Quiche Lorraine

 QUICHE LORRAINE

 
    

A good dish to serve with a fresh salad on the side.  This recipe comes from the once upon a chef web  site.  You can access it here:https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/quiche-lorraine.html and 3/4 of the way down watch a simple video.

It is one of the best recipes I have tried for Quiche.  I tweak it a bit as noted, but still love the taste.

INGREDIENTS

• One 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust  (My frozen pie crusts don't look as nice nor as deep as the photo on the their web site, but still do blind bake them) 
• 8 oz thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices), diced  (I usually use ham when it is on sale, cut a couple of slices and cube it)
• ½ cup chopped shallots, from 2 medium shallots (approx.)
• 4 large eggs  (with my pie crusts I think 3 large eggs is sufficient)
• 1¼ cups heavy cream (again I reduce the heavy cream to 1 cup which is exactly 237 ml the 10% cream container is)  (I believe the cream rather than milk makes the difference)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg  (I think this is the magic ingredient)
• 4 oz Gruyère, finely shredded (about 1¼ cups) (again, Gruyère is similar to Swiss which is usually cheaper - again I sometimes mix it with cheeses I already have in the fridge - ie cheddar, mozzarella etc)

1. 
   
2. INSTRUCTIONS:
3. 1.  Blind bake the crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. (If there are any cracks in the crust, see note below on how to patch them up.) Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Place the crust on a baking sheet to make it easy to move in and out of the oven. Bake on until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it; if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate. (If it cracks while baking, see note below for instructions on how to patch it up.) Set aside and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
4. 2.  In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
5. NOTE:  ham does not leave fat in the pan, so I add a bit of oil to pan, sauté onions, then add a few more veggies - mushrooms, broccoli for example - cook for a couple of minutes, then add the diced ham.  Then set aside.
6. 3.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; whisk until evenly combined.
7. 4.  Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all of the Gruyère, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.
8. 5.  Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
9. Note: Don't panic if your crust has cracks -- you can easily fix it. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then proceed with the recipe. If the crust cracks while blind baking, patch it afterwards and place it back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
10. Note to Note:  I sometimes have small cracks in the crust and find that when I cook the egg the cracks are not noticeable.
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SUBSTITUTES: Eggs

According to thekitchn.com website, the BEST substitute for Eggs in baking is... wait for it ... Carbonated Water!

1/4 Cup Carbonated Water = 1 Large Egg

This site tested 8 substitutes and the Carbonated water was the most successful.  I have yet to try it but I do know if you make cookies omitting the Egg, they do not hold together and you end up with a pile of crumbs before you can even get the cookie to you  mouth.

For other options of Egg Substitutes visit:

https://www.thekitchn.com/best-egg-substitutes-baking-23003895?fbclid=IwAR2-TGvuBlV854miu4LCdvCxr45gZZR1JZgN5MhHQg8-_dhn-SARQy2kl5A

French Macaron

Above is a Christmas plate I made as a gift.  It included French Macarons with Chunky Chocolate Cherry Cookies (recipe published on this site).  Notice how clever I was making them "red" (yes I know they turned out pink) and green.

I discovered Macarons while travelling in France a few years back.  They differ totally from American Macaroons.  They can be finicky to make and it may take a while to feel at ease baking these.  My suggestion if you have never tried them is to review the videos on this topic on Youtube.  The one I like is made by a 12 year old girl - If she can make them, so can I !! - at this site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JeTgZGt-p8&t=272s

The trick to making these is the stirring.  Too little or too much will result in failure.  You must rest your macarons prior to baking so they form a crust on the top.  This prevents moisture from escaping from the top of the macaron during the baking process and thus producing those desired "feet" on the bottom.  Above, mine are resting for about 1/2 hour prior to baking.  Also, with the youtube link above, she gives you a link to a template which you can put under the parchment paper so your macarons will be basically the same size ...  very helpful.

Now, if all that didn't scare you, here goes:

Ingredients:

1 Cup     Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup  Almond Flour

2 Egg Whites at room temperature

1/4 Cup  Granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp    Cream of Tartar

Food Colouring (optional)

Ensure your egg whites are at room temperature.  If not submerge them in very warm water for about 5 minutes.  When separating the eggs, put the yolks in a small pot to make the filling.  And ensure you do not get ANY yolks in the egg whites.  

1.  In a bowl sift the Powdered Sugar (aka Confectioners Sugar).  

In the same bowl sift the Almond Flour.  (I have tried a lot of different Almond Flours and found the BEST one is from Costco).  Discard any little bits of Almond Flour that do not sift through the strainer (or better still, use to top your salad or in some other baking).  Whisk these two ingredients together.  Set aside.

2.  In another bowl, whisk the egg whites, first on low speed then moving up to high speed.  When it starts to get frothy add the granulated sugar a little bit at a time so it dissolves in the egg whites.  Beat to soft peaks,  Add food colouring here if using.  It is best to use Food colouring paste as the liquid does affect the egg whites slightly (although I have used both but DO recommend the paste over the liquid).  Also, make the egg whites a bit darker than desired as they will pale slightly during baking process.  Continue beating until you have stiff peaks.

3.  With a spatula add 1/2 of the dry ingredients.  Fold this into the stiff whites being careful not to deflate the eggs.  When incorporated, add the remainder of the dry ingredients.  Fold until blended.  

4.  Once all folded through, you want to reach the perfect consistency.  This is the important part.  Keep folding, but also scrape the batter onto the sides of the bowl to release some of the air, then keep folding.  You have the right consistency when you drop some of the batter from the spatula and it slowly sinks back down into the batter in the bowl.  (WATCH A VIDEO ... this is the important part). 

5.  Place the template under your parchment paper and pipe the batter onto the parchment paper.  When finished, don't forget to slip the template out from under the parchment paper.

6.  Bang the baking sheet on a hard surface - 3 or 4 times on each side - to ensure the air is released from the batter.  I also have seen videos where the cook will dampen their finger and gently push any small peaks down to ensure a smooth surface.  Set this aside for 20 minutes to 1 hour.  

7.  Bake at 300°F for about 15 - 18 minutes.  Watch to ensure the tops do not get brown.  Remove from the over and they are done when you can lift the macaron off the parchment paper easily.  

8.  Set on a cooling rack to cool before filling.

FILLING THE MACARONS WITH BUTTERCREAM FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

2 EGG Yolks

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

3-1/2 tsp Milk

7 TBSP Unsalted Butter Softened (99.4 g)

3 TBSP Honey or 1 tsp Vanilla

Whisk egg yolks in pot.  Add granulated sugar and whisk.  Add milk and whisk.  

In a bowl mash up butter with a fork so it softens a bit.

Place pot over medium heat and stir constantly until it thickens.  Keep stirring until very thick.  Remove from heat at add butter a bit at a time until all is melted and incorporated in pot.  Add the honey (if using - I don't as I'm afraid it will be too sweet) or alternatively add the Vanilla Extract.  Stir.  If too soft refrigerate until solid.

Pipe the filling on the bottom of one Macaron.  Top with another of similar size.  

Refrigerate Macarons in a sealed container for 24 to 48 hours to meld the flavours.

Note:  These can be filled with a variety of flavours.  Check out recipes for Chocolate Ganache, or a strawberry type filling.  I used the above basic filling but substituted strong Coffee for the milk and added about 1 TBSP plus a bit of grated chocolate for a yummy mocha type filling (not pictured).