Ham and Eggnog Quiche

What do you get with you put together quite a bit of leftover holiday ham, quite a bit of leftover holiday eggnog, and quite a bit of holiday vacation time? A Ham and Eggnog Quiche experiment that could turn out to be either brilliant or vile. Fortunately this turned out on the brilliant side of things.

It’s probably because we’re still relative newly-weds that every time I do something around the holidays it gets vetted to become a potential new holiday tradition. I roasted a chicken on Christmas Eve three years ago and now it’s not Christmas Eve without a roasted chicken. Not all would-be traditions work though. My husband wasn’t super-much into the idea of saving the chicken giblets for a Christmas Morning Chicken Giblet omelet. Can’t imagine why. Maybe this one will come back next year when we find ourselves once again with lots of leftover ham and eggnog.

Eggs and equal part milk dilute the eggnog’s sweetness. The Pecorino Romano cheese and ham counter the sweetness with a good amount of hearty saltiness. A modest amount of diced pineapple complement the duo of salty and sweet with a fruity tang. All told, the combination makes for a quiche that’s nicely balanced between sweet and savory with an aroma reminiscent of a cheese croissant.

Ham and Eggnog Quiche – serves 8

Pastry:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 t salt
1/4 – 1/3 cup ice cold water

Filling:
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup 2% or whole milk
3/4 cup eggnog
1/2 t salt
1/2 slice pineapple, about 1/4 cup diced
1 1/2 cup diced ham

Measure the flour out into a large bowl. Add the salt and cubes of butter. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs. Gradually stir in the water using a floured wooden spoon. Form into a ball.

Turn the ball out onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough and spread in a 9 inch pie plate. Form the edges in any pretty little way you’d like.

Line the inside of the pie crust with foil (this will stop it from shrinking). Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes. Meanwhile set the oven to 350 degrees and allow it to get to temp while the pastry chills.

Remove the shell from the fridge and bake for 8-9 minutes. Remove the foil and set it back in the oven for another 5 minutes until lightly browned. If it puffs up at any point just poke it with a fork to deflate.

While all this is going on, beat the eggs with a whisk in a large bowl. Add eggnog, milk and cheese. Whisk together until combined. Stir in the ham and pineapple.

Pour filling into the pie crust.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 180 degrees. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Peach Bacon Greens

I’ve always been a proponent of balance. Savory and sweet come to mind, but also nutritious and not-so-nutritious. A big dish of veggies is great, but why not add a little cheese or bacony goodness to even the playing field between good and wicked? What would good be if there wasn’t a wicked? What would greens be without bacon? Just fine of course, but isn’t everything better with bacon? You’re getting all that lovely nutrition, why not add a little something to it?

I concocted this dish a few weeks ago when I noticed a peach from an earlier visit to the farmer’s market was looking a little peaked. Not bad, just a little past its prime. I couldn’t in good conscience let the poor little thing go to waste – after all he was a local. I decided to cook it somehow.

Then I thought of how lovely it would be sliced and caramelized with a little bacon. But that would be silly wouldn’t it? I could never serve bacon and peaches as a side dish on its own. Or I could, but if I did, it would have to be one of those things I kept to myself – like the cream I pour over berries sometimes when no one is looking, but you didn’t just read that.

Our very generous neighbor had once again gifted us with a fresh assortment of greens from her garden: young kale, chard and New Zealand spinach. Just what this dish needs to become a respectable side dish. It turned out to be fantastic. To be safe, I made it again tonight, this time using mostly young kale and chard.

The best part is that the greens do more than just make this dish respectable. They add that substantial, sunshiny, almost bitterness that would otherwise be lacking in a simple combo of peaches and bacon. A cup of greens contains a day’s supply of folate, peaches are packed with vitamins A and C, and bacon contains baco-endorphins that are essential for omnivore happiness. I made up that last part, but doesn’t it seem a little bit true? A tiny bit?

Cooking peaches with a little bacon fat caramelizes the surface area for a smoky, crisp crust, while the peach juice condenses and sweetens. Tossed with the bacon you have sweet and smoky, salty perfection. With nutrient-rich greens, no less.

Peach Bacon Greens – serves 2

4 slices of bacon (about 4 ounces), cut into 1 inch strips
1 peach, diced
2 – 3 cups fresh young greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc.), stems removed

In a large frying pan, brown the bacon over medium high heat until most of the fat is rendered. Drain.

Lower heat to medium-low and add peaches. Saute for 3 minutes until peaches become slightly translucent and begin to form a golden brown crust.

Add the greens and toss with the bacon and peaches. Continue to cook until the greens are just wilted – about 2 – 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the leaves).

Remove from heat and serve to people who trust your judgment.

Ingredient origins: bacon – Vermont; peach – Massachusetts; greens – right next door.

Gruyere Strata

Strata is a savory bread pudding, made with eggs, milk and cheese. It also makes good use of yesterday’s baguette or any other thick-crusted bread that’s past its prime.

The important thing is to use a good strong bread and not wimpy sandwich bread, which will turn to goo when combined with liquid. Bread with a hard crust results in a pleasant, varied texture of soft custard, combined with toothsome morsels.

Gruyere lends its pungent flavor and aroma, making this strata reminiscent of fondue.

Gruyere Strata - serves 4

2 C milk
2 large eggs
6 C cubed thick-crusted French bread
1 1/2 C Gruyere cheese
1 t dry ground mustard
1/2 t salt

In a large bowl, toss the bread with two thirds of the shredded cheese. Pour into a greased casserole dish.

Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and mustard in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and cheese.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove from refrigerator and press down on the bread with the back of a spoon or spatula to submerge the bread. Top with the last third of the cheese.

Bake for 35 – 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Ingredient origins: Milk – Vermont; Eggs – New Hampshire; Bread – Massachusetts; Gruyere – France; Ground Mustard – Maryland; Sea Salt – Italy

Lemon Tarragon Teacake

Teacakes. Is it not the most adorable word? It conjures images of flowery tablecloths, delicate china and smiling aunties.

Tarragon is a social chameleon. The Gatsby of herbs. It gets along just as well in sweet dishes as it does with its more common savory partners. This recipe demonstrates the former. Lemony, sweet and dense, Lemon Tarragon Teacake is the perfect showcase for tarragon’s delicate, mellow flavor. Confectionery sugar creates a nice crisp top.

For the full herb garden effect, try it with lavender, chamomile, jasmine or a similar floral tea.

Lemon Tarragon Teacake – serves 10

2 T lemon juice
2 eggs
1/4 C canola oil
1 C sour cream
3 C confectionery sugar
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T chopped fresh tarragon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, combine lemon juice, eggs, canola oil and sour cream. Mix in confectionery sugar 1/2 cup at a time.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the fresh tarragon

Pour into a metal loaf pan and bake for 55 -65 minutes until a wooden tooth pick comes out clean.

Blueberry Muffins

I really miss the farmers markets. During the summer months we keep the kitchen stocked with fresh local vegetables and fruits – especially berries. This time of year though, the only fresh berries around are very tart, bathed in pesticides and have traveled thousands of miles.

Rather than going that route, I like to either freeze a few pints in the summer when they are at their peak, or buy locally grown and packaged frozen berries. It sounds counter-intuitive, but frozen berries are not a terribly tragic option in the winter because they are packaged and frozen at their peak, and therefore retain their nutrients and flavor nicely.

I will say though, once thawed, frozen blueberries do lose some of their plumpness, so I like to bake them into muffins.

This recipe for blueberry muffins also calls for an optional half cup of walnuts to add texture and protein. Walnuts also offer vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acid and antioxidants. Combine that with blueberries and, dare I say, you may have a superfood muffin on your hands.

Blueberry Muffins – makes 12 medium sized muffins

2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 C sugar + some for sprinklage
1/3 C sour cream
1 C milk
1/3 canola oil
1 1/2 C frozen blueberries
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)
Non-stick spray or desired grease for the pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl – if you wanted to get really fancy, I suppose you could sift the ingredients together.

Using an electric beater, mix the egg, sugar, sour cream, milk and canola oil in a separate bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with the beater until just combined, getting rid of any lumps.

Stir in the nuts, if using and then carefully stir in the blueberries. Try not to disturb them too much so that the batter will stay batter colored, rather than turning purple. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that the contrast looks nice and the berries stay juicy.

Pour into greased muffin tin. There should be enough batter for each cup to be filled to the rim – this along with the reaction of the soda and powder should result in a nice muffin top.

Sprinkle the top of each with sugar – I like to use turbinado for this application because of the larger granules and nice golden color.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Ingredient origins: Flour – Vermont; Baking soda – unknown; Baking powder – Massachusetts; Salt – Maine; Egg – New Hampshire; Sugar – Florida; Sour cream – Vermont; Milk – Vermont; Canola oil – unknown; Frozen blueberries – Maine; Walnuts – California