BBQ Chicken Quiche

Happy Memorial Day everybody!  Andy and I are both off of work and school today so it's just a free day to do whatever we want!  We've decided to take the dogs with us to Clifty Falls to do some hiking, then come back to grill out some steaks and make some sushi.  Sounds like a good way to spend the day to me!

Since BBQ is the main attraction in many households across the nation today, I figured I'd do a little twist on a classic quiche.


Ingredients:

Rotisserie chicken, meat taken off the bone and shredded
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 pie shell (you can use your leftover puck from the pie dough recipe)
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup cheddar jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 F.

If you haven't already, blind-bake your pie shell until slightly golden.  Let cool to room temperature before adding filling.

Make the quiche custard by combining the eggs, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Whisk until mixed well.  You can also strain the mixture at this point to remove any "egg boogers".  Yes, that's my technical term.  You know, those pieces of egg white that just won't homogenize with the rest of the mixture?  You'll end up getting a more evenly colored quiche this way, instead of random white spots here and there - but if that's your thing, then hey, you can skip the straining.

Anyway, in a separate bowl, combine the shredded chicken and BBQ sauce.  Mix well and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place about 1/2 to 1 cup of the chicken on the bottom layer of the pie shell.  More than likely, you'll have more filling than you know what to do with - but I'm sure you're creative enough to come up with something to do with it (i.e. bbq pulled chicken sandwiches, bbq chicken pizza, ANOTHER quiche, etc.).

Pour the custard atop the chicken and then top the whole thing with the shredded cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes or until quiche is set, but still slightly jiggles in the center.  Let cool to room temperature before slicing (unless you just can't wait that long!).

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Maple & Chocolate Pie

 

Happy Saturday guys!

I've got to work today and tomorrow, but I'll be off from both school and work on Monday - so you better bet I'll be relaxing then!

Today we're covering pie dough and pie.  One of my favorite types of pie is a chess-type pie.  Not necessarily a custard, but ooey and gooey.  You know?  Maybe not the best way to describe it, but heck, the point gets across.

Anyway, I was Googling some different variations of a chess-type pie and came across this Backwoods Pie.  It's basically a maple-infused chess pie.  And it sounded delicious.  In order to make sure Andy didn't look at me funny, I added in some chocolate for the bottom layer.  It definitely brought this baby to a whole new level!

Ingredients:

Pie Dough (makes 2 10 oz. pucks)

10 & 3/4 oz. pastry flour
1/2 oz. sugar
1/8 oz. salt
1 oz. dry milk powder
7 & 1/2 oz. margarine
2 & 3/4 oz. water, chilled

Filling
(Recipe adapted from The Bite House)

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Start by making your pie dough.  This is recipe we use at school and I've found it to be one of the best and most consistent pie doughs that I've ever made.  Also, the recipe calls for pastry flour.  I realize not everyone will have pastry flour just lying around.  Have no fear, you can make your own at home!  Just combine 40% hi-gluten (or bread) flour with 60% cake flour, and voila - pastry flour!  And vice versa, 60% hi-gluten and 40% cake produce all-purpose flour!  So really, all you need in your house is bread and cake flour and you've got the ability to have 4 types of flours at all times!

Anyway, back to the pie dough.  Sift the pastry flour, sugar, salt, and dry milk powder into a large bowl.  Cut the margarine into small cubes and cut into dough until you achieve your desired flake (definition: butter coated with flour and baked).

Make a well in the center and add the chilled water.  Mix lightly until a dough is formed, adding more water if necessary.

Divide dough into 2 10 oz. portions.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  You'll only need one of the dough pucks for the pie, so you can place the other one in the freezer if you're not using it right away.  Just thaw completely when you're ready to use it later on.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out into a circle with 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.  Carefully lay dough into a 9 inch pie pan.  Flute edges, as desired.  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set - this prevents the pie dough from shrinking during the baking process.

 Preheat oven to 375 F.

Remove pie-shell from refrigerator and blind-bake (without filling) for about 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden.  You can dock (poke holes) in the bottom of the crust before baking to prevent bubbling, or alternatively, you can add pie weights (or beans atop parchment paper).

To make filling,  combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream eggs, butter, and salt in a medium bowl.  Slowly add in flour until just combined.

Place the chocolate chips in the bottom of the baked pie shell.  Pour mixture over top and bake for about 45 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown.

Let cool on a cooling rack until at room temperature.  Slice and serve with a big dollop of whipped cream.