Leek & Gruyère Quiche

Recently I hosted Sunday brunch for work colleagues at my house.  The food, drink and company were excellent, if I do say so myself, and everyone seemed to have a great time.  As with all gatherings, when it came to prepping for the party I erred on the side of over-buying for fear that I wouldn't have enough food, which then led to a surplus of ingredients.  

When I opened my fridge to survey the leftovers what immediately caught my eye were eggs, heavy cream, milk, leeks and Gruyère.  Perfect!  I had everything I needed to make quiche.   I love these savory French tarts and as a student in Dijon would eat them almost daily.  To this day I still think  about the scrumptious tarte au fromage from Boulangerie Garcia.  

Leek and Gruyère is such a delicious flavor combination too.  Nothing better than ooey, gooey melted cheese married with the delicate, sweetness of the leeks.  The attached recipe makes one 9-inch round quiche but I opted to do mini ones using the tartlet tins I bought at E. Dehillerin last summer.  They make the perfect hand held portion that's ideal for a picnic or snack on the go.   

Best Chicken Soups from ATK Online Cooking School and a Giveaway

A few months ago I mentioned that I was one of five lucky bloggers to win a year-long scholarship to America's Test Kitchen's Online Cooking School.  So far I've had the chance to try out a few of their courses and I have to say they're pretty fantastic.  But that's no surprise to me since I'm one of America's Test Kitchen's biggest fans.

The courses are easy to follow with guaranteed amazing results.  You can find my guest blog post about the Best Chicken Soups course here.  The homemade chicken stock and soups were some of the most delicious I've ever tasted.

In addition to winning a scholarship, ATK was generous enough to provide me with two 2-month enrollments to give away to my readers.   I hope you get as much out of the courses as I have.

Here's how to enter:

In one sentence, leave a comment telling me why you want to win the cooking school enrollment.  Conciseness counts here!  Any entries more than one sentence will be disqualified.  The two entries I find to be the most genuine, creative or funny will win.  You must leave your email address in the comment as this is the only way I can contact you if you're a winner. 

Giveaway ends on Friday July 6, Noon PST and winners will be announced by Sunday July 8.

Only one entry per person.  

Good luck and happy cooking!

Bánh Patê Sô

Growing up I was never much a fan of Vietnamese desserts.  Most were either too sickly sweet or the textures weren't to my liking.  [Xin lỗi to the relatives I may have offended!]   But when it comes  to Vietnamese savories I go crazy for them.

One of my absolute favorites is Bánh Patê Sô, a pork-filled puff pastry.  Their influence is definitely French and the name is actually a play on pâté chaud or "hot pastry."  My mom typically saved these treats for special occasions or when she had Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry on hand.   In Vietnam they're normally eaten for breakfast but I like to enjoy them any time of day. 

I took it as a sign that I should make these for myself when I had some leftover egg roll filling and quickest puff pastry dough sitting in my freezer.   I'm so glad I did!  I'm kicking myself for not making them from scratch sooner.  The great thing is that the shaped, unbaked pastries can be frozen well in advance of when you need them.  Just thaw them overnight in the fridge and they're ready to go in the oven.

Popovers

I recently went to Wayfare Tavern, Tyler Florence's restaurant in the Financial District, to celebrate my friend Evelyn's birthday.   Dinner was pretty good, but what really captured my fancy were the fresh popovers, hot from the oven, that were served as the bread course.   They were so delicious I even helped myself to Christine's share, but that doesn't count since she's gluten-intolerant.  Would have been a shame to let it go to waste, right?  

But the best popovers I've ever had, hands down, are from The Rotunda Restaurant at Neiman Marcus.  Kind of strange that amongst all the couture and high-end shoes they'd be famous for this bread, but it's true.  Their popovers are massive and served with the most delicious strawberry butter.   I may not be able to afford those d'Orsay Manolos, but I can console myself with the popovers!  Get the recipe by clicking here.

Quiche Lorraine

I was reminded of how much I love quiche when I was  invited to Henning and Anne-Marie's flat for brunch last November.  Anne-Marie made the most delicious quiche lorraine that was the perfect entree.   The recipe she used had crème fraîche, sort of like a French sour cream, which you can find at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.  Unfortunately I didn't have any lying around my house and my craving for quiche was too impatient to withstand a trip to the supermarket.

So I turned to my cooking and baking bible, Cook's Illustrated, for a recipe.  For this quiche I used two slightly different recipes, one for the crust and one for the filling.  

       

The crust is a real time saver since it's pressed in to the tart tin, no rolling pin required.  The filling comes together super quickly.   About 30 minutes in the oven and you have a delectable tart that rivals any you'd find in France.