Quiche Lorraine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the difference in a reglar quiche and quiche Lorraine? Traditionally Quiche Lorraineuses heavy cream, bacon, swiss, or guyere cheese, which are classic French  ingredients. Whereas regular quiche has other variations of meats like ham, sausage and different types of cheese.

 

Quiche Lorraine

 

1 nine-inch pie shell

4 strips bacon or used ham, diced small

1 onion, thinly sliced 

1 cup Gruyère or Swiss cheese, cubed 

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 

4 eggs, lightly beaten 

2 cups heavy cream 

¼ teaspoon nutmeg 

½ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a nine-inch pie plate with the pastry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover the bottom of the pastry with a round of parchment paper and add enough dried beans to partly fill the shell. Bake 10 minutes.

 

Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Remove and discard the beans and parchment paper and set the pastry-lined pie plate aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook the bacon until crisp and remove it from skillet. Pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat remaining in the skillet. Cook the onion in the remaining fat until the onion is transparent.

Crumble the bacon and sprinkle the bacon, onion and cheeses over the inside of the partly baked pastry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combine the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the onion-cheese mixture. Slide the pie onto a baking sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake the pie until a knife inserted one inch from the pastry edge comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Let stand five or 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.

Broccoli Bacon and Cheese Quiche

Broccoli Bacon and Cheese Quiche

I love a good quiche that is rich and creamy inside a buttery flaky crust. They make a beautiful presentation and they are just delicious for breakfast, lunch or brunch. I make this one often and it is so good!

Broccoli Bacon and Cheese Quiche

4 strips bacon
1 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup grated Cheddar or Colby Jack Cheese
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (9 inch) pre-baked shell (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes until crisp, then chop the bacon into pieces and reserve for later. Add the chopped broccoli to the pan and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the broccoli is tender. Do not overcook or it will get mushy.

Evenly spread the cooked broccoli and bacon in crust, and top it with the grated cheese. Whisk the milk, cream and eggs together. Add salt and pepper. Pour liquid into the baked shell, and bake the quiche for 25-30 minutes. The quiche is ready when you can no longer see liquid but the center of the tart jiggles slightly when moved. Cool slightly and then serve.

Buttery Quiche Pastry Shell

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons shortening, cut into small pieces
4 1/2 tablespoons cold ice water

Place the flour, salt, butter and shortening in a large bowl.
Rub the flour together until it has broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes. Don't over-blend. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, add the ice water, a little at a time, mixing until it just starts to hold together. 

Press the dough into a roughly shaped ball. Knead it briefly into a fairly smooth ball, then sprinkle lightly with flour and wrap in a sheet of waxed paper. Chill 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. When ready to roll, sprinkle work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll the pastry out into a circle 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick.

Butter a 9 inch quiche pan. Place the crust in the pan and press gently to line the inside. Crimp edges. Line the pastry with greased parchment paper and fill with pie weights. I use uncooked beans or rice.

Bake in the middle level of a preheated 400 degree oven for about 8-9 minutes or until the pastry seems set. Remove foil and beans, prick bottom of the pastry with a fork, and return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Raspberry Vanilla Glazed Donuts

 

Raspberry Vanilla Glazed Donuts

I have two little raspberry bushes in my garden and every year they work so hard to please me.  This morning I had just enough raspberries to make some warm raspberry glazed donuts.  Took me no time at all using a pack of pastry sheets!  YUM!

Raspberry Vanilla Glazed Donuts

1 box Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets in the box)

1 egg, beaten

1-4 cups of oil for frying 

1/2 cup raspberries

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.  Place a cooling rack under it to catch your drips.   Open the two packages of pastry sheets and lay them out on a lightly floured work surface. Allow them to thaw to room temperature.

Brush one of the sheets with the beaten egg, just enough to thinly coat the entire sheet. Place the dry pastry sheet on top of the one with egg.  Use a rolling pin to press them together.  Use a 2 inch donut cutter to cut out about 10 donuts.

Heat up the oil in a deep and wide skillet to about 365 degrees. Place a few donuts at a time in the oil and let them fry on one side for about a minute, flipping and cooking on the other side until both sides are light golden brown.  Place the donuts on the cooling rack to cool.

In a food processor or blender, blend the raspberries and powdered sugar until smooth. If you want the glaze to be a little bit thinner, add a tablespoon of milk.  Dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze and lay them on the cooling rack.

For additional vanilla glaze as shown in the photo, simply add 1 cup of confectioners' sugar with 2 tablespoons water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Drizzle on top of raspberry glazed donuts.  Drag a toothpick through the glaze for the marbling effect as shown.

Donuts are always better when they are fresh so eat as soon as possible! Enjoy!

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

Just Chicken Pie

 

So, I’m about to share my Chicken Pie with you.  Not Chicken Pot Pie.  Just chicken pie.  Any carrots?  Nope.  Any celery?  Nope.  Any vegetables at all?  No, it not like that.  It’s a simple Chicken Pie without all the veggies.  Just chicken.  Loads of chicken and a thick, rich, creamy sauce you may want to drink from a straw!  And a pie crust so buttery that it melts in your mouth.  A double layer of pie crust. OMG this is so good. 

 

Just Chicken Pie

1 rotisserie chicken

1 package (2) refrigerated pie dough

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoons pepper

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 cup half and half or whole milk

1 beaten egg

 

You will want to use mostly chicken breast for this recipe, although you can throw in some dark meat if you want.  No need to worry about the chicken being dry, this is the moistest chicken you’ll ever eat.

 

 

 

 

 

Melt the butter in a large skillet and sprinkle in the flour. Stir and allow to cook for at least 3 minutes while stirring. Keep the heat at medium high and continue to stir so the mixture doesn’t get too brown.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in the chicken stock and begin to whisk to incorporate the butter and flour mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in the whole milk or half and half and continue to whisk until everything is completely combined.  Add salt and pepper and turn heat to low simmer just to keep warm.  I like a lot of pepper but you can add to taste. Stir occasionally as you prepare the rest of the dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tear the chicken breast into pieces and add to the sauce.  I like bigger size pieces instead of bite sized and I prefer not to shred the chicken or it gets stringy.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir the chicken in the sauce until well coated. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spray the bottom of your baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. You can use a pie pan or a 9 x 9 baking dish. Pour half the chicken mixture into the baking dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unroll one of the pie crusts and lay flat.  Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into strips. You can make them as wide or narrow as you want. This will be an internal crust so no need to be perfect.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lay the strips across the pie filling and dot the dough with butter.  Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, pour the remaining chicken mixture over the baked pie strips and smooth out so that is fairly flat on top.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the other pie crust and cut it into strips as you did before.  You will need all the pie crust as you are going to do a lattice top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lay the strips across the pie filling allowing it to hang over the edge.  Once the first strips are laid down, fold back every other strip.  Now lay the remaining pie strips down pulling the strips back on top of the filling.  You will get a basket design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trim or tuck the edges all around the pie pan and pinch so that they stay in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brush the entire pie with beaten egg and place on a baking sheet to catch any spills while baking.  Bake at 400 degrees for another 30 minutes or until pie crust is crisp and golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes so that it will set and be easy to slice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES

Use white or dark meat for this recipe, but most prefer the white meat.  

To reheat, just place foil wrapped pie in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes until heated through.

This pie could just as easily be a Turkey Pie if that is what you have left over after Thanksgiving

The egg wash gives the top of the chicken pie crust that beautiful golden shiny look. It’s not completely essential to the recipe, but it sure will make your pie look irresistible!  You could also brush with melted butter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's important to allow this pie to cool for at least 10-15 minutes after you remove it from the oven, so everything has a chance to set nicely. 

 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.