dwells with beauty: June 2012

, by Cecilia

Waking up has been hard lately. I'm missing home like crazy. Work is overwhelming on repeat. Time for enjoyment and laziness is scarce. Mustering enough energy and spirit to open my eyes has been an ordeal.

This quiche certainly helps motivate me a little. The lovely Mademoiselle Khoo inspired this creation. If you haven't had the pleasure of following Rachel Khoo, s'il vous plait, do yourself a favor and google her right now. Her life story is incredible.

I was afraid that the recipe would produce something too eggy, but it somehow came together beautifully. And with no cheese! You can't imagine how difficult it was for me to refrain from adding any cheese. I had some luscious cheeses in my refrigerator, and I always use cheese in my quiches. However, I tamped down on my urges because Rachel insists that it ain't Quiche Lorraine if you add anything else other than ham. Wise words, friends, wise words because this quiche was the closest thing to come out of my oven as the little savory pillows of custard and pastry that I used to get after class in Clermont-Ferrand.

Look at the flakes of the crust!

Quiche Lorraine
(Adapted from Rachel Khoo's video linked above)

Your favorite single pie crust, unbaked
1 egg white
Approx 1/4 pound of thickly sliced Black Forest Ham
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
Salt
Pepper

Place a rack into the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.
Roll out and fit the pie crust into a pie tin. Brush the crust with egg white to seal the crust and prevent it from getting too soggy. Chill the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Coarsely chop the ham into small cubes. Gently heat the ham to dry it out a bit. Spread it into the chilled pie crust.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, and heavy cream until smooth. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mix over the ham.

Bake the quiche for about 30-40 minutes, until the top has some goldening and springs back lightly when pressed. Cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

No lovely thoughts

, by Cecilia

baking

Drunken Blondies

There are times, though hopefully rare, when you need a little bit of spirit to jump start the day. Yes, that kind of spirit, of the alcoholic persuasion.

This was my first attempt at making blondies. For some reason, if I'm going to make some kind of bar baked good, I always break out a massive slab of chocolate and make brownies. Brownies are just sultrier and promise to bombard all of your taste buds with awesomeness. How can blondies even compare?

Cheryl Day persuaded me to finally give blondies a chance by including the word "bourbon" in the recipe. I had a giant bottle of bourbon waiting to be opened in my cupboard, so why not? I was still skeptical when I was spreading the batter into the pan. The batter was pretty chunky and didn't flow together like that of brownies; there were actually some areas of no batter that I was praying the spreading power of baking powder would take care of.

I shouldn't have worried because the blondies came out beautifully. Since the flavor wasn't as sweet or robust as brownies, people at work were more inclined to indulge in these little treats. Way before lunch came around, most of the pan was gone. I had to put away the last couple of pieces for a quick shot in the afternoon when things around work died down.

Whatever you do, do NOT skimp on the bourbon. The bourbon added a nice rounded zing to the blondies. Without the alcohol, they would have been pale, listless squares of carbs.

Drunken Blondies
(Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 generous tablespoon bourbon
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack positioned in the middle. Line a 9x9 inch square baking pan with foil.

Mix the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and bourbon, and stir until combined thoroughly (it will look sort of like molasses). Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt, making sure not to overmix. Then mix in the walnuts, coconut, and chocolate chips, stirring until only traces of flour remain

Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and slightly springy. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack. Cut into bars and serve. They won't last long at work, but if you keep them all to yourself, they'll keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.