Jeannie's Little Quiches

I got this recipe from my sister a long time ago. I used to make them all the time. I'd make a double batch and freeze half. Then I could just bake a couple for snacks if I wanted. I recently rediscovered it. They are so super easy, I have no idea why I stopped making them!

I decided they would be easy for a holiday buffet table and made them for a small gathering before Christmas.



Jeannie's Little Quiches
2 pie crusts
2 tbls butter melted

1 cup half & half
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

fillings (or any you like)

1/2 10oz pkg broccoli chopped
1/4 lb swiss shredded
velveeta - cut into very small cubes
diced ham or shredded ham slices from the deli

or

1/2 10oz frozen spinach
1/4 lb gryuere shredded

or

green chilis
Jack or colby cheese shredded

Preheat oven to 400F
Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter (or a large glass or jar) cut circles out of pie crusts.
Line greased muffin tins with 3 inch dough circles, brush with melted butter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While they are in the fridge, mix half & half, eggs, salt and pepper. Set aside. Chop fillings.
Remove muffin trays from fridge, add fillings to cups and add one TBLS egg mixture to each cup.
Bake 400 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
Or if you like to finish baking them later, bake 15 minutes... allow to cool, refrigerate or freeze and finish baking when ready to use.

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Ok... I didn't use a round one... I like my flower cutter =)





Brush them butter... then into the fridge!


Prep your fillings


Now add your fillings to the dough cups








Now add a tablespoon of the egg mixture to each cup.


Bake at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes.


Enjoy!


These are great!!! I love when people comment the next time I see them about how good something was the last time I saw them!

That happened with these over the weekend!

My Big 10 Inch

Jon usually gets me really cool Christmas presents and this year was no exception!!

What girl doesn't want to find 10 inches under the tree??

Oh yeah! I'm totally spoiled!

Here's my Big Ten Inch!!



mmmm... yeah!!!
10 full inches of forged steel... hand honed for razor sharpness!!

My brand new 10 inch Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife!

For a little size perspective...


I feel like a Samurai or The Highlander wielding that in the kitchen!

"There can be only ONE!"

Ok, maybe not The Highlander, because I could never give up Tippy... my beautiful 8in Wusthof! Even with a broken tip, I will never give up this knife!



Happiness is a sharp knife (or two!)

December Wine Tasting ~ Shiraz

We had our December Wine Tasting on the 19th... here's our review!

We had 3 different bottles of Shiraz. And I'm pretty sure that I already recycled them, so I don't have the intros from all the bottles... I'll check the interwebs to see what I can find.

Once again we were tasting with Drew & Ericka (who got married today BTW!)

This is Ericka & Drew


This is me & Jon


First up, Jon chose Virgin Vines....

Name: Virgin Vines by Richard Branson
Price: $9.99
Year: 2006

PHOTO of bottle



Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Ok... I didn't really see anything online and the bottle is already gone.

Review: Color is deep purple
Jon thought it tasted sour.
I thought it tasted like wine and made a yucky face.
Ericka - big backend (the wine not Ericka) not much up front (again, the wine, not Ericka) or in the middle
Drew... ummm... no notes from Drew!

Would you buy again?: Probably not... but it was a pretty bottle.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: ummmm... I dunno



Note aforementioned yucky face


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Drew & Ericka chose the Ravenswood & Wolf Blass

Name: Wolf Blass Yellow Label Shiraz
Price: $10.99
Year: 2006
PHOTO of bottle



Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: This Shiraz is part of the Yellow Label range of single varietal wines sourced from premium vineyards throughout South Australia. Following fermentation, this wine underwent partial oak maturation, resulting in a rich, well structured Shiraz, that exhibits attractive plum, spice and pepper characters, good length of flavor and can be enjoyed now or cellared for several years. Screw caps were used to ensure freshness and preserve the character of the wine.

Review: color - deep purple red
Jon... no note from Jon
Me... mellower than the Virgin... very mellow after gherkin, nicer w/blue cheese & gouda... not sweet.... YUCK w/chocolate
Ericka - bigger after dark chocolate
Drew - oaky & smokey

Would you buy again?:I wouldn't... Drew probably would

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: ummm... again... I dunno

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Name: Ravenswood Vinters Blend
Price: $11.99
Year: 2005

PHOTO of bottle


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Delicious, rich, luscious wine full of dark fruit characters, chocolate and spice for which Shiraz is renowned. No wimpy wines, mate!

Review: deep purple red color
me - a little sweeter after gherkin
Ericka - not big & bold (mate!)
Jon - reminds him of port
Drew - no note from Drew

Would you buy again?: nope!

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: sorry... none

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Ok... when compared with each other this is the order that we liked them.

Me... for Shiraz... they all tasted the same and I couldn't choose one over the other.
Jon... Ravenswood, Wolf Blass, Virgin
Ericka... Ravenswood, Wolf Blass, Virgin
Drew... Wolf Blass, Ravenswood, Virgin


I did like the Shiraz better than Malbec mixed with 7up to make a wine cooler!

Check out the Wine Club on BakeSpace!!

November Wine Tasting ~ Malbec

I'm a member of the Wine Club on BakeSpace. I don't like really like wine. I joined the wine club to gain a bit of knowledge about wine and maybe stumble across something I do like. I like sangria and that's just a baby step away from liking wine right?

The first month (November) was Malbec. (yeah... I just realized this would be a cool place to put the wine tasting. Maybe you'd like to join too? Follow the links and check it out! The more the merrier!!

On to the first review!!

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Ok..... we invited Ericka & Drew, our wine drinking friends and included the Quara from last week... so I'm adding it to this review, since they tried it for the first time Friday night. For cheeses we had Dutch DaVinci, Smoked Gouda, Amish Blue with baguette slices. There was a summer sausage & pepperoni sticks, red grapes, pomegranate, red pepper hummus & pita chips, sesame bread sticks, Ericka's homemade green tomato preserves, dark chocolate, stone ground mustard, French gherkins, and garlic herb dipping oil.

Name: QUARA
Price: $8.99
Year: 2007
PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Deep purple in color with rich berry and plum flavors. Good structure, balanced acidity and a long velvety finish define it's character.

Review:
Jon and I started this week earlier by ourselves and this was our review:
Well... I picked this bottle because I liked the label. That's pretty much all I have to go on. So Jon and I tried it at room temp. First we smelled it. Well... it just smells like wine. I'm not being a smart a$$ this time... that's really all we can get out of it. At first it just tasted like wine. We had it with pizza... red w/sausage & pepperoni, white w/garlic, spinach & feta, and hot wings. Still really couldn't pick anything out. If sipping immediately after a hot wing bite, it did taste a little sweeter and we could catch a hint of berry flavor. My glass has been sitting out for about an hour now and I can get a bit of plum scent and a bit of berry & plum flavor.
Ok... reviewing our notes... there isn't much to add about this wine. It has a strong alcohol taste...
it's ummm... thicker... when you swirl it, it sticks to the glass more.
Ericka: full bodied
Ok... like I said... not much more about this one.... on to the next!

Would you buy again?: Sure if I needed some red wine for cooking... but this wine has not converted me.

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Funky Llama
Price: $6.99
Year: 2007
PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
The Llama is an icon of the high Andes, roaming the snow-covered peaks between the pampas and the sky. Grown at 4000ft in the shadow of these great mountains, our wines are a clear expression of the purity of our land: Bright, Fresh & Flavorful.
**nothing about how it should taste, smell or look!** I might need to rethink picking by the labels I like!

Review:
Color - dark red not purply
smells like berries
WAY mellower than the Quara
Can't really pick out any flavors (even though it smells like berries)
Not as many tannins
Drier than Quara
Drew: Good table wine
Spryte: I could drink this if there's nothing else to drink, including water

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And the next Drew picked this out:
Bodega - Septima
Price: $11.99
Year: 2007
PHOTO of bottle:



Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
Tasting Notes: Dark red color with violet reflections. Intense aroma of sweet fruits such as plums, blackberries and quince preserve with hints of herbs and green pasture. Pleasant on the palate with soft tannins and toasts, oak and vanilla nuances. Good balance and persistence.

Aging: The wine ages in French and American oak casks where it will acquire the aroma of the wood, which together with it's own will create a more harmonic, complex and expressive wine. Six months in oak casks and six months in the bottle.

Review:
Deep purple red color
Intense mold smell but not moldy... oak??
Almost bleu cheese smell (the blue cheese was not close by)
spicy smell
Ericka: reminds me of bourbon... it's the oak!!!
Spryte: kinda pickles my tongue
Tried with dark chocolate... NO yuck for me!! YES YUM for Ericka!!

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Order of preference from best to least favorite:
Ericka: Septima, Quara, Funky Llama
Drew: Sepitma, Funky Llama, Quara
Jon: Funky Llama, Quara, Septima
Marguerite (aka Spryte): Funky Llama, Septima, Quara

Ericka: I think I'm not a malbec fan.









The Funkly Llama was nice mixed with 7up over ice - totally drinkable then!! =)




Check out the Wine Club on BakeSpace!!

Toasted Coconut Wafers

These are new to my lineup this year. My husband LOVES coconut, so this was pretty high up on my list of 'cookies to try'. They are crispy, buttery and coconuty!



Toasted Coconut Wafers
1 C butter, softened
1 1/4 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg, separated
2 1/4 C flour
1 C shredded coconut, toasted
1 1/2 C shredded coconut

Beat butter with electric mixer. Add powdered sugar, almond and salt. Mix until combined. Beat in egg yolk. Mix in flour. Then stir in toasted coconut.
Divide dough in half and shape each half into and 8-inch roll.
Brush with egg white and roll in coconut. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375F
Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes; transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
Enjoy.

Better Homes & Gardens

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I had to toast my coconut. I did it in a 300F oven and had to watch it VERY carefully... I ended up throwing out 2 batches, because I didn't pay close enough attention and it got too over-done.

(I think this pic is blurry ~ sorry about that!)


Prepare dough as directed above.

Brush with egg whites.


Then roll in coconut.


Wrap & refrigerate.


Slice and bake on parchment paper lined cookie trays 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.




Enjoy!!


Next time I make these, I think I'll omit the egg whites & roll in coconut and bake as is. Then dip them in dark chocolate and shredded coconut. =)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

So aren't these on everyone's Christmas Cookie Trays?

They're wicked easy! Why don't I make them more often? Would they be less special at Christmas if I did? I dunno, maybe because I don't usually have Hershey kisses in the house. I dunno.

Anyway... yeah....



Peanut Butter Blossoms
1/2 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 TBLS milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 C flour
1/4 C sugar (for rolling)
Hershey Kisses (unwrapped)

Preheat oven to 350F
Cream together butter & peanut butter. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Mix in flour.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll in sugar.
Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and immediately press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool on wire rack.

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So, make the dough as directed above... my dough was a little soft, so I tossed it into the fridge for 30 or 45 minutes.

Then roll into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.


Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.


Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned


Immediately press a Hershey kiss into each cookie (sorry for the blurry pic, it's not easy to take a pic of yourself doing stuff)




Cool on wire rack... and enjoy!!

Icebox Shortbread Cookies

I found these in the Everyday Food Collectible Cookie Edition 2006. They are so versatile. The flavor combinations are only limited by your imagination!

Toffee Chocolate Chip


Orange Cranberry


Icebox Shortbread Cookies
For the Shortbread:
1 C butter, room temperature
1 C confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 C all-purpose flour

Flavor Variation Options:
*Grated zest of 2 oranges and 1/2 cup dried cranberries (I made these)
*Grated zest of 2 lemons; coat with 1/4 cup poppy seeds
*Grated zest of 2 limes; coat with 1/4 cup cornmeal
*1/2 cup chopped dried apricots; coat with 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios
*1/2 cup mini chocolate or peanut-butter chips
*1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger; coat with 1/4 cup sesame seeds
*1/2 C toffee chocolate chips (and these)

This recipe makes two logs of dough. The logs can be refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to three months (thaw before slicing and baking). To make two flavors with one recipe, divide the dough in half in step 1 before adding mix-ins (and use half the amounts given).

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour, mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in desired mix-ins.
2. Divide dough in half; place each half on a piece of floured waxed or parchment paper. With floured hands, gently roll each into a 1 1/2-inch diameter log. Dividing evenly, sprinkle logs with desired coating if using, rolling log (to help coating adhere) and pressing in gently. Wrap logs tightly in the paper, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (To store longer, wrap log and paper tightly with plastic.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap logs; with a serrated knife, slice dough 3/8 inch thick (if dough crumbles, leave at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes). Arrange slices, about 1 inch apart, on baking sheets.
4. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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I made a double batch of shortbread.

This half is toffee chocolate chip =)








The other half is Orange Cranberry.






Ready for the fridge!


The next morning I was ready to bake.
Toffee Chocolate Chip






And Orange Cranberry


Bake & enjoy!!!

Toffee Chocolate Chip




Orange Cranberry