Elle's Kitchen: Bacon and Swiss Quiche

I learned to make quiche from

Julia Child (of course...) many years 

ago and it used to appear regularly on

the menus at Avalon.  Then, one of the 

kids decided they didn't like it and it has

been so long since I've made it I actually

had to consult The Way to Cook for cooking

time and temps.

Ingredients:

a pre-baked pie crust

6 strips of bacon, crumbled

3/4 cup swiss cheese

3 eggs

half and half

salt

pepper

freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place the bacon evenly over the bottom of the 

crust, sprinkle the cheese over that.  Beat the 3 eggs

and then add enough half and half to make a mixture 

of 1 1/2 cups, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Pour liquid over the filling and add a bit more nutmeg 

to the top.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and

browned.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Pecan Pie

My Favorite Pie!

Ingredients:

1 cup light corn syrup

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tabl. butter, melted

1 teas. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 unbaked 9'' deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350F.  

Thoroughly stir together the first 

5 ingredients using a spoon.

Then mix in the pecans.

Pour into pie crust.  Bake on center rack of 

oven for 60 to 70 minutes. 

If pie crust is over-browning, cover edges with foil.

 Cool for 2 hours.  

Store pie in refrigerator (using a pie keeper is

 helpful to keep the pie from picking up any

odors from other foods.)

Pecan Pie is now my favorite pie.  I used to think

Pumpkin Pie was my favorite but now I find I

prefer to eat Pumpkin Bread.  I never made pecan

pie until a few years ago, we never made it in my

house growing up and I thought it would be difficult.

Oh how wrong I was, this is one of the simplest 

pies you can make!

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

We tried a new recipe last night as

a vegetarian entree, serving it with

beets, salad and a pretzel roll.

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower

salt and pepper

2 cups milk

2 cloves

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

5 tablespoons of butter

1/3 cup flour

1 2/3 cups grated firm cheese,

(I used gruyere)

freshly grated nutmeg

Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower

and break into even size florets.  Add florets to 

a pan of boiling salted water and boil until almost

tender (keep checking, this doesn't take too long).

Drain the cauliflower and lay out on a dish 

towel over a cookie sheet to allow more 

moisture to leave the cauliflower.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Put milk, cloves, onion and bay leaf in a 

saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Cook for

a minute or two, then cover and leave to infuse

off the heat for 10 minutes.  Then strain the milk

for the next step.  Discard the bay leaf and cloves

but keep the onions for later.

In another pan, melt the butter and stir

 in the flour.  Cook over low for a few minutes.

Add the strained milk all at once and

whisk together.  Stir until sauce begins to

thicken and become smooth.  Continue to

cook on the lowest setting you have for

10 minutes (I didn't wait that long).

Add the cheese and stir until fully melted.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Put the cauliflower in a greased casserole.

Add the reserved onions and stir, then add 

the cheese sauce and stir to make sure it 

coats all the veggies.  Sprinkle with a bit more

cheese and some grated nutmeg.  Bake for

25 to 30 minutes until bubbly and the top

begins to brown.

Enjoy!

This was tasty but it took a lot of steps and

a lot of pans to just get a cauliflower with

cheese sauce casserole.  If I ever write

The American Homestead Cookbook, it

will be filled with good but simple recipes...

Wlle's Kitchen: Eggs Everything Sandwich

 

When I was growing up, every once in a

while we would like a late night snack

and we would make "Eggs Everything".

We basically looked in the fridge and threw

in anything that looked good.

 

 

A few days ago I was visiting a friend

and we were admiring the chickens on

the property and I was lucky enough to

be sent home with a little bucket filled

with eggs.

 

So I decided to make something special

yet easy.  I "everything'ed up" a recipe

I saw on Pinterest.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Fold out Flat-Out bread

provolone cheese

crumbled bacon

chopped tomatoes

sliced scallions

eggs

avocado, sliced

milk

salt & pepper

 

 

I toasted the Flat-outs on a panini press.

I used Rosemary and Olive Oil.

 

 

Start by scrambling the eggs:

Crack the eggs into a bowl and with a

whisk whip them, add salt & pepper and

a bit of milk (or half & half).  Continue to

whip them until well combined.

 

Melt a little butter in a pan and add the

eggs.  Move them around with a spatula

and while they still look a little watery,

remove from heat.

 

 

Quickly add the bacon, tomatoes and

scallions and combine.

 

 

Place some of the egg mixture on one

side of the Flat Out, top with cheese

and avocado slices.

 

 

I served mine with homemade

hashbrowns and a fruit cup.

 

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Rum Runner

 

The warm weather has finally arrived in

our neck of the woods.  We wanted to have

a refreshing cocktail to enjoy out on the deck.

Something fun and fruity.

 

We decided on the Rum Runner.

 

 

This is a recipe for a basic Rum Runner.

There are many variations, many call for

a banana liqueur and we don't care for it.

 

1  1/2 oz. Malibu Rum

1 oz. Blackberry Brandy

a splash of orange juice.

cranberry juice and

pineapple juice

 

Place ingredients in a shaker

with ice, shake it up and enjoy!

 

Just be careful, they go down easy...

Elle's Kitchen: Egg Salad

 

Today we needed a quick and easy lunch.

 

 

We were up to our elbows in gardening

chores and didn't want to resort to a

drive-thru lunch.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

6 hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayo

1 1/2 teas. Dijon mustard

1/4 cup chopped scallions

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teas. paprika

 

Note: I use mayo with lime that I

discovered in Mexico and found it

is available in the International Food

aisle of my local grocery.  It gives an

extra kick.

 

 

Chop hard boiled eggs.

 

 

In a separate bowl, combine

the other ingredients.

 

 

Add eggs and stir to combine.

 

 

Serve on bread or lettuce.

 

Enjoy!