Such a Sweet Tart.

When I was a child, one dessert, that adorned the Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, was egg custard.  A firm, yet smooth and creamy, confection within its own small bowl; topped with a sprinkling of nutmeg.  No whipped cream, or any other topping, needed; it was pure perfection as is.  Once we moved to Pennsylvania, and began frequenting the farmers markets, custard pies were offered at every bake stall.  The filling was the same wonderful egg custard, but now baked inside a flaky pie crust.  The best part, I could have this all year long!  No more waiting for those two special winter holidays.  What could make it even better?  Learning to make it myself, and not depend on someone else to create it, or hope there was any left at the market to purchase.

So, of course, as with most of my food related articles, a bit of origin/historical want of knowledge nudges my brain into research mode.  While the French and the British debate on which country invented custard first, it was actually developed in Ancient Roman times.  Bakers and cooks understood the binding power of the incredible, edible egg.  Simmering milk, eggs and honey, in a clay pot, within a wood burning oven, the coagulation of egg proteins thickens the milk during baking.  The ingredients formed a firm texture, yet still had a slight wiggle in the center.

With the invasion of Britain, the Romans also brought with them their culture, and that includes food techniques, tools and recipes.  By the Middle Ages, the English were baking, boiling or steaming their custards.  The French though were adding fruit and fresh cream, then baking the mixture in a round, flat crust which became known as a tart.   While tart referred to “a flat open-topped pastry”, it was not until the 1800s that tart began to refer to “a woman of ill repute”.  Which might answer a question regarding the several cookbooks I have on pioneer cooking, “Why did they make puddings and custards, but no tarts with these fillings?”  Of course, later on in the 1900s, pudding and custard pies began making the rounds of the home kitchen.

Now I must warn you, while the recipe calls for the filling to go to the top edge of the pie crust, be prepared for spillage.  Aluminum foil covering the rack, and even a sheet on the oven bottom itself, will prevent a load of burnt on cleanup afterwards.  Maybe others have a better way of getting a very loose filling into a pie crust, but I have tried several techniques, and always manage to spill.  So I admit to being a baking klutz, but my goodies are still quite delicious, if not runway model perfect.

For this recipe, I also substituted Swerve for the sugar; due to my need for lower sugar content.  Allowing the pie to cool completely, for at least two hours, in the refrigerator, will give it a firm texture, but remain smooth and creamy.  Also, use whole milk as a lower fat milk will cause a need to bake the pie up to an hour longer.

Egg Custard Pie

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (can substitute with 1 cup Swerve Granular or Truvia Baking Blend)

6 large eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. nutmeg, divided in half

2 and 1/2 cups whole milk

1 deep dish pie crust, frozen, unbaked

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line baking rack with aluminum foil, in case of spillage.

 

Beat together sugar, eggs, vanilla and ½ tsp. nutmeg.  Add milk and whisk until smooth; pour mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle remaining ½ tsp. nutmeg lightly on top of the custard.  Carefully place pie into oven, on top of foil.

 

Bake for 45-60 minutes; filling will rise and firm up, with very slight looseness in center.  Remove from oven, let cool for 20 minutes before placing into refrigerator to completely cool; about two hours.

Makes 1 pie, 8 servings.

 

While delicious as is, adding fresh fruit to the top, or on the side will pretty it up.  Whipped cream, I have found, washes out the flavor of the custard and nutmeg.  Enjoy your sweet tart!

Mary Cokenour

Give Mom a Big Quiche for Mothers' Day.

We all start out life as a simple, basic human being.  As we grow and learn, little facets of the world around us, including people, add to our own lives.  We accept or reject what we want to; allow ourselves to be molded into an independent individual, or we just become one of the crowd.  Each day we learn something new; that is, if we have open minds and want to see beyond our own little worlds.  Of the people who influence us the most, it is our parents, soon it will be Mothers’ Day; the woman in our lives who nurtures, cares for, molds, advises and sees us as small children the rest of our adult lives.  Don’t worry dads, your day will come in June.

Personally, I enjoy traveling down the road less taken.  That poem, by Robert Frost, has much meaning, if one cares to really read and understand the concept of being an individual, not just a clone.  This is something that I strove to teach my own son; surprise, I do have a child, well he’s a strong adult now, 27 years in age and living in Moab.  Wonders will never cease when it comes to me, I promise you that!

"The Road Not Taken"

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

 And sorry I could not travel both

 And be one traveler, long I stood

 And looked down one as far as I could

 To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 Then took the other, as just as fair,

 And having perhaps the better claim,

 Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

 Though as for that the passing there

 Had worn them really about the same,

 And both that morning equally lay

 In leaves no step had trodden black.

 Oh, I kept the first for another day!

 Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

 I doubted if I should ever come back.

 I shall be telling this with a sigh

 Somewhere ages and ages hence:

 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

 I took the one less traveled by,

 And that has made all the difference.

When it comes to independence, cooking was definitely taught to my son who continues to work in restaurants wherever he resides.  A complete, and easy, meal to create is Quiche, and yes, real men do bake and eat quiche.  A quiche is egg custard with savory additions, baked in an open pastry shell; usually served at room temperature or chilled.   It is quite simple to make with a variety of tongue teasing ingredients: cheese (Swiss, Gruyere, Cheddar, goat), meat (bacon, ham, sausage) and vegetables (raw or cooked).  

Asparagus and Cheddar Quich

Basic Quiche

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups half n’ half

4 eggs, beaten

1/8 tsp. salt (can be adjusted up or down dependent on ingredients added in)

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1 – 9” unbaked deep dish pastry shell

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine half n’ half, eggs, salt and pepper.  Pour into pastry shell; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until egg mixture is golden brown and set.

Once baked, let the quiche cool for at least two hours before serving; it may look done, but the center is still loose; cutting it would be a complete mess.  Refrigerating the quiche would help; it can then be served cold, or slightly warm it for 10 minutes in a 300F oven.  Eaten cold or warm, quiche is a complete meal in a slice of egg custard goodness.

Mushroom, Bacon and Swiss Cheese Quiche

Notes

The above is the simple egg custard; the adventure is what is added.  Add 2 cups shredded cheese (your choice) to the bottom of the pastry shell, before pouring in the egg mixture, for a simple cheese quiche.  Reduce the cheese to 1 cup if adding meat and/or vegetables to not overwhelm the custard.

Spinach, Mushroom, Goat Cheese Quiche

For meats, distribute a ½ cup of cooked meat (crumbled bacon, diced ham, crumbled ground sausage) with the cheese.  Depending on the salt content of the cheese and meat, salt can be adjusted prior to adding to the egg mixture.  Herbs, fresh or dried, can be incorporated into the egg mixture as well. 

For vegetables, ½ cup of sautéed onion, peppers, leeks, zucchini or yellow squash distributed with cheese, or cheese and meat.  If using a root vegetable (potato, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke), peel, dice, boil in water till tender and drain thoroughly before adding inside the pastry shell. A raw vegetable, such as spinach (wash leaves and dry thoroughly), should be chopped before adding.

To avoid spillage, a jelly roll pan placed into the oven while it is heating up helps temper it; it should not warp and tilt the quiche(s) during the baking process.  I have found that that doesn't always work out the way I planned it.  Instead take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, make edges all around and place on the center rack of the oven.  Then carefully place the filled pie crusts inside, close up the oven and bake as usual.  The foil won't warp from the heat, but still grab any spillage.

Now you go ahead and give mom that huge bouquet of flowers and box of her favorite chocolates, but giving her a big quiche will truly make her smile.

Mary Cokenour

Simply Quiche.

Whenever I need a deep dish pie crust (no, I don't usually make my own), I try and buy the Marie Callender brand; smoother crust, bakes evenly; a bit deeper than the no-name store brand types. This is perfect when making quiche as the egg custard tends to puff up while baking; I'd rather have more of it to eat, than cleaning it off the bottom of my oven.



Basic Quiche Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups half n’ half
4 eggs, beaten
1/8 tsp salt (can be adjusted up or down dependent on ingredients added in)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 – 9” unbaked deep dish pastry shell

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine half n’ half, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour into pastry shell; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until egg mixture is golden brown and set.



Roy Cokenour
 

Now here's a recap of my basic quiche recipe, very simple.  What I'm going to post today is a quiche using Swiss Cheese, mushrooms and bacon.  Swiss cheese usually comes in blocks and all you need is a hand grater and large bowl to shred it; oh, and lots of muscle would be very helpful.  Oh sure you can go out and buy a fancy food processor, but I've got something much better...a kitchen gnome.  Meet my hubby, Roy; and personal kitchen gnome; he does all the jobs I believe need more muscle than I'm willing to sacrifice.

I ended up making two quiches, one without bacon for my mom-in-law who does not eat pork products; both had the Swiss cheese plus sliced mushrooms.

Preheat oven to 350F.  First mix up your egg custard using the recipe above, set aside.  Now spread out two cups of Swiss cheese over the pie crust; next spread out one cup of sliced mushrooms and one cup of chopped, partially cooked bacon.





Gently pour the custard mixture over the ingredients in the pie shell and use a chop stick to move it between items so there is no clumping; try to keep everything spread out as evenly as possible.






Now to avoid spillage, usually you can put a jelly roll pan into the oven while it is heating up to help temper it; it should not warp and tilt your quiche during the baking process.  I have found that that doesn't always work out the way you plan.  Instead take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, make edges all around and place on the center rack of your oven.  Then carefully place your filled pie crusts inside, close up the oven and bake as usual.  The foil won't warp from the heat, but still grab any spillage.




Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Quiche

Once baked, let the quiches cool for at least two hours before serving; they may look done, but the center is still loose; cutting it would be a complete mess.  Refrigerating the quiche would help; it can then be served cold, or slightly warm it for 10 minutes in a 300F oven.  Eaten cold or warm, quiche is a complete meal in a slice of egg custard goodness.



Swiss Cheese, Mushroom and Bacon Quiche
 


Enjoy!!!

Mary Cokenour

Life is like a quiche.

We all start out life as a simple, basic human being.  As we grow and learn, little facets of the world around us, and other people, add to our own lives.  We accept or reject what we want to, and allow ourselves to be molded into an independent individual, or we just become one of the crowd.  Everyday we learn something new; that is, if we have open minds and want to see beyond our own little worlds.

Personally, I enjoy traveling down the road less taken.  That poem, by Robert Frost, has much meaning, if one cares to really read it and understand the concept of being an individual, not just a clone.

"The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

...and that is what makes life like a quiche. 

Quiche

A quiche is egg custard with savory additions like meat, cheese or vegetables, baked in an open pastry shell. The quiche is a favorite and traditional dish, as it is usually served at room temperature or chilled, so the custard has time to set up; but it makes a simple dinner also. It is quite simple to make, and additions of savory ingredients can vary: cheese (Swiss, Gruyere, Cheddar, Goat), meat (bacon, ham, sausage) and vegetables (raw or cooked).  Quiche is a versatile meal, and can be adjusted to suit any taste.

Basic Quiche

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups half n’ half

4 eggs, beaten

1/8 tsp salt (can be adjusted up or down dependent on ingredients added in)

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

 1 – 9” unbaked deep dish pastry shell

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine half n’ half, eggs, salt and pepper.  Pour into pastry shell; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until egg mixture is golden brown and set.

Notes: The above is the simple egg custard; the adventure is what is added.  Add 2 cups shredded cheese (your choice) to the bottom of the pastry shell, before pouring in the egg mixture, for a simple cheese quiche.  Reduce the cheese to 1 cup if adding meat and/or vegetables to not overwhelm them.

For meats, distribute a ½ cup of cooked meat (crumbled bacon, diced ham, crumbled ground sausage) with the cheese.

For vegetables, ½ cup of sautéed onion, peppers, leeks, zucchini or yellow squash distributed with cheese, or cheese and meat.  If using a root vegetable (potato, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke), peel, dice and boil in water till tender before adding inside the pastry shell. A raw vegetable, such as spinach, should be chopped before adding.

Depending on the salt content of the cheese and meat, it can be adjusted prior to adding to the egg mixture.  Herbs, fresh or dried, can be incorporated into the egg mixture. 

Mary Cokenour       January 18, 2011