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 .

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