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.

Pineapple Tart w/ Walnut Streusel

Happy Tuesday guys!  I'm slowly getting back into the pace of a normal blogger again, and it feels good!

After seeing a friend of mine's garden the other day, I decided to get my butt in gear and finally prep mine for some plants!  I spent the majority of the day getting plants and weeding and prepping the garden.  It's finished and I really hope that the third year is a charm for us!  I usually start with just seeds, but because of the late start, I decided to buy plants.  Hopefully I can take care of the garden a lot better than I did last year (time just got the best of me!).

Anyway, in honor of my little sister's birthday yesterday, I'm posting a quick and easy tart using Phyllo dough!

Ingredients:

Box of Phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon walnut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup almond flour
melted unsalted butter, for brushing

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine the walnuts, sugar, walnut oil, salt, and almond flour in a food processor.  Process until well combined and resembling a coarse meal.

Lay out a piece of Phyllo dough and brush it lightly with melted butter.  Sprinkle about 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of the walnut streusel atop the sheet of Phyllo.  This will help the layers stay flaky and not stick together after the baking process.  Repeat with 5 more pieces of Phyllo.

Place pineapple about 2 inches from bottom of Phyllo.  Roll up carefully, brushing edge with additional butter to help seal the tart.  You should have a nice thick log.

Using a serrated knife, cut 1 & 1/2 inch slits (being careful not to cut all the way through - halfway should be sufficient) in the log.  This will make it easier to cut after the tart is baked.  If you didn't do this, your Phyllo would basically fall apart if you tried to cut it.

Brush top with melted butter and sprinkle any leftover streusel on top and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

OH!  And I got my wedding pictures back last night and here is our favorite -

Diamond Vol au Vent

 

So how's everybody liking the new blog?  I know it's kind of simple right now, but I'm working on getting a cool header put together in between the little free time that I have!

Today we've got Diamond Vol au Vent (pronounced Voo-le-vant - with kind of a nasal "a" in the "vant").  I think these are a neat little thing to do with your puff pastry and they're sure to impress guests at a dinner party.  The possibilities to fill them with are endless, you can go from savory to sweet easily, and you can even play with the shape as well (circles are another popular one).

Since it's practically summer, I thought some fresh fruit vol au vents would be perfect!  Enjoy guys!

Ingredients:

Puff pastry
Pastry cream - there are a plethora of recipes out there, but this one is pretty good
Various fruits - I chose mangoes and raspberries
Apricot jelly (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Roll out your puff pastry to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.  Using a pastry wheel (or pizza cutter), cut 2" wide strips vertically.  Then, by cutting horizontally, make 2x2" squares.

Take one of the squares and turn it so that it looks like a diamond (instead of a square).  Fold the diamond in half (point to point, not side to side).  Using the pastry wheel, cut two slits about 1/4 inch from the edge, being careful not to let the slits meet (so like you're making an upside-down V, but not connecting the two lines).

Carefully open the diamond back up.

There should be two points across from eachother that are completely separated from the inner diamond.  Fold one of those sides over to the opposite side (atop the edge of the inner diamond).

Do the same with the other side.

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the center area so it doesn't "puff" as much as the outer edges.  Repeat process with remaining puff pastry squares and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown and slightly doubled in size.  Let cool before filling.

Place about a tablespoon of pastry cream in the center well.  Top with desired fruits, arranging them nicely, of course!  To give the tarts a little shine, heat up some apricot jelly (or simple syrup if you're in a pinch!) and, using a pastry brush, lightly dab the surface of the tart until it is glossed over.

Cute, eh?  Definitely a technique I keep in my back pocket when I want to impress some folks.  Who knew it could be so simple, right?

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Beef Wellington Empanadas

Hey guys!  It's Peggy from My Fiance Likes It So It Must Be Good!  By now, you've realized that this is the new blog!  Easier web address, shorter, and to the point!  I'm married now, so I figured I'd start fresh with everything!  Glad you guys could stop by =)

So it has been a while since I'd posted my Blitz Puff Pastry post, and I had promised to let you know what I'd done with it... well, that was month ago!  I'm glad you could bare with me though, because this is definitely a tasty treat!

Ingredients:

Blitz Puff Pastry, slightly thawed
1 cup Duxelles - I like this recipe
1 cup Shredded beef - I just used the leftovers from this recipe

Preheat oven to 375F.

Take your slightly thawed puff pastry (you'll want it thawed enough to be pliable) and on a floured surface, roll out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thickness.

With a 2 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough.

In the center of the circles, place about 1 teaspoon of duxelle mixture.

The place about 1 to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of the shredded beef filling on top of the duxelle mixture.

Get a cup of luke warm water and dab the edges of the circle.  Fold the top over the filling and seal edges.  You can make it decorative by using the pointed end of a paring knife to press down on the dough.

Be sure to vent the top of the empanadas so they don't explode while baking.  This is easily done by taking some kitchen scissors and, at an angle, cutting a small portion of the dough. 

Repeat with remaining circles of dough until you have a little empanada army.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until empanadas are golden, brown, and delicious!

Serve with your choice of sauce - I made a brussels sprout salsa and some brown gravy to go with ours! 

The possibilities on empanadas are endless, so feel free to experiment with fillings and sauces!

Hope you guys like the new blog, and can't wait to start posting more often (crossing my fingers!)

A new chapter...

Hey guys! I know it's been forever since I've done a post, but just wanted to let you know I've developed a new blog - Feeding Andy! 

It's still pretty simple in format (when I have time, I'll spruce it up), but I hope you join me there from now on!

A new chapter...

Hey guys! I know it's been forever since I've done a post, but just wanted to let you know I've developed a new blog - Feeding Andy! 

It's still pretty simple in format (when I have time, I'll spruce it up), but I hope you join me there from now on!

Secret Recipe Club: Barbecue Chili w/ Corn

Well hello there!  It's been about a month since my last post!  Trust me, April was a whirl wind of a month.  First and foremost - I GOT MARRIED!  We went to Vegas for our honeymoon and had a blast!  And this past weekend was Derby weekend (which is basically the Black Friday for restaurants around here - it's been CRAZY busy and I'm utterly exhausted!).

Anyway, I'll definitely post pictures as soon as I can.

But the reason we're here right now is to talk about a club.  The Secret Recipe Club.  One of my favorite blogging groups.  It's like a secret Santa for food bloggers.  You end up with an awesome blog to pick a recipe and blog about, and in return, someone ends up with your blog, as well!  Exciting, huh? 

Well this month I got the pleasure of getting Connor's Cooking.  Raina has a plethora of great recipes to choose from.  Everything from Shrimp Tortellini Pasta Toss to Guacamole.  It was a hard decision, but I settled on Raina's Barbecue Chili w/ Corn.  It was a quick and easy meal, that made enough to feed us for a few days!

The only changes I made were to use black beans instead of barbecue baked beans and chipotle chili powder instead of regular, but only because I had those on hand already.  The recipe was quite tasty and I'll definitely be making it again and again!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Connor's Cooking's recipe

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, diced
14.5 oz. can seasoned black beans
14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato sauce
1 & 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded habanero cheddar cheese
2 cups corn chips
pickled jalapenos (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste


In a large pot under medium high heat, add ground beef and onions and cook until beef is no longer pink.  Drain.

Stir in black beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, chili powder, and cumin.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle chili into bowls and top with your favorite chili toppings.  Enjoy!

Hope you guys check out Connor's Cooking and if you're interested in joining the Secret Recipe Club, click here to find out more!