Cooking

Growing up, I enjoyed fabulous and very tasty meals. Homemade meals from my mother and grandmother. My mom is known as a great cook. My paternal grandmother being from Périgord can cook. Anyhow, I always found myself intimidated with the idea of cooking. I didn't know where to begin. This past year, I jumped in. I truly enjoy good food. Cooking became easy as I realized I just needed to give it a try. In truth, I enjoy cooking, find it rewarding and relaxing. I find it pleasant to plan meals, select ingredients for a specific recipe, plan my next meal. Cooking has helped me discover things about myself. Hope you'll give it a try too.

Quiche

In truth, I never liked quiches. Perhaps, because I never cared for eggs. However, my friend enjoys quiche and as a result requested that I make him one a while ago. I had no idea where to begin. In the end, I mastered the art of the quiche and I even discovered that a quiche can be quite tasty. 

I make the dough for the crust from scratch. I don't care much for meat in it though I made this quiche at times with bacon and ham sliced into bits. 

For the pastry:

1 1/4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

8 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter (1 stick) cut into cubes

2 Tbsp. chilled water

For the filling:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

3 eggs

2 cups guyère cheese shredded or cut in pieces

1-2 cups spinach

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Note: I leave it up to your taste buds for seasoning.

To make the crust, in a bowl, stir together the flour, butter and water. As the mixture starts to hold together, form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap or if you are me and are inpatient, roll the dough into a disk onto a floured work surface. Fit dough into a quiche mold. (I use a French fluted quiche mold), then prick the dough with a fork before placing dough in oven at 375 degree F for 10-12 min. You can also refrigerate the dough before rolling. 

To make the filling, in a bowl, mix the milk, heavy cream and eggs together. Add your shredded cheese. In the meantime, sauté your spinach and mushrooms as to make them sweat their excess water. Arrange the spinach and mushrooms atop the crust then top over with liquid mixture. 

Bake at 375 degree F for 25-35 min. Remove from oven and let stand to cool for several minutes before serving. 

Enjoy the smell in the kitchen, then go ahead enjoy your homemade quiche.