Make Quiche Easy

Oui Oui my friends… Ok, my knowledge of France is limited to a three day trip in high school and a couple of layovers at Charles de Gaulle airport, but I do know quiche.

Quiche is a Brown-family function staple. From July 4^th BBQs to Christmas dinner, you’ll always find someone leaning over the kitchen sink eating a slice from their open palm. It’s our version of the amuse bouche.

Hard core foodies don’t kick my a##, but this recipe calls for a, say it ain’t so, frozen pie crust. For those of you who want to bring something tasty to your next potluck with very little work, check out my recipe. If you want the extra challenge and extra bragging rights, I’d say go with this one from Michael Rhulman. Bon Appetit.

Broccoli Quiche

1 frozen pie crust (deep dish)
½ pound raw broccoli (spears)
10oz cheddar cheese (shredded)
3 eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp flour
½ tsp salt

Defrost the crust, prick with a fork and par-bake on 350 degrees until light brown (about 15 minutes).

Boil broccoli in salted water until fork tender (about 3 minutes). Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk eggs, milk, cream, flour and salt together.

Spread half of the shredded cheese in the bottom of the par-baked crust.

Layer broccoli on top of cheese.

Pour egg mixture over broccoli and top with remaining cheese.

Bake quiche on a cookie sheet on the lowest oven rack for 45 minutes. The cheese should be brown and most of the filling should be puffed up.

Let sit for 20-30 minutes to set and cool.

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Food Hangover

My hair is wild, my coat smells of onions, and my stomach is churning. I have been on a three-day bender that began with a can of Wolf Gang Puck corn chowder and has finally ended with way too much Grimaldi’s pizza. I am suffering from a food hangover.

The shame and physical discomfort are similar to a regular hangover but rather than occurring after a single night of bad judgment, the food hangover is a result of several days of culinary overindulgence. Think of that last college friend reunion that turned into a string of brunches, dinners, coffees, cocktails and ice cream cones and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

It would be easy to blame my state on my friend Dawn’s White Trash party. I alone was responsible for the presence of taquitos. I also roasted S’mores over dollar store candles using take out chop sticks. If anyone thought I was crazy, they didn’t say word.

What was crazy were the Vienna sausages wrapped in canned crescent rolls. I never imagined people would flock to pastry wrapped canned meat with such vigor.

Two bubbling crock pots housed meatballs basted in grape jelly and chili sauce. And Dawn couldn’t refill the frozen fish sticks with shelf stabilized tartar sauce fast enough. So yeah, I’d like to blame the party, but I’ve been eating giant burgers, omelets, chocolates and chips like it’s going out of style for days. I blame the weather.

So no there will be no recipe with cute photos this week because seltzer water and dry salad do not photograph well.

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Friday's Fried Rice

The one rule that trumps all other rules when making fried rice is “You gotta keep ‘um separated.”

I first attempted homemade fried rice while living in Japan and it was a nasty experiance. There was a rice surplus after school lunch so a few of us teachers took home the leftovers.

A few hours later I was standing in my matchbook of a kitchen hacking away at a corn studded, gluttonous mass, of rice. Each prod with a spatula sent it skidding around the frying pan. It wasn’t breaking down and it wasn’t melding with the broccoli spears and carrot rounds I had included. It was a hot mess and adding soy sauce did nothing but change the color.

That night I had an asparagus, bacon, potato pizza delivered.

Since then I’ve worked on my technique. Most importantly each component must be fried separately and combined at the end. This recipe it great for an end of the week fridge clean out because you can use almost anything. Just be sure you begin with that three-day-old rice because it works best. You also have to use small bits of vegetables and meat if you want that molded Chinese restaurant look.

Now go and turn that crusty old rice into something worth fighting for at the dinner table.

Vegetable Fried Rice

3 tbs vegetable oil
¾ tbs sesame oil
½ small onion (about ½ cup chopped)
1 cup frozen vegetable medley
2 ½ tsp fresh ginger (minced)
2 ½ tsp garlic (minced)
1 egg
2 cups (cold, cooked rice)
1/3 cup soy sauce
salt
1 ½ tbs honey (optional)

Before you begin be sure to have all ingredients prepped. This a quick cooking process.

Put half of the vegetable oil in a cold frying pan. Place the pan over medium/high heat adding the chopped onion.
Cook onion until lightly browned (about 4 minutes).


Add frozen vegetables and ginger then sprinkle with salt. Add garlic. Cook veggies until warm and tender (3-4 minutes).
Remove veggies from the pan and set aside.


Crack egg into the hot pan and scramble. Put aside with vegetables.

Add remaining vegetable oil and sesame oil to the hot pan. The pan should sizzle when splashed with water. Add rice, using your hands to break up any large chunks. Stir fry rice for about 4 minutes.

Return egg and vegetables to the pan adding soy sauce and blending well.

From this point you’re on your own. You’ve eaten fried rice one hundred times. Taste what you have and adjust by adding more oil, soy sauce... I like to put honey in mine for a bit of sweet.

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