Quiche Florentine

 

You’d be hard pressed, I think, to find someone who hasn’t heard of quiche. What was a bit of a rarity when I was a child is now pretty much everywhere. There’s much to like about quiche. It’s inexpensive, can make use of whatever you happen to have in the fridge, can have crust…or not, and can be served cold or hot. I find it’s a wonderful way to use up ingredients of which I may have over bought, and don’t want to see go to waste. That was the inspiration for this quiche, namely, the bag of fresh baby spinach that had gotten shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten.Florentine Quiche

 1 9-inch pie crust, blind baked*

1 T. olive oil

2 medium Melissa’s shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. shredded cheese, your choice, I used cheddar

3 c. fresh baby spinach

1 T. flour

½ c. whole milk

½ c. heavy cream

4 large eggs, beaten  

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/8 t. white pepper

Few gratings 

fresh nutmeg

 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Blind bake pie crust. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

 In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive. Add garlic and shallots, and sauté until the shallots are transparent, 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and stir gently until cooked down.

In a small dish, take 2 tablespoons of the milk and whisk together with the flour until the flour is dissolved. Combine the slurry with the rest of the milk, heavy cream, and beaten eggs. Whisk to combine and add salt and pepper. Set aside. Layer the vegetables and cheese in the prepared pie crust. Slowly and carefully pour the liquid over top.

 Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes until the center of the quiche is cooked through. Use a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from browning too quickly.

*To blind bake a pie crust,place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pie pan on top of your crust. Place pie weights, dried beans, or rice on top of parchment and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove and set aside the weights and parchment paper. Prick the bottom of the pie crust several time with a fork. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

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Curried Chicken Salad

 

I like chicken salad, but let’s face it, chicken, on its own, particularly the breast, is rather insipid. I generally like to season it within an inch of its life with Montreal Chicken Seasoning to ensure the chicken salad is flavorful, but I also like to add lots of other ingredients to give it various textures, interest, and crunch. I like to not only add crunch, but also, savory, sweet, and tart. All of these tastes can be found in this toothsome Curried Chicken Salad.Curried Chicken Salad

 ½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice

2½ t. curry powder

½ t. kosher salt, plus more to taste

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

3 c. cubed cooked chicken*

½ c. diced celery

½ c. diced, peeled Granny Smith apple

½ c. golden raisins

2 scallions, chopped

½ c. cashews

Paprika, to garnish

 In a large bowl, stir together mayonnaise, lime juice, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Fold in chicken, celery, apple, raisins, and scallions until well coated. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

 Just before serving, fold in cashews and sprinkle with paprika (if desired). Taste and adjust seasonings, as needed.

 This is wonderful when served on romaine lettuce leaves, but it also makes a nice filling for lettuce cups, and no carbs!

 *It has to be cubed. That is the only way you’re going to get the proper chicken to celery to scallion to apple to cashew ratio.

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Nutty Chicken Salad

Back in the day my mother used to play bridge a couple of times a week. I don’t play bridge, but I can totally get on board with playing cards with women a couple of times a week. Different women rotated hosting the gatherings every week. There was always a signature cocktail, delicious food, dessert (naturally), and lots of conviviality. Sometimes there were prizes. What’s not to like about that? Does anyone play bridge anymore? If not, why not? Invite me! I don’t play bridge, as I mentioned, but if there is ever a Crazy Eights party, count me in!  My mother always tried to be unique and innovative with her meals. She used to tell me that she was so sick of chicken salad because that’s all anybody ever seemed to make — hot chicken salad, cold chicken salad, chicken salad on lettuce leaves, chicken salad in a pineapple boat, you name it, she ate it. As a consequence, she grew to have quite a disdain for chicken salad. Me? I love it!

I was experimenting last week and as I was making the chicken salad my eyes rested upon a large canister of mixed nuts that I had recently purchased. I wondered how the combination of cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and pistachios would be in chicken salad. Let me tell you, it was magnificent! I loved the variety of tastes and the crunchiness, paired with the creaminess of the chicken. Winner!

Nutty Chicken Salad

2 c. cooked, cubed chicken
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 T. finely chopped Melissa’s shallot
½ c. salted mixed nuts, rough chopped
½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Fold together until combined. Chill 2-4 hours (preferably overnight) before serving.

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Tropical Chicken Salad

I mentioned in this post that I had once had chicken salad that had bananas in it. I received a lot of responses from people who had never heard of such a thing, but they don’t call me “the memory machine” for nothing, so I immediately started to dig. I went through piles of my mother’s recipes, cookbooks I had inherited from a friend, cookbooks that I inherited from my grandmother, and piles of recipes that I had accumulated on my own ever since setting up housekeeping back when dinosaurs roamed the earth; eventually I found it. I have no idea as to the source other than to say it’s from “family friend Lorraine.” Personally, I think this chicken salad is magnificent. It is so different from the kind of chicken salad that is routinely served. It is indeed tropical and refreshing; light yet complex, and fruity with just the right amount of spice, making this version uniquely delicious.

 Tropical Chicken Salad

2 c. cubed cooked chicken*

1 c. chopped celery

¾-1 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1-1½ t. curry powder

Seasoned salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

1 c. Melissa’s organic pineapple, cubed, drained**

1 large firm banana, sliced (I cubed mine)

1 14-oz. can mandarin oranges, drained**

½ c. sweetened shredded coconut

¾ c. cashew halves or macadamias

 Place cooked and cubed chicken and celery into a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine mayonnaise and curry powder; add to chicken mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

 Just before serving, fold in the pineapple, bananas, oranges and coconut; toss gently. Serve on salad greens, if desired. Sprinkle with nuts.

*Preheat oven to 350° F. Place breasts of chicken on a low-sided baking pan (read: jelly roll pan), rub with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Bake for 35 to 55 minutes until chicken is done and juices run clear. The reason for the wide range of roasting times is because the length of cooking depends upon the thickness of your chicken breast. Remove chicken from the oven, allow to cool, remove skin and cut chicken into neat little cubes; set aside.

**Drain! Drain! Drain! Put them in a salad spinner if need be. Too much moisture will make the dish watery.

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Gioia's Chicken Salad

In the middle of last summer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a recipe for an area deli’s chicken salad. I like chicken salad, and I try a lot of recipes, but I didn’t pay too much attention to this one, figuring, fruits and nuts notwithstanding, one is pretty much like the other. After a friend told me that this was her most favorite chicken salad, I had to give it a try.

It’s good, very good. It’s not all that much different from a lot of the recipes that I’ve tried, with the exception of two things: celery seed and lemon pepper seasoning. These two seemingly insignificant additions, made a significant difference in flavor, making this my new favorite as well.  Try this recipe and see for yourself.

Gioia's Chicken Salad

Gioia’s Deli, St. Louis, MO

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

¼ to ½ cup chicken stock or water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup finely diced celery

¾ cup finely diced red onion

2¼ teaspoons celery salt (or more to taste)

1 teaspoon Melissa’s Lemon Pepper Grinder

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup mayonnaise (Gioia’s uses Duke’s mayonnaise), more if needed

Notes: Although Gioia’s bakes the chicken breasts for this salad, you can use approximately 4 cups of chopped white meat chicken poached or from a rotisserie chicken.

The unique texture of Gioia’s chicken salad comes from baking the breasts in liquid, adding lemon juice and from hand mixing the pieces together. The methods allow the chicken pieces to soften and the mayonnaise absorbs better over all the pieces.

Although you can use any mayonnaise, Gioia’s uses Dukes, which contains no sugar, has a tangy flavor and a rich consistency. Once a southern cooking staple, it is now widely available in local grocery stores.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly coat the bottom of a baking dish with nonstick allow the air to circulate.

Pour enough broth or liquid into the pan to cover the bottom of the pan to a depth of ¼-inch. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the internal temperature 160ºF. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove the chicken to a cutting board, discard pan juices, and cut into a ½-inch dice. Place diced chicken in a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice. Using gloves, toss the chicken with your hands to incorporate the juices throughout. Add the celery and onion. Whisk celery salt, lemon pepper and fresh ground pepper together and add to the bowl. Toss the salad with your hands to evenly incorporate all. Add the mayonnaise to the chicken mixture, and work it in with your gloved hands. The chicken salad shouldn’t be heavy and should just hold together. If needed, add mayonnaise in small increments to reach desired consistency.

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Pesto Cucumber-Avocado Soup

Remember last week when I told you to be sure to make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette because you would need it again? If not, go back and look, I’ll wait. Here’s the reason that you need it, to add a wonderful fresh pesto taste to this delicious cold summer soup. There is nothing better on a hot day than a cup of cold soup, and this one is cooling, refreshing, loaded with nutrition, and lots of flavor. It’s like summer in a cup.

Pesto Cucumber-Avocado Soup

1 large, ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1 large cucumber, unpeeled, and cut into large chunks

1½ c. homemade chicken stock (canned, if you must)

1 Melissa’s shallot, quartered

2½ T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. fresh lime juice

½ c. plain Greek yogurt

¼ c. Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Pinch Kosher salt

Pinch red pepper flakes

Place avocado and cucumber into a large capacity food processor fitted with a metal blade, and process until smooth.  With machine running, gradually pour chicken stock through feeder tube; process until smooth.  Add shallots, citrus juices, yogurt, Lemon Basil Vinaigrette, and process until combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Chill for at least 2 hours (the longer the better). To serve, ladle into cups or bowls and top with basil chiffonade, croutons, or drizzles of the vinaigrette.

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Croque-Monsieur

Directly translated, the words croque monsieur become “crispy mister.” Essentially, it’s a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. But don’t let the seeming simplicity of this bore you. It is so much more than that. This simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich is also topped with a rich and creamy béchamel, additional freshly grated cheese (in this case Gruyere), and then put under the broiler until it gets hot, brown, and beautifully bubbly. This is like no grilled cheese sandwich you have ever had. Yes, it’s a little more effort than just slapping some cheese between two pieces of bread and shoving it into your toaster oven, but the extra work is well worth the sinfully delicious taste. Make this once, and you will never be satisfied with a plain old grilled cheese sandwich again. 

Croque-Monsieur

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

1 bay leaf

4 slices firm white sandwich bread

4 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest ham

4 ounces sliced Gruyère cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Add nutmeg and bay leaf. Increase heat to medium-high and boil until sauce thickens, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Place 2 bread slices on work surface. Top each with half of ham and sliced Gruyère. Top with remaining bread. Heat heavy large skillet over low heat. Brush sandwiches with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Add to skillet and cook until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to small baking sheet. Spoon sauce, then grated cheese over sandwiches. Broil until cheese begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

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Looking for something to feed the family? Try this Croque-Monsieur Pie!

This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Wonderful Wednesday

Whimsical Wednesdays

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

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Tropical Chicken Salad (Served in a Coconut Bowl)

It’s the season for spring and summer lunches, featuring fresh and delicious salads. As May is National Salad Month I thought it the perfect time to share this recipe for chicken salad with you, along a fantastic way in which to serve it. This version of a lunchtime favorite has a tropical bent thanks to the inclusion of coconut, macadamias, and fresh pineapple. Anyone can serve it on fresh leaves of lettuce or sandwiched in a flaky croissant, so why not come up with something unique and serve yours in a coconut half? I used coconut hearts from Melissa’s Produce. Because they are shelled and skinned, they are easy to slice in half (saving the delicious coconut water that is inside) and use this as your serving bowl. Who wouldn’t be in awe of a beautiful lunch like this?

Tropical Chicken Salad

¾ - 1 cup mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ cup macadamia nuts, rough chopped

½ cup fresh pineapple, cut into ½-inch dice

2 Tablespoons Melissa’s shredded coconut

½ cup diced celery

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

In a large bowl whisk together mayonnaise, curry powder, salt, and paprika. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in nuts, pineapple, coconut, and celery. Gently fold in chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight, to allow flavors to meld. Serve on top of lettuce leaves, or in a coconut half.

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 This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Wake up Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

The DIY Collective
Simple and Sweet Fridays

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Tea Ladies’ Chicken Salad (To be eaten with a gloved hand.)

I don’t know why, but the months of April and May make me think of ladies dressed in elegant attire, strands of pearls at their neck, and wearing white gloves. I’m dating myself here, I know, but back when I was very young, my mother used to host ladies’ luncheons and teas. I would climb up on my bed, press my face against the glass in my window, and watch them arrive. I loved seeing the wave of the skirts on their dresses, hearing their heels click as they walked, seeing the flash of jewelry at their ears, and enjoyed the titter of conversation. What a lovely, civilized time! Often on the menu was one or other variety of chicken salad, so, to this day, I cannot make it without thinking of these ladies, all of whom are now, sadly, gone.

So, as we greet the warming months of spring, I’d like to honor the memory of these ladies with a chicken salad recipe that I know they would enjoy. The ladies would have loved it served with slice of freshly baked date nut tea bread, or sandwiched between same.

Tea Ladies’ Chicken Salad

(To be eaten with a gloved hand.)

1 cup finely diced rotisserie chicken 

(equal parts dark and light meats)

1/4 cup celery, finely diced

1/3 cup Duke’s mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sweet pickle juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Melissa’s dried bing cherries, finely diced

Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to meld. Serve on a bed of spring lettuce, or sandwich between thin slices of date bread.

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This post is linked to:
Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tweak it Tuesday

Tickle my Tastebuds
Two Cup Tuesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Wake up Wednesday

Dream, Create, Inspire

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