seasonings. Drizzle gravy over biscuits and enjoy! Also, a soft boiled egg on top is always a good idea. Makes about 2 cups gravy.

*I love using my cast iron skillet for this recipe. After cooking the sausage and scrapping up all the crusty bits on the bottom, really makes this gravy that much better. I also like to sauté mushrooms with the sausage or adding a little bit of stock if I have it around. You can make your gravy as creamy or as thin as you prefer by adjusting the flour and milk.

Breakfast Tacos

Reese's Breakfast Tacos

I have a real thing for breakfast, always have. Though as far as cooking it goes, I tend to drag my feet in the morning, especially after a night of drinking. Breakfast Tacos are one of those marvelous hangover meals fit to feed a crowd. If you're lucky enough to wake up to a friend making them for you, that's a friend for life. When The Sun Flights and I found ourselves in Lafayette, LA in the heart of Cajun country it was truly a homecoming. We're talking about a remarkable and prideful culture, one steeped in traditions from the Acadian people and one very much centered around food. These kindred spirits of ours would hold heated debates on the best spice mixtures, critically taste and critique every meal and offer advice for the next preparation. I was smitten. After our first nights in town, one of our host, a Texas native greeted us in the morning with a breakfast taco buffet.We knew we found a second home in Lafayette and life long friends. So gather your krewe one morning and serve up some breakfast tacos, they will be indebted to you for life. I however will be chasing breakfast tacos all over SXSW this week...

Breakfast Tacos

12 corn tortillas 

2 cups refried beans

24 small red potatoes, quartered* and roasted

1 dozen eggs scrambled with or without cheese

Roast potatoes in oven for roughly 40 minutes with olive oil and salt and pepper and any other desired seasonings. In a skillet with butter or oil heat tortillas till golden. Refry beans and keep warm. Scramble eggs to desired texture. Set up buffet and enjoy!

Suggested Garnish-

Salsa, Fresh Cilantro, Hot Sauce, Shreeded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado, Sausage

*to get perfect breakfast potatoes, after cutting, place in a tub of salted water for a few hours or overnight

Cheesy Grits

Grits is one of those staple items you'll find in every household once you've past the mason-dixion line. For those Yanks' not familiar, grits is something like a porridge and filling like an oatmeal. Made of alkali-treated corn or 'hominy', grits is a hop skip and a jump from corn meal and polenta (all 3 are made from stone ground corn but different types of corn).

I have had a tremendous amount of southern hospitality these past few weeks, as I've been on tour through out the country with The Sun Flights and we've had grits prepared for us most often as cheesy grits. Theres truly nothing like waking up and starting your day with a hot pot of grits. 

You can do a lot with grits as its a blank slate that can be dressed up just about any way you'd like, putting a fried egg on top (mixing it in raw egg creates a scrambled texture), grilled veggies, shrimp, cheese or even brown sugar and cinnamon, anything goes! The most fantastic thing about grits is that it is CHEAP. The simple unassuming cardboard box holds a bounty of choices and eating a filling hot breakfast for under a buck is what its all about. They are also very easy to prepare and can be ready in under 5 minutes!

Cheesy Grits

2 cups water

1 cup milk (optional)

1 cup grits

1 teaspoon butter 

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Bring water & milk to a boil. Add grits and cover for 5 minutes. Stir in Cheddar and desired seasonings. I like to stir in an egg if you want a protein rich breakfast!