Ever have a day when you wake up with a craving for something savory? In a quick perusal of my fridge I realized I had all the makings of a quiche. Here’s what I created!
Savory Spinach Quiche
1 pie crust
5 eggs
1 c half and half
5 slices cooked bacon, chopped
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 c fresh baby spinach
1 T chopped Vidalia onion
1 1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 t thyme
1 t seasoned salt
1 t cracked black pepper
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a 9 inch pie plate unroll the pie crust and press into place. Layer the spinach, covering the bottom of the crust, scatter the onion, bacon and tomatoes over the top, followed by the cheese. In a large bowl add the eggs, half and half, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, mix together thoroughly (I used my immersion blender). Pour the egg mixture over the filling. Bake on the lowest rack of your oven for 30-35 minutes until set. Rest for 10 minutes and serve.
Though I featured this post one year ago, it remains one of my signature recipes and one that we are having again tonight while ringing in 2016. It’s a tradition but also, it’s an amazing and delicious dish and so here it is once again! I hope you’ll try it!
Happy New Year!
Spence and I have spent 24 New Year’s Eves together. At some point I came across this recipe that sounded decadent, festive and delicious. The first few New Year’s Eves I made this as an appetizer/first course, then onto lobster tails and maybe even fondue as the night progressed. Too much food, too rich and the star here was the Scallops Chambord. Fast forward, our holiday routine now firmly established, Scallops Chambord is the whole meal! This year I prepped 4 skewers but decided to prepare two of them first, then about an hour later, two more. This was brilliant as we savored them over the evening with a fire blazing, Prosecco and later a special bottle of Champagne. I use most cookbooks as a “guide” so this represents my version which is better than the original in my humble opinion (patting myself on the back now).
Scallops Chambord
20-24 sea scallops
5-6 slices of bacon (not thick cut)
Rinse the scallops and rest on paper towels, blot the top. Stretch the 5-6 pieces of bacon, just pulling gently to lengthen. Cut each slice in half. Prepare a broiler pan and four skewers. Wrap the bacon around each scallop so that there is a complete wrap with a little overlap. Thread onto skewers, keeping space in between them. Set aside.
Ingredients for the sauce
Regular Cut Bacon
Sea Scallops prepped
Chambord Sauce
1 c seedless black raspberry preserves
1/4 c honey
1/4 c Chambord liqueur
In a small saucepan, add the preserves, honey and Chambord liqueur. Stir together on a very low heat to melt the preserves and honey together and incorporate the Chambord. You’ll want it to reduce sufficiently to coat a spoon. I usually make the sauce earlier in the day to assure the consistency is right.
Set oven to broil. Place the broiler pan with skewers in on an upper rack. Set your timer for 10 minutes but watch the scallops during the process – your oven may be hotter than mine. Remove, flip the skewers and return to the broiler for 3-5 minutes – again, you want the bacon cooked but not burned.
While the scallops are broiling, ladle your sauce onto the plate as shown above. When the scallops emerge from the oven, remove them and set onto the plate. At this point, I pour Spence and I a glass of Prosecco which we enjoy with our plated Scallops Chambord.
Chef’s Note: If you can’t find black raspberry preserves, a perfectly good substitute is seedless red raspberry preserves.
I’m sharing a family recipe from my paternal Grandma. A favorite of mine, it’s very simple and I’ve changed it only slightly over the years as it was damn near perfect to begin with. I lost this Grandma just after my 12th birthday, before I’d ever cooked it or discovered my love of cooking. If I had my best guess, this recipe was born out of the Great Depression when meat was expensive and stretching a dollar was critical. All I know it that the crunch of the celery, the sweetness of the onion, the creaminess of the beans, the salty crispness of the bacon and the spice and heat of the pepper and pepper flakes makes this a delicious and treasured family recipe.
KIDNEY BEAN STEW
Serves 2-4
1 1/2 – 2 c chopped celery
1 1/2 – 2 c chopped sweet white onion
1 c dark red kidney beans – rinsed & drained
red pepper flakes – to taste
coarse ground black pepper – to taste
1 lb cooked, crispy bacon – reserve 2 T bacon drippings in the pan you’ll use to assemble this meal
Using a deep frying pan, start by cooking your bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
With the reserved bacon drippings, saute your celery, onion, red pepper flakes and black pepper until the celery becomes brighter green and the onions are just starting to soften.
Add the kidney beans and stir together, until they are heated through.
After you dish up this mixture, crumble crisp bacon over the top and dig in!
For more of my family recipes (think comfort food) go to the RECIPE menu above but I’ll make it easy and link you to another favorite by clicking here:
