This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was for a very interesting quiche — Apple & Gorgonzola. And, as is my way, I changed it quite a bit. I actually feel a little bad, it seems like I’m always fiddlin’ with these Around My French Table recipes, which I know would be very good great made exactly as written. I just…can’t help myself.

Actually, I usually make changes based on what I have at home or what I maybe don’t like. Take for instance Gorgonzola shudder. I am just not a fan of the blue cheeses, so I swapped that out for some feta and a little cheddar.

Here’s what else I changed this week (and some notes):

1. We went out to dinner Tuesday night and last night, and I just couldn’t make a (delicious!) butter-laden crust in good conscious. So, I made this Whole Wheat Olive . . . → Read More: FFwD: Apple, Feta & Baby Kale Quiche]]>

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was for a very interesting quiche — Apple & Gorgonzola. And, as is my way, I changed it quite a bit. I actually feel a little bad, it seems like I’m always fiddlin’ with these Around My French Table recipes, which I know would be very good great made exactly as written. I just…can’t help myself.

Actually, I usually make changes based on what I have at home or what I maybe don’t like. Take for instance Gorgonzola shudder. I am just not a fan of the blue cheeses, so I swapped that out for some feta and a little cheddar.

Here’s what else I changed this week (and some notes):

1. We went out to dinner Tuesday night and last night, and I just couldn’t make a (delicious!) butter-laden crust in good conscious. So, I made this Whole Wheat Olive Oil Crust from Chocolate & Zucchini. I thought it worked really well with this quiche and was even pretty great tasting! I used a combination of about 6 oz wheat flour and 2.8 oz AP flour and 1/2 tsp of herbes de Provence. And the best part? It was ready to roll out right away. I just had to chill it on the fridge for about 30 minutes before filling it up.
2. I added some greens to the sauteed onions. Baby kale to be precise, but spinach would probably work well too.
3. Speaking of the onions, instead of sauteing them in butter, I used about a tsp of bacon fat. (Hey! Whole Wheat Olive Oil Crust…so it’s okay!)
4. I used half and half instead of heavy cream.
5. I completely misread the recipe and did not par bake my crust first. Doh! So, I gave the quiche 20 minutes at 400 degrees F, then turned it down to 375 and gave it about 20 more minutes. The crust was perfectly done and so was the custard. Whew!

Here are my pictures and here’s a link to everyone’s fabulous quiches.

Placing the crust in the tart pan. The whole wheat crust was a little harder to roll out too, so I got a mini arm workout!

Crust ready for the filling.

1/2 a large, leftover red onion, sauteing.

Onions and kale at the bottom of the quiche.

Half a diced, peeled green apple.

Some feta, grated cheddar and custard added. Ready to go into the oven.

Out of the oven and ready to eat.

Oh, hello French Fridays with Dorie! Nice to see you again. This week: it’s a cake. Yay! I Like Cake! Anyway, this is sort of like a French Poundcake, called quartre-quarts. Sounds good to me. Let’s go have some cake.

Notes:

1. My springform pan was a little smaller in diameter (but deeper) than what was suggested in the recipe. Because of this, mine took longer to bake — about 45 minutes. And I got that split open top that sometimes happens on cakes. That’s okay. Did not bother me at all! 2. I kind of mixed it up and used 2 tsp dark rum and 1 tsp vanilla. Maybe it was the rum, but it kind of reminded me of those alcohol-soaked cakes you can find around the holidays. 3. I loved the crackled brown sugar on top. 4. The cake is all gone now (it didn’t take long). Very dense, pretty . . . → Read More: FFwD: Quartre-Quarts]]>

Oh, hello French Fridays with Dorie! Nice to see you again. This week: it’s a cake. Yay! I Like Cake! Anyway, this is sort of like a French Poundcake, called quartre-quarts. Sounds good to me. Let’s go have some cake.

Notes:

1. My springform pan was a little smaller in diameter (but deeper) than what was suggested in the recipe. Because of this, mine took longer to bake — about 45 minutes. And I got that split open top that sometimes happens on cakes. That’s okay. Did not bother me at all!
2. I kind of mixed it up and used 2 tsp dark rum and 1 tsp vanilla. Maybe it was the rum, but it kind of reminded me of those alcohol-soaked cakes you can find around the holidays.
3. I loved the crackled brown sugar on top.
4. The cake is all gone now (it didn’t take long). Very dense, pretty moist and delicious!
5. Pictures of egg yolks, egg whites and flour is not too exciting so there aren’t as many pictures this week.
6. I will definitely be making this one again.

A link to all the lovely quartre-quarts this week.

Okay, this one is kind of exciting. Whipped egg whites.

Egg whites folded into the cake base.

About to go into the oven.

Finally! Done! When can we eat it? How about now? Now?

Oh, this French Fridays with Dorie is so late! I knew we would be on vacation when it was due but my plan was to post about it while on vacation. Yeah…didn’t do that. So here it is, 2 weeks later. I guess better late than never?

A link to everyone’s quiches. And here are my notes below:

1. I made the tart crust as written in the book, but I subbed 1 tbsp of the flour for 1 tbsp parmesan cheese. 2. I added sauteed mushrooms to my quiche, so good! 3. Oh yeah, this was funny. I didn’t have quite enough cream for the quiche so I used marscapone cheese for the missing amount of cream (I think it was about half). Hey…I was cleaning out my fridge before vacation 4. This was delicious! We had ot for brunch the day before we . . . → Read More: Really Late FFwD: Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche]]>

Oh, this French Fridays with Dorie is so late! I knew we would be on vacation when it was due but my plan was to post about it while on vacation. Yeah…didn’t do that. So here it is, 2 weeks later. I guess better late than never?

A link to everyone’s quiches. And here are my notes below:

1. I made the tart crust as written in the book, but I subbed 1 tbsp of the flour for 1 tbsp parmesan cheese.
2. I added sauteed mushrooms to my quiche, so good!
3. Oh yeah, this was funny. I didn’t have quite enough cream for the quiche so I used marscapone cheese for the missing amount of cream (I think it was about half). Hey…I was cleaning out my fridge before vacation
4. This was delicious! We had ot for brunch the day before we left for our road trip.
5. Roadtrip was from Portland, OR to Moab, UT (Arches National Park), Flagstaff, AZ (where I used to live), Bryce Canyon National Park and then home. There are some pictures posted below if interested.
6. The quiche is good with a mimosa (or two).

Ah, Spring! Rain, freak hail storms with thunder, mud…asparagus! This was a tart that I was very happy to make because I was super excited to try out my new, skinny, rectangular tart pan and also because I love asparagus. My expectations were met as this was a very good tart and honestly, it could be a much simpler meal if you used pre-made pie crust and skipped the roasted garlic and Parmesan chips.

But, if you want to go all out and you have some time, make your own crust and do the garlic and Parmesan! You won’t be sorry.

Asparagus Tart with Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Chips Adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine 1 ready-to-use pie crust (or your favorite pie crust recipe made and ready to go. Mine is this one by Dorie Greenspan. When I use it for a savory pie or tart, I replace the 1/4 . . . → Read More: Asparagus Tart with Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Chips]]>

Ah, Spring! Rain, freak hail storms with thunder, mud…asparagus! This was a tart that I was very happy to make because I was super excited to try out my new, skinny, rectangular tart pan and also because I love asparagus. My expectations were met as this was a very good tart and honestly, it could be a much simpler meal if you used pre-made pie crust and skipped the roasted garlic and Parmesan chips.

But, if you want to go all out and you have some time, make your own crust and do the garlic and Parmesan! You won’t be sorry.

Asparagus Tart with Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Chips
Adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine
1 ready-to-use pie crust (or your favorite pie crust recipe made and ready to go. Mine is this one by Dorie Greenspan. When I use it for a savory pie or tart, I replace the 1/4 cup sugar with that amount of Parmesan cheese)
1 head garlic, some of the outer papery part removed (but not all)
14 ounces asparagus, each spear trimmed to the half-width of your tart pan if doing a spoke design, the full width if using a rectangular pan
2/3 cup half and half
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
Parmesan Chips (see below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap your garlic head in aluminum foil and roast until soft, about 40 minutes. Set aside and cool. If you’re really organized, you can also make the Parmesan Chips at this time while you have the oven at 400.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Open crust on work surface. Press out any cracks. Arrange dough in 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into pan. You can also use a smaller rectangular-shaped tart pan but you will have extra dough and other ingredients leftover, so be prepared with another smaller baking dish that you can make a bonus tart in. Bonus tart!

Pierce dough all over with fork. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Cook asparagus in pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well and place on paper towels. Mix half and half, eggs, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, tarragon, pepper and salt in bowl.

Squeeze out the roasted garlic and mix that in as well. Now you are ready to put it all together!

Arrange asparagus in spoke-of-wheel fashion in crust, tips toward edge and ends meeting in center. Or, like I did above, arrange horizontally in the pan, depending on what shape tart pan you are using.

Pour custard over. Bake until tart puffs and top browns, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. If you haven’t already, you can make the Parmesan Chips now.

For the Parmesan Chips, I pretty much followed this recipe, breaking up the crisps after they had cooled a little bit (and snacking on a few).

Parmesan Crisps
Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Pour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down.

A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool. Mine turned out more dense than lacey. I think I should have flattened them more, pre-baking. For my use though, it didn’t really matter.

I also used one extra tablespoon of cheese for 5 total crisps. The fifth one was for snacking… Anyway, break up the crisps and sprinkle along the top of your tart in an eye-pleasing pattern. Since my pan was a rectangle, I just placed them in a path down the center.

Check out that flakey crust! Okay, slice tart into the desired number of pieces and eat. Hello Spring! Brrrrrr…..

Yeah, Summer is almost over. Normally, I am a fan of the end of Summer, but this year it’s a little sad because hardly any of our tomatoes have turned red. Maybe five. Total. I’m going to have to use up SO MANY green tomatoes this year. *sigh*

Another reason I know that Summer is almost over is because this will probably be the last frozen dessert of the year. I made it for jwa’s birthday dinner and it turned out lemony, creamy and delicious. I was a little sneaky and put it all together Sunday afternoon and then left it in the freezer for a day — worked perfectly. This is also a half recipe, as I used a small dish about half the size of a traditional loaf pan. If you want to use a loaf pan, double the recipe below.

I also made some lavender . . . → Read More: Goodbye Summer: Lemon Semifreddo]]>

Yeah, Summer is almost over. Normally, I am a fan of the end of Summer, but this year it’s a little sad because hardly any of our tomatoes have turned red. Maybe five. Total. I’m going to have to use up SO MANY green tomatoes this year. *sigh*

Another reason I know that Summer is almost over is because this will probably be the last frozen dessert of the year. I made it for jwa’s birthday dinner and it turned out lemony, creamy and delicious. I was a little sneaky and put it all together Sunday afternoon and then left it in the freezer for a day — worked perfectly. This is also a half recipe, as I used a small dish about half the size of a traditional loaf pan. If you want to use a loaf pan, double the recipe below.

I also made some lavender shortbread to go with the semifreddo and they were wonderful! Recipe here: Lemon-Lavender Shortbread. I omitted the lemon zest in the recipe (since my semifreddo had plenty of lemon) and used 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract instead. I rolled each sliced round in raw sugar before baking for the sparkly edges. Everyone loves sparkly edges!

But, back to the main point of the post –

Lemon Semifreddo
Adapted from Secrets of a Restaurant Chef. Again, if using a traditional sized loaf pan, double the recipe below!
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice
1.5 lemons, zest finely grated
Pinch salt
Garnish: fresh berries, shortbread cookies

Line a 6 X 4 inch baking dish (or there abouts) with plastic wrap. Be sure to leave plenty of plastic around the edges so they can be folded over to cover the top. Put the almonds in the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer. Reserve.

Whip the cream with a whisk or an electric beater until it forms medium peaks. Scoop out into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. Reserve the mixing bowl as you will be using this to beat the lemon/yolk mixture also.

Bring a saucepan with about 1-inch of water to a boil, over low heat. In a metal or glass bowl, combine the 1 1/4 cups of sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice and zest and the pinch of salt. Whisk to combine. Put the bowl on the saucepan, and reduce the heat under the saucepan so the water is just at a simmer. Whisk the egg mixture until it gets very light and fluffy, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes. For an insurance policy you can take the temperature of this mixture. It should be about 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Add the mixture to the mixer bowl on the mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the mixture has doubled in volume and the bottom of the bowl is cool when touched.

Fold in the reserved whipped cream in increments. Do this gently but quickly. When it is a homogeneous mixture, pour it into the prepared pan.

Fold the plastic over the top and transfer to the freezer. Freeze at least 4 to 5 hours, but this can be done overnight or up to a couple days in advance.

To serve:

Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and open the plastic. Turn the semifreddo out of the loaf pan to a serving platter and remove the plastic. With hot knife, slice the semifreddo into 1-inch slices.

Serve with your fresh berries and some shortbread cookies if you’ve got some. Oh, Summer 2010, we hardly knew ye…