Real Women Do Eat Quiche!

Do you eat quiche?  Quiche is not something I eat on a regular basis much less make myself, but I was looking for a make ahead brunch recipe and came across this one for Crustless Zucchini and Basil Mini Quiches.

These turned out delicious and was a very simple recipe to put together.  What I like about this recipe is that the quiche is made in a mini cupcake tin which makes the quiche easy to transport for a breakfast or brunch pot luck, plus you can make these the night before and freeze.  All you need to do is pop them in the oven when you're ready to serve them.

Crustless Zucchini and Basil Mini-Quiches

Makes 48 pieces; adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Oil, for the pan
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 small zucchini, grated
1/4 cup grated Gruyere or Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, finely chopped

Heat oven to 450°F.

Prepare Batter: Put the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Whisking steadily, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the milk, mixing until quite smooth. Whisk in the whole eggs and egg yolks, mixing again until smooth, then gradually whisk in the rest of the milk, the cream, salt, and nutmeg. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to one day. If using the next day, be sure to re-whisk.

Prepare Zucchini Mixture: In a nonstick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add grated zucchini, and stir until just softened, another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Oil mini muffin tins well. Put a pinch grated cheese into each muffin cup, a teaspoon of zucchini mixture, and pinch of chopped fresh basil. Pour 1 tablespoon of the batter into each muffin cup.

Bake until the quiches puff and start to turn golden, 15-18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and then carefully run a paring knife around the rim of each muffin cup. Carefully lift each quiche out of its cup.

Mini quiches freeze very well. Let cool, then freeze in a single layer in a covered container. Reheat on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes.

The Sunday Bulldog

Because it's the night of the Oscar telecast, I'm sharing this award-winning picture of my boy Finn.  Well, okay, it really didn't win any awards officially, but it is one of my favorite pics of him.

Finn is feisty, and brave, and and can be quite naughty at times with his brother, but he's always a sweetheart when it comes to giving me cuddles.  I call him my little teddy bear because not a night goes by where he doesn't curl his little body very close to me as he sleeps. I love you, Finn.

The Sunday Bulldog (one day late)

Oops, how did I forget to post my bully pictures yesterday? Hmmm...well, I did go on a 5 mile hike and was a little sleep deprived all day, so that'll be my excuse!

Anyways, here you go, a couple of very pooped-out pooches:

Because it's 90 Degrees Out

It feels much more like summer than the middle of winter here in Southern California.  We're definitely having a heat wave!  Today the temperature reached 90 degrees in Pasadena.  First thought as I was driving around doing errands was, "ice cream"!  I stopped at Trader Joe's to check out the frozen dessert section and this Salted Caramel Gelato caught my attention.  I've never seen it before and the cashier told me they've only been stocking it for a couple months. I couldn't wait to dig my spoon into the gelato! And when I tasted that spoonful, WOW! lots of caramel-y flavor, very creamy and definitely a hint of salt...all of this made my taste buds quite happy.

If you have a TJ's in your area, I highly recommend the Salted Caramel Gelato, whether it's 90 degrees in your neck of the woods or not!

The Sunday Bulldog

I was looking through some old pictures and found this one of my two boys when they were much younger.  I think Finn might have been 4 or 5 months old here and Tate around 6 months old. This is actually a rare shot of them "sharing" a toy together.  I love how their eyes locked on each other...like they meant business!

The Sunday Bulldogs

Aside from our pre-dinner walk this evening, today was a very lazy day for the three of us, as depicted in the following pictures.  More like a super-snooze party rather than anything football related!

Patience is key

When making this glazed chicken dish, one must be very patient.  Mainly because the "glaze" takes awhile to develop as you're cooking and this dish requires your full attention.  Lots of stirring and turning, definitely not one of those dishes you can leave alone for an hour to clean out your closet and then come back to.

chicken and sauce simmering until thickened

But the end product is simply divine and delicious, so all that slaving over a hot stove is well worth it, in my opinion.

The finished product with white rice and garnished with pickled ginger

I doubled the ingredients (except for the chicken) because I just love the glaze and wanted some extra to pour over rice. Or to simply dip my fingers into and lick it off! I would call this recipe finger-lickin'-good chicken except that description has already been used for a widely known fried chicken that comes in its own red and white bucket.  So, we'll call this one Sticky Chicken, how about that?

Sticky Chicken 

Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1 cup water
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
6 garlic cloves (smashed)
4 shallots (peeled and sliced)
2 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Place all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven or pot, and allow to boil.
Once liquid is boiling, turned down heat and allow everything to simmer for 20 minutes.
Turn back up to high temp and stir liquid and turn chicken until the sauce becomes a glaze.  This step can take some time.  For me, it was around 45 minutes. You can leave the pot on its own for 5-10 minutes but then check back and stir the liquid some more. If the chicken seems to be getting overcooked, take the chicken out and just leave the liquid in the pot until this thickens. Once the sauce thickens, place the chicken back into the pot and distribute the glaze over the chicken.
Once the glaze thickens, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp.

Eat the chicken over white rice or whatever suits your fancy.