Crustless Onion Quiche

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely crustless quiche is wonderful to have on nights when real appetite fails you. It's also great to have on Sunday morning or for a holiday brunch when your appetite runs wild. It is inexpensive to make and can be prepared by novice cooks without special equipment. The Silver Fox makes this for me when I'm not feeling well. Believe me, if he can do it, you can do it. The onions are bothersome, but doable, and they are a perfect way to teach the culinary technique of sweating. A video showing how to sweat onions can be found here. Please notice the pan used here is a 10-1/2 inch round baking dish. If you use a pan of smaller size you'll have to adjust cooking time. While this can be assembled hours ahead of serving, I bake it at the last minute and serve it warm. I've found the onions get watery in the quiche sits around for too long a time. I usually serve this with a salad and really good peasant bread. If I've convinced you to try this, my work here is done. I'll leave supper in your capable hands. Here's the recipe.

Crustless Onion Quiche...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Patricia Wells

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter for greasing baking dish
1 pound onions, peeled
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, carefully stemmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously butter bottom and sides of baking dish. Set aside.
2) Slice the onions in half lengthwise. Place, cut side down, on a cutting board and slice crosswise into very thin slices.
3) In a large unheated skillet, combine onions, butter, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Sweat over moderate heat, covered, until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. They should not caramelize or turn brown. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
4) Crack eggs into a medium-size bowl and whisk just to blend. Whisk in milk and cream.
5) Transfer onions to prepared baking dish, smoothing them out with back of a spoon. Pour egg mixture over the onions. Season with additional pepper and nutmeg.
6) Place in center of oven and bake until top is a deep golden brown and custard is firm, about 30 minutes. To test for doneness, insert tip of a knife in the center of quiche. It is done when the knife comes out clean. Do not underbake or the quiche will be mushy, not firm. Let sit for about 5 minutes to firm up. Serve warm, cut into thin wedges. Yield: 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Swiss Chard Quiche - Foodie/Nutritionist
Golden Onion Mushroom Quiche - The Edible Garden
Corn Quiche with Tortilla Crust
Spinach, Zucchini and Mushroom Quiche - Sing for Your Supper
Potato Frittata - The Comfort of Cooking
Southwestern Sausage Quiche - Plain Chicken
Swiss Onion Tart - One Perfect Bite
Savory Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart- One Perfect Bite

Tomato Clafoutis

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...You know there's too much on your plate when green tomatoes, meant for relish, turn bright red on the pantry shelf while waiting to be used. While there'll be no chow-chow this year, there is an upside to all of this. Those no longer green tomatoes will give me an opportunity to share an old recipe with you. It was developed by Patricia Wells and while it's called a clafoutis, I honestly think it's texture is more like that of a frittata. I'll leave final judgment to those of you who experiment with the recipe. Whatever you chose to call it, rest assured that it's a nice entree for lunch or a light supper. The dish is far more attractive when it's made with uniformly sized Roma tomatoes. Unfortunately, I had to use those pesky no longer green tomatoes to make mine. This is more time consuming than most custard dishes. The tomatoes must be skinned before they are cored and seeded. They are then cut, salted and left to drain on paper toweling for at least 30 minutes to rid them of moisture. Too much juice can spoil the custard, so don't rush this step. I actually let mine drain for about 1 hour before proceeding with the recipe. Once the tomatoes are done, the remainder of the recipe is child's play. I hope you'll give it a try. Here's how it's made.

Tomato Clafoutis...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Patricia Wells

Ingredients:
2 pounds Roma tomatoes, peeled, cored, quartered, seeded and juiced
Salt
2 whole eggs + 2 additional egg yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 10-inch round baking dish. Set aside.
2) Salt tomatoes and drain on several thicknesses of paper toweling for 30 to 60 minutes.
3) Place eggs, cream, half of Parmesan cheese and half of thyme in in a small bowl. Whisk to
combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
4) Layer tomatoes on bottom of baking dish. Pour batter over tomatoes. Sprinkle with remainder of cheese and thyme.
5) Bake until batter is set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Tomato, Zucchini and Goat Cheese Clafoutis - What's for Lunch Honey
Eggplant Clafoutis - Eating Club Vancouver
Rose Murray's Roasted Tomato Clafoutis - More Than Burnt Toast
Bistro Artichoke Clafoutis - Sippity Sup
Romanesco Claufoutis with Soy Ricotta - Vegalicious
David Boulud's Asparagus Clafoutis - La Belle Cuisine

Corn Timbale

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...To market, to market to buy a fat pig, but I came home without one jiggity jig. That's not to say I came home empty handed. Corn, at twelve ears for a dollar, was an unprecedented bargain, even for markets in this area. I loaded my basket with 24 ears and hatched a plan to do some recipe testing that I've postponed for a long time now. I've been holding on to two very old recipes that I wanted to try, and corn, at that price, provided the incentive I needed to finally proceed. Both recipes are variants of corn pudding. One of them turned out to be very pedestrian and is not worth your time. The other is Julia Child's corn timbale and it is interesting only because the recipe is hers. I must admit a prejudice going into this. I have never understood why it's necessary to take a delicious vegetable and try to make something of it that it's not. Corn is a very basic thing. A timbale usually is not. A timbale is a molded dish that holds a custard that's used to bind a mixture of cheese and vegetables or meat together. A true mold has high sides and is closed at the bottom, much like a charlotte pan. The dish is baked in a hot water bath and allowed to sit briefly before unmolding. The corn timbale is a good looking dish, but it takes a lot of butter and cream to get it to the table and I'm not much into showmanship these days. I'll let you read the recipe and decide if you want to proceed with it on your own. I found it to be pleasant, but strangely bland for one of Julia's recipes. If you don't have a corn creamer, you can use the large holes of a box grater to scrape the ears and make corn milk. Here's Julia's recipe. Bon Appetit! Kinda! Sorta! Maybe!

Corn Timbale...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Julia Child

Ingredients:
3 cups corn milk (scraped from the cob with a corn creamer)
6 large eggs
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2/3 cup grated swiss cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:
Butter an 9-cup charlotte mold or high-sided baking dish and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Whisk together corn, eggs, onion, salt, parsley, breadcrumbs, cheese, cream, red pepper, and black pepper. Pour into prepared charlotte mold. Set mold in a larger dish and pour boiling water around it to come two-thirds of the way up its sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 and bake for 45 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes, then unmold onto a serving plate. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Spoon Bread with Leeks and Gruyere Cheese - One Perfect Bite
Summer Corn Pudding - Stacey Snacks
Southwestern Corn Pudding - Janet is Hungry
Baked Corn Casserole - Never Enough Thyme
Corn Spoon Bread - Deep South Dish
Classic Corn Pudding with Cheddar and Chives - The Runaway Spoon
Corn Pudding - Closet Cooking

Pear Flognarde

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This homely dessert, called a flognarde, is associated with provincial kitchens in the Limousin region of France. A flognarde is a clafoutis made with any fruit other than cherries. This dessert, like the clafoutis, is a cross between a pudding and a cake and it's made by pouring a custard-like batter over a layer of fruit. It's one of those rare desserts that can really be made with a wooden spoon or whisk. A pear flognarde lacks the pocked appearance of the versions made with berries, and because the fruit remains at the bottom the pan, it is characterized by a smooth and richly browned top. If you enjoy pears, you will love this dessert. Be sure to use ripe but firm fruit for the flognarde. Overripe pears will weep into the batter and you'll have unpredictable results. While the recipe utilizes heavy cream, no additional fat is used in its making. You can substitute light cream or half-and-half if you must, but it will change the texture of the dessert. It happens that this is one of my favorite desserts. It is easy to do and when pears are in season it has outstanding flavor. I have a bottle of pear liqueur that's been in my pantry for nearly 40 years. I'm very stingy with it and use it only to enhance the flavor of desserts I love. While I use a splash of it in the flognarde, it's a nice but not necessary addition to the batter. If you start with ripe and flavorful pears you'll do fine without it. Just make sure to put pear liqueur on your Christmas list. Do serve this while it is still warm. Here's the recipe.

Pear Flognarde...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 ripe but firm Bartlet pears
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
Optional: 1 tablespoon pear liqueur
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
2) Peal and core pears. Cut in 1/2-inch dice. Arrange on bottom of baking dish.
3) Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. Add vanilla, cream and liqueur to mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour and cinnamon and beat until blended. Pour batter over pears.
4) Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and firm. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Blueberry Flognarde - One Perfect Bite
Plum Clafoutis - The English Kitchen
Chocolate and Cherry Clafoutis - Cook Sister!
Strawberry Clafoutis - Delishhh
Peach Clafoutis - Sugar and Spice
Apple Walnut Clafoutis - Jungle Frog Cooking
Individual Strawberry Clafoutis - Baking Bites

Strawberry Bread Pudding - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know it's summer, and I know that 2010 has been declared The Year of the Pastry Chef. I'm okay with all that. It's not my intent to buck culinary trends, or the calendar for that matter. I know that sensible people don't make bread pudding in July and I suspect that most pastry chefs and food snobs feel this homely dish is not worthy of their attention. They're dead wrong. The Marquess de Queensbury Rules of the Kitchen clearly state that any dish, however homely, can be made at any time of year. The only condition attached to its execution is that the dish must be delicious. A stale loaf of bread and a glut of fresh field strawberries were my inspiration. My muse led me to a site called The Daily Loaf - The CL Cookbook where I found a recipe for strawberry bread pudding. I made a few minor changes to the recipe, put it in the oven and 40 minutes later had a wonderful dessert. The original recipe uses a caramel sauce for garnish. I thought that to be at odds with the strawberries, so I served ours with French vanilla ice cream. I really loved this and will use frozen berries to make it in the winter as well. I hope you'll try this simple dessert. It is wonderful. Here's the recipe.

Strawberry Bread Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by the Daily Loaf

Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces crusty stale bread, torn or cut in bite-size pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, sliced

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 x-2-inch pan. Set aside.
2) Combine eggs, milk, sugar (white and brown, vanilla extract, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until blended.
3) Place bread pieces into a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over bread and toss to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow milk to be absorbed into bread.
4) Fold in strawberries and pour mixture into baking dish.
5) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until raised and puffy. Insert a toothpick into center and if it comes out fairly clean, it’s done. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar

Directions:
1) Put butter in a small pan or sauce pan over medium heat and let it melt.
2) Add brown sugar and stir until it’s combined. Lower heat. Stirring constantly, let sauce slightly simmer until sugar is completely dissolved and it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve drizzled over warm bread pudding.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Cranberry Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite
Chocolate Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite
Chocolate Bread Pudding - Beyond Salmon
Bread Pudding - Simply Recipes
Summer Pudding - David Lebovitz
Bread Pudding with Kahlua Sauce - Ravenous Couple
Nutella Bread Pudding - Su Good Sweets

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Greek-Style Yogurt Pie with Fruit Preserves

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Tonight, out of an abundance of yogurt, I have yet another custard dessert to share with you. Not all stores in this area carry Greek yogurt, so, when it's available, I've been known to buy more than I really need and then end up scrambling to use it before it goes bad. This pie is an example of where my over exuberance in the dairy aisle leads. It's a Greek-style yogurt pie that, despite similar ingredients, is creamier and slightly sweeter than the yogurt pie we made and posted here a few days ago. It also has an interesting crust that is made from a mixture of white and whole wheat flour that is fortified with wheat germ. There are no berries in the pie but it is topped with a copious quantity of fruit preserves. You may prefer to use macerated fruit as a topping. You will find the pie needs the sweetness the fruit provides. While it is easy to make, there is significant wait time before the pie can be served. It's best to make the pie the night before you plan to serve it. It's worth the wait. Here's the recipe.

Greek-Style Yogurt Pie with Fruit Preserves...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Kyra at TasteBook

Ingredients:
Crust
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
Filling
2 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fruit preserves, such as plum or strawberry

Directions:
1) To make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place flours, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon in food processor bowl. Process to combine. Add butter and sugar; process until dough holds together. Press crust mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze 15 minutes. Cover edge with foil. Bake until beginning to dry out, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. (Leave oven on.)
2) To make custard: Stir yogurt, vanilla and zest in a bowl. Stir in butter and yolks. Stir sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl; stir into yogurt mixture until smooth. Pour into crust.
3) Bake, with foil covering edge of crust, until just set in center, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 1 hour. Spread jam over center of pie. Refrigerate at least 3 hours (up to overnight). Yield: 10 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Frozen Lemon Yogurt - One Perfect Bite
Yogurt Cheese Cake - One Perfect Bite>
Raspberry Yogurt Parfait - One Perfect Bite
Peach and Cream Fraiche (or Greek Yogurt Pie) - Smitten Kitchen
Yogurt Panna Cotta - Taste with the Eyes

Strawberry Yogurt Pie (Mansikkapiiras) - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's been a while since we've had a real "peasant" style dessert. While local berries won't be in markets for another six to eight weeks, the strawberries that are available to us are passably good. Years ago, I regularly made a dessert from Finland that used thick yogurt and blueberries to make a light custard pie called Mustikkapiiras. The custard filling covered a layer of berries that was baked in a cookie crust. It was light and not too sweet. The recipe I used came from the Moosewood Restaurant. I must admit I've played with this one. The recipe, as written, produced a scant amount of custard, so I've doubled the ingredients to produce a thicker layer of filling that gives this homely dessert more eye appeal. While any type of berry can be used, it's especially nice with seedless blackberries or strawberries. When strawberries replace blueberries, the Mustikkapiiras becomes a Mansikkapiiras. Here's the recipe I've adapted from the Moosewood original.

Strawberry Yogurt Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by a recipe from Sunday at the Moosewood

Ingredients:
Crust
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Custard (this portion of the recipe has been doubled)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups thick Greek-style plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Berries
2 cups sliced strawberries or other fresh berries

Directions:
1) To make crust: Butter and flour a 9-inch quiche pan with 1-1/2-inch sides. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, and blend well. Combine flour and baking powder and sift into wet ingredients to form a soft dough. With flour dusted fingers, pat dough into bottom of prepared pan. Push dough up to cover sides of the pan. Refrigerate while making custard.
2) To make custard: Mix eggs, sugar, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract, almond extract and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Place berries in bottom of pie shell. Pour in filling and smooth to coat berries. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until crust is browned and custard has set. Chill well before serving. Yield: 8 - 10 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Frozen Lemon Yogurt - One Perfect Bite
Yogurt Cheese Cake - One Perfect Bite
Raspberry Yogurt Parfait - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.