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Ratatouille

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Ratatouille

This weekend was mother’s day. This involves looks of flowers, cards, gift to show appreciation for your beautiful moms. Unfortunately I was a little short on cash so buying a gift or flowers wasn’t really ideal. After a bit of thought, I had decided to create something for her. Ratatouille was the first thing that came to mind. A simple French dish that is all together delicious and truely feels like a homey food. It’s originally a peasant dish made with cooked vegetables and a red sauce on the bottom. The recipe was rather simple. The ingredients needed are: yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and Roma tomatoes. For the sauce grab a can of diced tomates (no seasoning added), and three bell peppers: yellow red and orange. Of course for seasoning the dish you lll need pepper, salt, olive oil, basil, parsley, and thyme. Take a large skillet on medium high and pour about 1 and ½ spoonfuls into the skillet. Make sure to caramelize your onions for a better tasting dish, don’t just be that person that throws everything in- I happen to be that person.

Next throw in some garlic and after about 30 seconds dump in your diced bell peppers. Let that simmer until they become soft. After the water from the peppers have evaporated pot in your tomato sauce and let cook for a few minutes. During this time get a head start on cutting your veggies. Then slather you sauce on the bottom of a quiche pan and expertly place you cut veggies on to the sauce. I used a pattern: eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini and tomatoes. I created somewhat of a circle around with the vegetables and finally in was ready for the oven. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes. I was extremely please how it turned out. My family loved it, especially my mom. Ratatouille is a simple dish with many flavors, I loved making it and I hope you do too. Bon Appetit!

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I recently traveled to Ventura beach and besides the amazing views and gorgeous beach the one thing that made it the best was my first taste of cheesecake. My family and I went to cheesecake factory as a special treat. I ordered a mouthwatering garlic pasta with shrimp scampi. After finishing the main course we decided to get cheesecake. There were so many choices to choose from: Oreo, original, chocolate, white chocolate raspberry. But the one that caught everyone’s eye was the lemon meringue cheesecake. It tasted exactly like lemon meringue pie just creamier. With one bite you could taste all the delectable flavors. On top was the meringue and just below that was the sweet tangy layer of lemon curd (one of my favorites) next layer was a creamy thick layer of cheesecake and lastly was a gram cracker crust that topped it all off.

I have been dying to try it again every since we left Ventura. But what I’m really thinking is how hard can it be to make a perfect replica of that one delicious cheesecake.

There are 4 incredibly important components that go into this desert. 1. The meringue, must be light fluffy, sweet but not too sweet. 2. The lemon curd, tangy and thick. 3. The cheesecake, dense but airy at the same time. and lastly the crust, gram cracker must not crumble or everything else will fall with it.

Keeping these elements in mind I searched for a recipe online. While reading I’ve found that the most common way to botch this cheesecake is during the baking a cooling process. During baking you must wrap the tin in foil and proceed to give the cheesecake a water bath which means to put the tin in a pan filled with water. This happens to make the thick and creaminess of a cheesecake. Next is cooling. If cooled to fast it will crack and may have the consistency of flan which seems really odd but supposedly true.

Next week I will try my best to recreate this cake and I cant wait to share with you guys how it turns out. See you next time! Bon Appetit!

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Most of my memories as a child are eating my Nonna’s delicious authentic italian recipes - pasta slathered in bolognese sauce, creamy risotto and one of my favorites, piping hot lasagne made with velvety bechamel. Of course, an amature like myself can only dream of achieving something like that. So, instead of going to extremes, I thought I’d start at the basics and what could be more basic than eggs.

The other day, I called my nonna asking for advice. I wanted to learn the process of making her infamous lunch-time frittatas. Frittatas are almost like quiches, but yet completely different. Egg-based and most of time filled with a variety of vegetables, the way my nonna explained the recipe it seemed fairly simple - one of those recipes that are supposedly foolproof.

I decided to make one of my favorites - frittata with caramelized onions. I heated an oversized skillet and melted about four tablespoons of butter. After watching countless Food Network reruns, I believed I could theoretically dice an onion with ease. However, once actually faced with this daunting task, I turned helplessly to my mom for assistance. Following that, I slowly caramelized the diced onions in the butter. When they seemed right, I mixed the onions into three scrambled eggs and poured the mixture into another pre-heated skillet. The trick was the time. Too much time and it would burn, too little and you would get a soggy batch of scrambled eggs.

I turned off the stove and then for the final step I popped it into the oven (set to broil) to get a nice toasty appearance on the top. However, by then I realized I had missed the most sacred part - the cheese! I rushed to fridge, opened the container of Parmesan and hopelessly tried to save my frittata by throwing cheese everywhere. Mess alert. Obviously, once done, the frittata lacked in the flavor department partly because of the cheese mishap, so in order to once again try to save this dish, I added my favorite seasonings, basil and red pepper.

This frittata, although not an overwhelming success, was a good point to begin my process of trial and error. Infact, I proposed that this week I would attempt to try this once again…with cheese this time. This is a great refreshing dish that is especially great for a midday meals - even in a packed lunch. There are a variety of ways to mix up this dish with whatever you have in the refrigerator and it can be adjusted for any meal. This gives me plenty of opportunities to practice.

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Watermelon Cooler

Summer is approaching and what better way to celebrate the coming of summer than with fresh fruity drinks. It can be as simple as a lemonade to as complex as a virgin sangria. These drinks are great for the hot days ahead and excellent drinks for any pool party.

This morning while strolling along Claremont with my family we decided to get a bite at Le Pain Quotidien. Although they are more known for their baked goods they had the excellent fruity drinks I was talking about. My mom and I ordered two different types of lemonade, mint and ice tea lemonade. both very tasty but nothing compared to the watermelon cooler my brother ordered.  It had the perfect balance of sweet and sour. one sip was like biting into a fresh watermelon. It tasted just like hot summer days by the pool so I had to find a recipe to share with you.

This watermelon cooler is incredibly simple. All you need is seedless slices of watermelon, lemon sorbet, lemon zest and cold water. Simply blend the watermelon,sorbet and zest until silky smooth and then proceed to add water to dilute the solution. Next pop it into the fridge for an hour or two and serve! It takes almost no effort at all and the result is a fresh healthy drink. Also if you want to dress it up a little add some mint leaves and watermelon for garnish. I cant wait to make it myself. Bon Appetit!

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

I recently traveled to Ventura beach and besides the amazing views and gorgeous beach the one thing that made it the best was my first taste of cheesecake. My family and I went to cheesecake factory as a special treat. I ordered a mouthwatering garlic pasta with shrimp scampi. After finishing the main course we decided to get cheesecake. There were so many choices to choose from: Oreo, original, chocolate, white chocolate raspberry. But the one that caught everyone's eye was the lemon meringue cheesecake. It tasted exactly like lemon meringue pie just creamier. With one bite you could taste all the delectable flavors. On top was the meringue and just below that was the sweet tangy layer of lemon curd (one of my favorites) next layer was a creamy thick layer of cheesecake and lastly was a gram cracker crust that topped it all off.

I have been dying to try it again every since we left Ventura. But what I’m really thinking is how hard can it be to make a perfect replica of that one delicious cheesecake.

There are 4 incredibly important components that go into this desert. 1. The meringue, must be light fluffy, sweet but not too sweet. 2. The lemon curd, tangy and thick. 3. The cheesecake, dense but airy at the same time. and lastly the crust, gram cracker must not crumble or everything else will fall with it.

Keeping these elements in mind I searched for a recipe online. While reading I’ve found that the most common way to botch this cheesecake is during the baking a cooling process. During baking you must wrap the tin in foil and proceed to give the cheesecake a water bath which means to put the tin in a pan filled with water. This happens to make the thick and creaminess of a cheesecake. Next is cooling. If cooled to fast it will crack and may have the consistency of flan which seems really odd but supposedly true. 

Next week I will try my best to recreate this cake and I cant wait to share with you guys how it turns out. See you next time! Bon Appetit!

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Garlic Knots

Lately I have been craving thin crust pizza and mouthwatering garlic knots from a restaurant called Johnnie’s Pizza. I used to go there all the time when I lived in La Brea. They have the most amazing garlic knots and don’t get me started on the marinara sauce, but just saying... its out of this world.

While looking online for a recipe I realized what a long and difficult task it is to make these little balls of heaven. Apparently for the dough needs needs to rise for about two hours before baking and the prep time is about 30 minutes, baking is ten. add that all up and that’s... 9600 seconds! I don’t have enough patience to watch bread rise! So, um, I went with the easy way out. And I know I've said in the past to avoid doing so, but I couldn't help it, especially when comes to cooking. 

So I continued to research recipes and I realized most people are as impatient as me! I found a few who used as little ingredients as possible and took less than 10 minutes! i figured it was worth a try.

All you need is three ingredients and a few spices. Grab a can of buttermilk biscuit dough and stretch each biscuit into long ropes. Tie each rope into a little knot. Next mix up butter, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano and parsley in a bowl, and slather over top. Bake ‘til golden, brush on a bit more butter, and you’re done! I know it sounds to good to be true but trust me they are more impressive than you’d imagine. it definitely doesn't compare to Johnnie’s but they are perfect for an dinner. Buon appetito!

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The perfect vanilla recipe

When I first started baking, I tested several vanilla cupcakes recipes and was disappointed by most of them. The most common issues were:

Dry cake,Boring flavor,Nice flavor, but sunk in the middle and sticky,The liners stuck so much to the cake that they were almost impossible to remove

I often experience this with baked goods: The ones that taste best, are usually the ugliest or they are so soft that it’s difficult to use them for further decorating.

The reason? The best flavor comes from using sugar and butter. But the higher the sugar and fat content of a cupcake, the softer the end product. Figuring out the right quantities has been a challenge. That’s when I discovered vegetable oil as a great subsitute. I started baking all cupcakes with oil, and have never looked back! Also thank goodness for the internet for helping me figure this out!

Today I have for you a great recipe for vanilla cupcakes that look and taste great. They are quick to bake and easy to decorate. The oil makes them moist and juicy, but not sticky.

Everything starts with a good “mise en place”:

Line your baking tin with cupcakes liners

Preheat your oven

Weigh all ingredients and have them ready at hand.

Let’s begin!

How to make vanilla cupcakes

Place sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl.

Beat with a whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.

Add oil and milk, stir well.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Lastly, sift in the flour and baking powder. Not too much at a time, stir well but not too long.

One level ice cream scoop is the perfect quantity of batter for one cupcake:

Bake for 20 minutes! And leave to cool on a wire rack.

Now you have perfect vanilla cupcakes! Or at least I do :) now go on and bake!

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Eggplant, the way my Nonna makes it

My nonna makes he best eggplant paremsean / lasngne. This weekend she made a incredibly delicious beshmel with meat sauce and eggplant. Since I ate the entire thing I decided to try something similar.

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, except that it's not really a vegetable. Eggplant is actually a fruit, and a berry at that. I love it's meatiness. It's tremendously versatile; you can steam it, broil it, bake it or fry it. Found in many Asian, Latin American and Mediterranean recipes, it is adaptable as an ingredient to almost anything, even lasagna. There are several types of eggplants that come in different sizes and shapes but the most common one I use is the Italian style , which grows quite large.

By salting slices of eggplant and letting them drain, you can collapse the cell walls and make the eggplant even more dense and meaty. But if you like soft and light, don't salt it and cook it in a way that will not absorb oil such as steaming or baking.

I have made some changes to this recipe, but it's very similar to how I remember having had it the first time. It remains a version of lasagna I have never encountered in any cookbook or restaurant. It is a delicate lasagna, rich but all the layers are thin.

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Apple Pie for Rainy Days

Ahh, apple pie. Nothing quite says rainy days like warm apple pie. I first made a homemade apple pie a few years back. It was my first-ever homemade pie and I totally adored it. However, as my baking prowess began to grow and I started to experiment with different recipes and doing research before diving in, I started trying new apple pie recipes. And I have to say, this one here is by far the absolute best. Such a tender, flaky crust, and that mile-high dome of a pie that you imagine seeing in the dessert cake of a 1950’s diner. Perfectly golden crust packed full with a mountain of apples. THIS is the ultimate apple pie.

I love the ooh’s and ahh’s when you pull such a tall and gorgeous pie out of the oven. So pretty!

The pie filling is surprisingly simple, which I think is best with fruit pies. Some sugar to sweeten it up and a few spices to enhance the natural flavor of the apples, but by and large the apples are left to stand on their own. Their texture and flavor shine through – absolutely delicious.

This recipe calls for Granny Smith and McIntosh apples, but the beauty of apples and fall is that you can substitute in your favorite varieties, or head to the local orchard and pick whatever they have growing there. I would recommend mixing and matching the tart and not-so-tart varieties to give the filling a good balance, but other than that, go for your favorites!

if you ever find yourself bored and you get rained in on a Sunday, the hands-down perfect way to spend the day is by baking an apple pie and watching football, European style. Can’t beat it.

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ever since valentines I’ve been thinking about the perfect treats for such a day also recently I have a had a huge craving for fudgey, chewy brownies. its been forever since the last time I’ve had homemade brownies and i thought it was about time i made my own. 

the perfect brownie - soft chewy center, firm crisp edges and a sugary, crackly top. of course these were all my expectations when i first started baking but the result was not as I hoped. 

Last week while searching for food i found a box of brownie mix. i thought it would be extremely simple, even too simple. i was wrong. they seemed to be glued to the glass pan and my poor brownies were unsually thin. but despite these setbacks the taste was pretty amazing. 

a few days later i thought it was about time i redeemed myself and recreate these brownies, from sratch. i had lots of cofindence these would turn out great. i was wrong...again. 

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Adorable Gingerbread Men

Making gingerbread houses, gingerbread men- both a part of my favorite christmas tradition. Gingerbread men cookie recipes all start the same. There’s a lot of flour so the cookies can keep their shape. There’s molasses and spice for flavor, egg(s), butter, and sugar. The amounts and kinds all vary between recipes, but the recipe I absolutely adore is based off my mom’s recipe. I use brown sugar instead of white granulated sugar in my gingerbread men recipe. This is for extra flavor.

The dough can seem really messy, but beat it for a bit until it starts to take shape. It absolutely MUST be chilled. There is no way around this crucial step, warm gingerbread dough is definitely not something you want. I chill my gingerbread dough overnight in the refrigerator, but 3 hours is enough. It’s a long time, I know, but you want your cookie dough firm and manageable. You also want it to keep its shape when the cookies are baking– and you won’t get that unless you have chilled, solid dough.

It’s easiest to wrap the dough in plastic wrap before chilling. Scoop out 1/2 of the prepared cookie dough, plop it onto a long sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up and pop it into the fridge. Then chill.

After chilling, roll out the chilled cookie dough discs until about ⅛  thick. Don’t worry I know that ⅛ thick seems really thin, but they rise, a lot.  Also, don’t be afraid to flour your hands, rolling pin, work surface, and everything in the world. They can become insanely sticky and difficult to roll out. So, don’t be scared to add more flour to the work surface.

While I was cutting out my adorable gingermen and placing them onto the cookie sheet I realized that by moving them, they could stretch or become completely warped. After trying multiple times and becoming increasingly stressed, I finally came up with something brilliant. I rolled out the dough and then moved it onto the cookie sheet and cut them out from there. I removed the excess dough and repeated the same process after they finished baking. It made things so much easier.

Of course after all the mixing baking and chilling is done, they are ready to be decorated. Every year my mom and I get out every possible container of sprinkles there is, dig out all the icing bags and go crazy. However I must admit this year I was feeling a bit lazy. I'm sorry, I know, such a disappointment… so my gingerbread men are a little under dressed, but I must say that do taste great. Especially with a nice warm cup of coffee or deliciously herbal tea. Perfect cookies for any chilly winter! Happy cookie making!

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Dulce de Leche Cookie    Sandwiches

 Bottega Louie is one of the many restaurants I enviously walk passed on my weekly trips to downtown LA. This weekend it was my target not just for looking – but for a food adventure. The first thing you notice – even from window gazing – are pyramids of macarons of every flavor and brightly colored boxes. This is against a bright interior with high ceilings and busy staff, dramatically offset in black, bustling around serving customers. My destination was the pastry counter. It was hard to decide between the dozens of macaron flavors and many other delicious pastries and savory appetizers were just as tempting and waiting to be eaten. But I was focused – I was there for the macarons. After finally deciding on five flavors that the staff tightly packed into a cute package, I couldn’t wait to get home and try them.

   At home, I admired the petite box of macarons, printed with flying pandas, sparkly hot air balloons and charms of good luck. The five flavors that I had meticulously chosen: birthday cake, earl grey, bananas foster, salted caramel, and strawberry. I was extremely excited to try Earl Grey because of my love for all things tea. The bluish-green macron, dusted with shimmering gold dust exceeded my expectations by light years – not an exaggeration. The inside of the crunchy light sugar shell and the filling matched its beautiful outside. As I expected, the shell was the just right consistency, lots of air and amazingly crunchy with just a hint of softness in the center. This, of course, leads to the filling. Not too sweet and a nice creamy and dense contrast to the shell. And there were still four more to go. But I knew that I would eventually have to get down to business and learn how to make them  After doing a bit of research in various cookbooks and other foodie blogs, I’ve come to a conclusion: macarons are incredibly hard to make. The four-ingredient simplicity of the macaron shell may fool you, but the tricky part is getting the consistency just perfect. Many experts say the secret is in the folding of the ingredients, others say it’s the oven’s temperature, some go on about aging the eggs, but in any case, it’s clear they will not come out perfect every time, let alone the first. I’ve been warned, but not deterred.

  Based on my research, I’ve made a couple of strategic decisions. First, I’m going to buy almond flour. Obviously, some folks really enjoy grinding their own almonds and going through a billion steps to make sure that the moisture content is okay and that there is the appropriate granularity. I’m not those folks. And I don’t own a four-hundred-dollar blender – so there’s that. Second, I don’t trust my oven’s temperature gauge. Not at all. My oven is old – it looks like it could be original from when they built the house in 1962. It’s brown and sad and although I’ve managed not to burn much, it’s a kind of watch and adjust thing when you’re baking at my house. I will heed the advice of bloggers before me an invest in a good oven thermometer. I understand this will increase my odds of success significantly. Third, although the colors and exotic flavors are oh so tempting, I’m going to start simple. I read countless horror stories of gel coloring and flavorings that turned the macronage (that’s a technical term) into an unworkable blob. Fourth, not matter what happens – maybe my macarons have no feet, the shells crack, there’s too much air, not enough air, they spread too thin, they puff to high… I’m making macarons to eat. Because they are delicious. Yes, I want them to be as beautiful as a Bottega Louis store display, but I’ll be delighted with my attempt – and when all else fails, I’ll try again.

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Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving takes tons of preparation. Not only is there a massive amount of food to make but there's also the relatives, the picky children and getting the house ready for all these people. The food takes at least 2 days to prepare and the day of is like being in a strictly run 5 star restaurant - lots of hungry guests and much reputation to uphold.  However, thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays despite the rushed cooking because that's what brings my family all together.

While looking online at some thanksgiving recipes I realized there are so many different versions of a thanksgiving dinner. Some dinners don't even involve a turkey! Shows you how much I know about modern day cooking…

Two days before thanksgiving we had to go through the notorious long grocery lines during the beginning of the holidays and pick up a few (hundred) ingredients at Trader Joe's.

Traditionally our family thanksgiving feast is pretty standard, for example we have turkey, stuffing, cornbread, cranberries, mashed potatoes, etc. One day before thanksgiving, is when the stuffing, pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes are prepared. This is about all I eat on thanksgiving. I know, I know not very healthy at all, but then again when has thanksgiving ever been a healthy holiday. The day of involves the vegetables, turkey, a few sides and best of all the gravy. Now keep in mind, I am not very fond of turkey - its dry, very little taste, but when it comes the turkey drippings, it's the best. The turkey drippings are the fundamental key to make the best tasting gravy. 

The first step is to make a roux. Roux (pronounced “roo”) is a fancy french name for a sauce thickener. It’s made of equal parts fat and flour. To get the fat ingredient, I poured the drippings into a cup and let it sit. After a while, the fat will collect on top, scoop the fat off and combine flour and fat to create the roux. Next add broth, it gives it more flavor. While continuously stirring, add in about 1 and 1/2 cups of white wine. The final touch is a pinch black pepper and salt. It’s absolutely delicious and this year it happened to turn out incredibly tasty.

As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving is my most favored holiday. So many wonderful smells wafting through the house, its make you feel so warm inside especially if its chilly. Thanksgiving gives you an opportunity not only to step up your cooking but also to pass time with your family. I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving!

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Welsh Cakes

Most of my memories as a child are eating my Nonna’s delicious authentic italian recipes - pasta slathered in bolognese sauce, creamy risotto and one of my favorites, piping hot lasagne made with velvety bechamel. Of course, an amature like myself can only dream of achieving something like that. So, instead of going to extremes, I thought I’d start at the basics and what could be more basic than eggs.

The other day, I called my nonna asking for advice. I wanted to learn the process of making her infamous lunch-time frittatas. Frittatas are almost like quiches, but yet completely different. Egg-based and most of time filled with a variety of vegetables, the way my nonna explained the recipe it seemed fairly simple - one of those recipes that are supposedly foolproof.

I decided to make one of my favorites - frittata with caramelized onions. I heated an oversized skillet and melted about four tablespoons of butter. After watching countless Food Network reruns, I believed I could theoretically dice an onion with ease. However, once actually faced with this daunting task, I turned helplessly to my mom for assistance. Following that, I slowly caramelized the diced onions in the butter. When they seemed right, I mixed the onions into three scrambled eggs and poured the mixture into another pre-heated skillet. The trick was the time. Too much time and it would burn, too little and you would get a soggy batch of scrambled eggs.

I turned off the stove and then for the final step I popped it into the oven (set to broil) to get a nice toasty appearance on the top. However, by then I realized I had missed the most sacred part - the cheese! I rushed to fridge, opened the container of Parmesan and hopelessly tried to save my frittata by throwing cheese everywhere. Mess alert. Obviously, once done, the frittata lacked in the flavor department partly because of the cheese mishap, so in order to once again try to save this dish, I added my favorite seasonings, basil and red pepper.

This frittata, although not an overwhelming success, was a good point to begin my process of trial and error. Infact, I proposed that this week I would attempt to try this once again...with cheese this time. This is a great refreshing dish that is especially great for a midday meals - even in a packed lunch. There are a variety of ways to mix up this dish with whatever you have in the refrigerator and it can be adjusted for any meal. This gives me plenty of opportunities to practice.

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Dulce de Leche: Caramel’s Better Looking Cousin

This weekend I was introduced to quite an amazing place - William Sonoma. Full of exotic spices, endless rows of cooking books and best of all samples. Samples has to be my favorite part of any store and William Sonoma had just what I've been craving - delicious caramel bark.  Its perfect for any sweet treat and an can make adorable gifts to give to coworkers or friends. However, today I will not be making caramel bark, but something even creamier and addicting. Dulce de leche! Dulce de leche is like caramels better looking cousin. Its creamier, thicker and just the right amount of sweet. Dulce de leche seems like the perfect fall treat, so why not make it.

There are various ways to make this sauces. One of the more traditional ways is letting milk and sugar simmer while you stir for hours. Of course this is extremely time consuming and eventually your arm will fall off. Another well known way to make it is submerging cans of sweetened condensed milk into a pot of boiling water and wait a few hours. Although remarkably easy, this method can be a big hazard if not careful. In some cases the cans will explode if the water pressure drops or dangerous chemicals can seep into the caramel sauce. To avoid any complications i followed what my moms does to create this mouth-watering treat.

Dulce de Leche made in a crock pot is the easiest way to make caramel sauce. Only one ingredient needed – sweetened condensed milk. All my mom does is place sweetened condensed milk into a mason jar, tightly close the lid and pour in water until it's about 2 inches above the lid. Let it cook and go to sleep and when you wake up you have delicious velvety dulce de leche ready to go. It takes 8 to 10 hours in the crock pot and you have dulce de leche that’s milky and smooth, much better than store bought. Making homemade caramel sauce is also much cheaper than store bought and I noticed it has a more appetizing color. I used 2 (14-ounce) cans of sweetened condensed milk and filled 3 masons jars.

Not only is dulce de leche a great topping for any of you favorite desserts but also a great homemade holiday gift. In fact what my mom loves to do is decorate mini mason jars with colorful decorative tape and paper, almost like a little DIY project. I strongly recommend this recipe. It's incredibly simple and delicious, perfect timing for fall. Hope you enjoy you sweet cooking adventure, enjoy!

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Not So Fancy Quiche

Quiches are somewhat recognized as a fancy french dish that's only served at dinner parties. However, I must disagree, in fact they are anything but fancy. The only ingredients needed are puff pastry, eggs and whatever you have leftover in your fridge.they are the equivalent of a casserole but have a better reputation and look more appetizing. This dish is incredibly effortless and is the best way to experiment with food.

    First thing of any dish is the base and in this case it just do happens to be the crust. Honestly getting crust just the way you want it is incredibly difficult for any dish. Too wet and doughy, it will come out chewy - definitely a texture to avoid when it comes to making crust. Sometimes there may be too much flour and the result is a crumble, not the kind of crust im looking for. Seeing as I don't have much patience for experimenting I took a short cut. I know, I know i've gone against every inspirational motto ever said but the result is just the same. Instead of creating my own dough I simply bought puff pastry and the light airy crust really complimented the filling, which is far better than I could have ever done.

The filling was really just a bunch of leftover vegetables and an egg - not very fancy. In fact the potato i used was a leftover baked potato nobody wanted. I cut all the needed ingredients: carrots, potato, peas, onion and prosciutto. The key is to season the veggies before adding the eggs. After mixing in the 5 eggs I added a little milk, parmesan and some chopped up chives to add a little extra flavor. The next step is in the oven. Set it at bake at 325, let it cook all the through and make sure it's not runny in the middle. Its also nice to get a crispy browned top. After its done baking set the oven to broil to get the top toasted. Take it out and let it cool or if you limited patience, like me, dive in and try not to burn your tongue.

    Quiches have somehow earned the reputation for being difficult and elaborate but are extremely simple to cook up and make great leftovers, especially for meal prep during the week. So whenever you have too many left over anything, turn it into quiche and tell me how it turned out. Enjoy!