Quiche seems like a springtime dish, but the truth is its an ‘any season’ dish in my opinion. This version skips the pastry and is built on a crispy, grated, potato hash brown crust.
Hash browns can always be counted on to add heartiness and can be made several different ways, incorporating a variety of ingredients, including leftovers or whatever happens to be on hand in the fridge. Although hash browns are credited as being from the USA, there are similar dishes elsewhere that likely contributed towards the hash browns of today, and should be mentioned:
- Rösti of Switzerland – like a potato pancake
- Latkes of the Jewish folks – also like a potato pancake, but with eggs
- Tortilla de papas (or patatas) of Spain – like an omelet
The original ‘quiche Lorraine’ was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon. It was only later that cheese was added to the quiche Lorraine. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough, but that has long since evolved into numerous other ideas such as puff pastry or hash brown crusts.
Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake.
The specialty quiche from Lorraine features gruyere cheese, onion, bacon as its primary flavors. The nice thing is, quiche is something that anyone can make and can be served as an entrée, for lunch, breakfast, or an evening snack.
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Quiche Lorraine w/ Hash Brown Crust
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Instructions
Potato Crust
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Thaw & pat dry shredded hashbrowns on paper towels. Lightly toss with remaining crust ingredients. Press into the bottom & up the sides of a 9" quiche pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F.
Filling
In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp, 5-6 minutes; transfer to a paper towel lined plate & allow to cool.
Wipe out skillet & heat oil. Add leeks & garlic; cook covered , stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until tender.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, heavy cream & smoked paprika. Stir in bacon, leeks & cheese. Spoon mixture into hashbrown crust. Slightly press sliced tomatoes , cut side up, into quiche. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper.
Bake until set & golden brown about 20-25 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
- To cut out a few calories, I use a low fat milk instead of the heavy cream. It just requires a little longer cooking time but still tastes great.
When you stuff fish, you expand the flavor profiles available with fish. It’s such a great way to make your fish dinner more interesting and flavorful. You can stuff a whole fish or wrap thin fillets around the stuffing and then bake or grill the fish as usual.
Whitefish is a freshwater fish that is commonly called Atlantic Cod, Halibut or Flounder. Whitefish, when cooked, are dry and compared to other fishes, the flesh of the whitefish is completely white.
Whitefish can be classified into different, unique species that can easily be identified according to their appearance and where they live.
These flaky white fish fillets are stuffed with a creamy shrimp filling and flavored with onion, garlic and spices. For something different I gave them a spicy hashbrown crust. This seafood dinner is just as tasty as it is eye appealing and definitely not dry.
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Shrimp Stuffed Whitefish w/ Hashbrown Crust
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Instructions
Spicy Hashbrowns
Thaw shredded hashbrowns on a paper towel. In a bowl, place the flour, cheese, onion, garlic, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper & egg. Add 'dried' shredded hashbrowns. Using a fork, mix everything until combined being careful not to break up the hashbrowns. Set aside until stuffed fish is ready to be coated with the mixture.
Stuffed Fish
In a saucepan, add olive oil & heat . Add onions until they begin to soften & caramelize a bit then add garlic. Add shrimp pieces, cream cheese, seasonings & chives; stir until well incorporated. Remove mixture from heat & allow to cool.
Lay out whitefish, remove all bones, skin & wash & dry thoroughly. Place fillets between two pieces of plastic wrap & pound gently to flatten a bit for easier rolling. Lay on work surface & divide shrimp mixture between the two fillets & spread until it is even.
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Roll up each fillet with the seam side down in a greased baking dish. Spoon hashbrown mixture over stuffed fillets. Press down coating to ensures it adheres well to top & sides of each stuffed fillet.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Cut each fillet in half to make four servings. Nice to serve with a few roasted cherry tomatoes & a side of guacamole.
ENJOYING SHROVE TUESDAY!
Shrove Tuesday is a ‘holiday’ with a movable date, due to its relationship to Easter. The final day before Lent, it has many meanings, both spiritual and practical. The spiritual purpose of Shrove Tuesday is to take stock of the year and determine what things one must bear in mind during repentance.
Practically speaking, Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the great ‘fast’ of Lent. As a result, many would take it as an opportunity to have a final feast and party. Because this holiday marked the last day to use up one’s stocks of fats and eggs, a British tradition was born: Pancake Tuesday. Pancakes make use of ingredients that were banned during Lent and would spoil before its end.
Although many traditions of the past have gone by the wayside, whether you know its history or not, Pancake Tuesday seems to still be a ‘thing’. Brion & I don’t eat pancakes a lot but certainly enjoy them when we do. As always, I can’t resist a new idea, so today we are having some chicken pancakes w/ mushroom sauce. Yum!
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Chicken Pancakes w/ Mushroom Sauce
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Instructions
Mushroom Sauce
In a skillet, heat oil & add mushrooms & onions. Sauté for about 5-8 minutes until moisture releases & evaporates. Whish in flour & allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes.
Add garlic, thyme, salt & pepper; cook an additional 30 seconds. Add milk, whisking constantly until cooked & thickened. Remove from heat & set aside.
Pancakes / Chicken
In a skillet, heat oil & add ground chicken, herbs & spices. Scramble-fry until chicken is no longer pink. Remove to a dish & set aside.
In a bowl, combine flours & baking powder; add cooked chicken & grated cheese.
In a small container, whisk together eggs, milk & oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry & mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Be careful to not over mix the batter. Let mixture stand for about 3 minutes before cooking.
Heat griddle to about 250 -300 F. Place a small amount of butter on the griddle to coat the surface.
Cook pancakes on one side until golden brown then flip to the other side & cook until golden as well. I made 4 large pancakes with this amount of batter.
To Serve
Place one large pancake on each serving plate, top with 1/4 of the mushroom sauce, another pancake & another 1/4 of the sauce. We found this to be a very filling meal!
Veggie loaf, who thought of this? It seems it was one of many recommended meals during WWII to help housewives provide nutritious and varied meals while being faced with food shortages and strict rations.
The veggie loaf was meant to achieve several purposes – use leftovers (veggies & stale bread), replace meat, provide variety and use ingredients that were readily available and economical such as beans and carrots.
From what I recall, there were few vegetarian loaf recipes until the late ’60s. By the end of the 1970s, however, there was at least one veggie loaf recipe in every natural food’s cookbook. Over the years, though, vegetarian loaves gained a bad reputation. Sadly, many early recipes came out of the oven resembling bricks and were just about as appetizing. If you followed a typical recipe as it was written, you wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough food to go around. No one wanted a second helping. Times have definitely changed, with the increased interest in the vegetarian lifestyle of today.
Even though Brion & I are not vegetarians, I have always loved vegetables, so incorporating a veggie loaf into a meal with meat works for me.
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Mushroom, Chard & Brown Rice Loaf w/ Mustard Sauce
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Vegetable Loaf
In a small pot, bring 1 cup water & a pinch of salt to a boil. Add rice, lower heat to a simmer & cook rice until water has been absorbed & rice is tender. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions & cook until translucent. Stir in garlic & celery; season with salt & pepper. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms & herbs; cook until mushrooms release their juices & the liquid evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Add chard & cook until wilted. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, then remove from heat & let cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously grease a loaf pan with olive oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard & broth. Add vegetable mixture & rice; stir to combine. Pour vegetable mixture into loaf pan & smooth flat with a spatula.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are nicely browned. While the vegetable loaf is baking, prepare mustard sauce.
Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife along the edges & flip onto a serving platter & slice. Serve with mustard sauce.
Mustard Sauce
In a small pot, melt butter then add flour to form a roux. Cook until bubbly & flour is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add vegetable broth & mustard. Bring to a simmer & cook for about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from heat & serve with vegetable loaf.
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes and is noted for its regional diversity and abundance of difference in taste.
Tortiera di Patate Carciofi e Salsiccia or ‘potato pie with artichokes and sausage’, is classic, simple comfort food at its finest. A seasonal dish that can serve as a hearty vegetable side dish (omitting the sausage) to a meat or fish meal, but which can also be the main course by adding the sausage meat as I did here.
Being a vegetable lover, I think vegetables are all good, but put together they make for fantastic preparations.
This is a very easy preparation, which does not require special techniques or even special skills. Potatoes go very well with artichokes and sausage, making it a dish with a harmonious and truly savory taste.
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Potatoes Layered w/Artichokes & Breadcrumbs
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Béchamel Sauce
In a small saucepan, add milk. Slowly whisk in flour until blended then add salt, pepper & smoked paprika. Bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low & simmer, stirring for about 5 minutes. remove from heat & stir in parmesan.
Veggies & Sausage
Cook potatoes in microwave until soft but not overcooked. Peel (if you wish) & slice into 1/4-inch slices; set aside.
Clean artichokes, remove the harder outer leaves, cut them into fairly thin slices & brown in a pan with oil, season with salt. Add water & cook only until soft. Drain any excess water & set aside.
Scramble fry sausage meat, remove from heat & drain on paper towels. Grate cheese. Prepare some breadcrumbs for topping.
Assembly
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Line a 8-inch round baking dish with foil & brush with oil. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of pan then top with a layer of artichokes. Sprinkle half of the sausage meat on top then half of the grated cheese. Spread half of the béchamel sauce over all. Repeat the same procedure to form a second layer.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbling & hot. Remove from oven & allow to cool about 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Carefully remove foil & sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Serve.
Crepes come in many flavors and styles and can be eaten as appetizers, side dishes, main courses or desserts. Barley flour is nutty and nutritious and perfect to use in crepes.
Barley has always been a grain I have enjoyed. Not only a good choice in soups and entrees, but perfect when ground into flour for baked goods. Barley has a weaker gluten than wheat flour, however, so it may not rise as well as recipes made with wheat flour. As a result, barley flour is usually mixed with wheat flour when baking yeast breads.
An underrated and underused grain, barley is actually Canada’s 3rd largest crop after wheat and canola. More barley is grown in Alberta than any other province.
That lovely nutty flavor that works well with fruits like apples and pears, is amazing in a savory meal of chicken and mushrooms.
Most of us don’t think nutrition when we think of crepes. Generally, crepes use all-purpose flour, milk and butter with more butter added to the pan. These crepes use whole barley flour in both the crepes and the filling .. how good is that!
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Chicken & Mushroom Barley Crepes
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Crepes
In a bowl, combine flour & salt. Whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
Heat a small non-stick skillet or crepe pan (6-8-inches) over medium-high heat. Brush bottom of pan with oil. Using a 1/4 cup measure of batter, add to pan & quickly tilt pan to cover bottom with batter.
Shake pan to loosen crepe & cook until edges of crepe begin to curl & it no longer sticks to the pan, about 30 seconds.
Gently flip crepe over & cook for a few seconds. Remove from pan & set aside. Repeat with remaining batter.
Sauce
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter, sauté mushrooms & garlic until lightly browned. Add flour, stirring until completely mixed in. Gradually stir in milk, salt, pepper & dried herbs; cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
If you are using broccoli florets, cook in microwave for 1 or 2 minutes to precook slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Set out a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Set aside 1 cup of the sauce. Into remaining sauce add the chicken, broccoli & 1/2 of the grated cheese; gently combine.
Spread a small amount of reserved sauce in bottom of baking pan. Divide filling between crepes. Gently fold each side of the crepe to the middle. Place crepes seam side down in baking dish & top with 1/2 of sliced green onion, remaining sauce & cheese.
Since the sauce is fairly thick, I set the pan of crepes into another pan that had about 1/2-inch of water in it to create a 'water bath'. This helped them to cook without getting to crisp on the bottom.
Cover the pan with a sheet of foil & bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven & sprinkle with remaining green onion. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- If you would prefer to make smaller crepes, use a 1/8 measuring cup or 2 Tbsp instead of the 1/4 cup measure. It should give you roughly 10 crepes.
Christmas Day 2022! It’s amazing how fast this time of year arrives. Nevertheless, the day has arrived, and we are celebrating it for its spiritual meaning as well as a family birthday. Today is my sister Rita’s birthday and though it has been many years since we could all be together at this time as a family, her birth date brings many precious memories. Nostalgia is a very strange thing. It pops up when you least expect it. Taste, smell, music can take you right back to a moment.
My siblings & I grew up on a farm in southern Alberta. Christmas for our family was less about gifts and more about family time & great food. I have such good memories of uncomplicated things that were so special. The Christmas cards hanging on strings decorating every room of our house, cookie cannisters full of Christmas baking, having a wonderful Christmas meal, evenings, when the chores were all done, all of us sitting around the dining room table cracking nuts & eating a few candies with some homemade root beer as a family. And of course, Rita’s birthday meant an added bonus of a birthday cake. In today’s world, all of these things seem so insignificant but they were definitely some of the best and simplest pleasures of a lifetime.
Today, Brion & I are making our day special by having some turkey breast with sweet potato stuffing. Stuffing is a lot like meatloaf — no two recipes are the same, but each one is the best. Aside from sweet potato fries, I’m guessing that most people eat sweet potatoes primarily at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It seems like people fall into one of two categories for the big meal: those who like marshmallows with their sweet potatoes, and those who find the sweet-on-sweet combination revolting. In fact, despite its reputation as a holiday for ‘togetherness,’ these occasions seem to inspire much food-related conflict: should stuffing have fruit in it? Is green bean casserole delicious, or repellant? Is deep-frying a turkey awesome, or deeply terrifying?
Neither Brion or I like the traditional ‘candied yams’, but after making some savory sweet potato bread around Easter this year, I got an idea. Why couldn’t this bread be used in a stuffing for the turkey?? Here’s what evolved from that idea.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITA! WE LOVE YOU & CELEBRATE YOU ON YOUR DAY.
SEASONINGS GREETINGS TO EVERYONE WHO ENJOYS & FOLLOWS OUR BLOG
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Turkey Breast w/ Savory Sweet Potato Stuffing
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Stuffing
In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms & seasonings in margarine. Remove from heat. Place vegetable/seasoning mixture in a large bowl & combine with dry sweet potato bread cubes & broth, adding only enough broth to make proper stuffing consistency. Set aside.
Turkey
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Lay turkey breast on a clean work surface so that it lies open & flat. Cover with plastic wrap, then pound lightly with a meat mallet to flatten into an even thickness all over. Discard plastic wrap. Spread the inside of each half with a bit of the herb butter.
On one half of the turkey breast place a thick layer of the savory. Fold the adjoining half of the turkey breast overall. Fasten with metal skewers if you wish to help to keep stuffing enclosed.
Place a wire rack in a roasting pan & lay stuffed turkey roast on it. Brush herb butter over turkey breast. Roast uncovered, until turkey reaches an internal temperature of 180 F. about 2 hours. Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.
Place any extra savory stuffing in a buttered casserole & bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly toasted.
Remove turkey breast from oven, tent with foil & allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Slice & serve with extra stuffing.
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Recipe Notes
- The recipe for my savory sweet potato bread was previously posted for an Easter Brunch on April 17/2022. I made one recipe & used half of the loaf for this stuffing.
Timbale is derived from the French word for ‘kettledrum’, also known as timballo, can refer to either a kind of pan used for baking, or the food that is cooked inside such a pan. The crust can be sheet pastry, slices of bread, rice, even slices of vegetable.
This dish is much hardier than soufflé, and is often likened to a crustless quiche, because it is less likely to fall after being removed from the oven. A timbale is different from souffle in several ways; to begin with, the eggs are not separated, but beaten together. Timbale also incorporates breadcrumbs for body, and frequently uses milk rather than cream. It is made with a variety of cheeses.
Common ingredients in timbale include ham or other meats, along with vegetables. It can make a hearty meal or an excellent accompanying side dish, and is also delicious when served cold. Timbale is usually cooked in a tray of water, because the steam helps the custard to set.
Timbale dishes are made from a variety of materials, including enameled metal and ceramic. They are designed to be partially submerged in water during cooking, and are usually capable of standing up to extreme temperatures, since they are used in the oven. They come in a wide variety of shapes, although round dishes are most common. Timbale is often prepared in individual ramekins. Most are attractive enough to be brought directly to the table for service, although many timbales are unmolded and plated so that they can be dressed with a creamy sauce.
For our timbale, I decided to make it without eggs & make a nice cheesy sauce instead. To make it a full meal deal, I added some ground pork but stayed with the original concept of layering everything. It not only tastes great but makes a nice plate presentation.
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Timbale of Zucchini & Sausage
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Béchamel Sauce
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic & mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add flour & cook 1 minute, stirring to combine. Remove from heat & gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, then return to the heat & cook, stirring until thickened.
Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard & 3/4 cup of the combined parmesan & smoked cheddar cheese (reserving 1/4 cup), stirring until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat & stir in the parsley.
Sausage & Veggies
In a saucepan, scramble fry ground pork until cooked. Drain on paper towels. Sauté mushrooms until moisture evaporates.
Slice zucchini thinly & lay on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt to help draw the moisture out; pat dry. Slice potato thinly, leaving skin on.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 2 – 5-inch round pans with removable bottoms with foil paper to prevent leaking.
DIVIDE veggies, sausage & sauce BETWEEN THE 2 BAKING PANS. In the bottom of each pan place a layer of potato slices, overlapping slightly. Next layer some leeks & mushrooms, top with a bit of sauce then layer sausage (sprinkle sausage with smoked paprika) & zucchini. Spoon a bit more sauce over all & repeat with a second layer.
Cover with foil & bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil & bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup grated cheese. Allow the timbale to stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining 1/4 of sauce on the side.
People who will happily eat chicken breast often turn their noses up at eating chicken thighs, possibly because they’re considered ‘dark meat’. Actually, chicken thighs tend to have a more intense flavor than breast and the meat stays juicy and tender during cooking.
It’s hard to overcook chicken thighs. If you use moist-heat cooking techniques like braising, chicken thighs will forgive you if you leave them in the oven too long. The worst that can happen is that if you go over your braising time, the meat will just fall off the bone.
Thighs have a good meat-to-bone ratio relative to other bone-in chicken parts, such as drumsticks and wings, which means they’re good value for money. Personally, give me a thigh any day, I love the dark meat. Strangely enough, for the many times I’ve made roulades, I’ve never thought to use chicken thighs.
Literally meaning ‘rolled’ in French, the word roulade signifies a lot of things. Traditionally, it’s a preparation reserved for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, stuffed with cheeses, vegetables, and other meats. This chicken thigh roulade for example is a great and easy way to jazz up some really simple ingredients.
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Stuffed Chicken Thigh Roulade
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In a skillet, sauté onion & mushrooms until tender; remove from heat & cool.
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Arrange chicken thighs on a large sheet of foil paper, to form a large rectangle.
Mix shredded cheese & parsley into cooled mushroom/onion mixture. Sprinkle chicken with spices, salt & pepper.
Arrange stuffing along middle of the chicken rectangular, evenly distributing. Roll up, enclosing filling, using the foil to help you tighten the roll.
Carefully wrap roll with slices of bacon, securing with toothpicks if needed. Place foil with roulade centered on it on a deep baking sheet.
Bake 45 minutes. Chicken is done when juices run clear or internal temperature is 180 F. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, slice & serve.
Plum sauce is one of several commonly used Chinese condiments. The sauce is both sweet and tangy, allowing the product to work well in a number of different applications.
The basic plum sauce is made using plums that have been allowed to ripen to the point where the flesh of the fruit is at its sweetest. As part of the preparation, the skin of the plum is usually removed by immersing the whole plums in hot water for a short period of time, allowing the skin to be peeled away from the fruit with relative ease.
Often you will find plum sauce made from other fruits, most commonly apricots. Or made from a combination of apricots & plums. It is also common to add other seasonings to plum sauce like garlic, star anise or Chinese 5-spice powder. The additional seasonings add different nuances to the flavor of the sauce and vary depending on the tastes of whoever is preparing it.
In this particular recipe, I’m using plum sauce as an ingredient in my sauce mixture rather than on its own. The combination creates a unique Asian flavor for the pork.
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Asian Pork Chops
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In a large skillet, brown chops in oil. Combine the plum sauce, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, ginger & pepper; pour over chops.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
Remove pork chops to serving platter & drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with sliced green onions & sesame seeds. Serve with steamed rice.
