Ham, Leek and Gruyere Quiche

Happy belated Easter! I'm guessing lots of you out there have a ton of leftover ham today and I'm also guessing that in a day or two (after one too many ham sandwiches), you'll be pretty desperate for another way to use it up. Here is the cheesy, creamy, delicious answer to your salty conundrum. You're welcome.

 HAM, LEEK AND GRUYERE QUICHE

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons sour cream

ice water, as needed

Filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large leeks, white and light green parts chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch nutmeg

5 large eggs

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup diced honey-baked ham

1.      For the crust: Pulse together the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter and pulse just until the butter is evenly distributed throughout. Add the sour cream and continue to pulse 2 to 4 more times until just incorporated. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough starts to hold together. Add more water as needed.

2.      Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and form it into a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator 30 minutes.

3.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Roll up the dough using a rolling pin, and gently lift and place it over a deep, 10-inch tart pan. Gently press the dough into all the crevices and trim the overhang to 1/2-inch. Crimp the edges for a decorative finish and use the trimmed dough to patch any holes.

4.      Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork to keep it from puffing up, line with parchment paper and add dried beans to act as pie weights. Place on a large baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the parchment and dried beans.

5.      For the custard: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat and saute the leeks until they soften and begin to caramelize, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool and reserve.

6.      Whisk the cream, milk, cornstarch, salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Scatter the leeks evenly over the bottom of the crust. Top with the cheese and ham. Pour the custard over the top and place in the oven on a large sheet tray.

7.      Bake until the center is set and the crust is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

from Kelsey Nixon

adding butter to flour/salt

adding sour cream

dough coming together

dough formed into a disk

leeks

chopping leeks

leeks starting to caramelize

diced ham

dough rolled and put in pan

pie weights

I use whatever grain or bean I have leftover
in the cabinet (in this case it's barley).

blind baked crust

leek layer

gruyere layer

ham layer

pouring in the custard

raw

baked

ham, leek and gruyere quiche

served with roasted asparagus

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Boozy Eggnog Ice Cream

Happy New Year! I started off mine by ripping off the name of this recipe from ice cream goddess, Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. I recently sent some of Jeni's ice cream to my sister and picked this flavor as one of the seasonal options. But since my sister lives about 1,300 miles away, I couldn't actually taste it. And listening to her sample it over the phone wasn't all that satisfying (at least not for me, I'm sure it was very gratifying for her). So after fantasizing about it for two days, it became clear to me that I had to haul out the old ice cream maker and fire it up. That was one of the last (and best) decisions I made in 2011.

BOOZY EGGNOG ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups chilled heavy cream

3 tablespoons dark rum or bourbon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish

1.       Bring milk and salt to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Remove from heat.

2.       Whisk together yolks and sugar in a bowl, then gradually add 1/4 cup hot milk, whisking. Add yolk mixture to milk remaining in pan in a slow stream, whisking, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is slightly thickened, coats back of spoon, and registers 175° F. on thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour through a fine-mesh sieve set into a clean bowl and stir in cream, rum, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

3.       Chill custard, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.

4.       Freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden for at least 2 hours. Soften slightly in refrigerator before serving, about 20 minutes. Custard can be chilled up to 1 day. Ice cream can be made 1 week ahead.

barely adapted from Gourmet, December 2005

egg yolks

egg yolks and sugar, with some hot milk tempered in

yolks, sugar and milk in the pot

straining

strained

putting the cream in ice cream

putting the booze in boozy (or perhaps the nog in eggnog?)

I used dark rum.

adding homemade vanilla (full of luscious vanilla beans)

grating nutmeg (looks like saw dust)

cinnamon and nutmeg added

eggnog custard

custard in ice cream machine, ready to start churning
(It looks much lighter at the crack of dawn.)

boozy eggnog ice cream

Because of the booze, it gets all melty a little
faster than other ice creams (I love that).

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Deviled Eggs

My daughter asked my husband why deviled eggs are called deviled eggs. His answer was that maybe it's because mixing egg yolks with mayonnaise is so sinful. I thought that was a pretty good guess. Turns out it's totally wrong, but still, nice try. You can find the correct, and more boring answer if you ask me, here at deviledeggs.com (wow, there really is a website for everything).

DEVILED EGGS

Yield: 12

6 large eggs

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

paprika for sprinkling

1.      Hard boil the eggs: Place the eggs in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover the eggs by 1-inch. Bring to a boil then keep at a steady simmer for 11 minutes. Run eggs under very cold water to stop the cooking. Let cool before peeling.

2.      Peel the eggs.

3.      Slice egg each in half lengthwise.

4.      Remove the yolks and place in a bowl.

5.      Mash the yolks with a fork. Stir in the mayonnaise, relish and mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6.      Spoon the yolk filling into a ziploc bag. Seal the top and cut off one of the corners. (Or if you want to get fancy, use a pastry bag with a star tip.)

7.      Pipe the filling evenly into the egg whites.

8.      Store covered in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.

adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/deviled-eggs-48153

eggs in the pan, covered with water

eggs boiled, cooling off with cold water

eggs cooling more (sometimes I add ice cubes to the water)

hard boiled eggs, ready to peel

cracking

rolling and cracking all the way around

peeled

I've read that older eggs are easier to
peel, but I haven't tested that theory out.

adding sweet pickle relish to the yolks

yolks, mayo, mustard and sweet pickle relish

filling mixed

filling in a ziploc bag

piping into egg white halves

filled and sprinkled with paprika

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Fresh Corn Polenta with Baked Eggs

As soon as I laid my eyes on this recipe, I knew it would be appearing on my kitchen table soon. I could easily picture how cute it would look to bake an egg right in the polenta. And as if being adorable isn't enough, it's also cheesy with chunks of fresh corn and a touch of delightful heat from the poblano. I just wish someone had slept over the night before so I could have slipped one of these in front of them for breakfast. Good morning indeed.

FRESH CORN POLENTA WITH BAKED EGGS

Serves 4

1 medium poblano pepper (or red pepper)

3 cups fresh corn (from 3 to 4 ears)

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup corn grits

2 1/4 cups water

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 oz. grated cheddar cheese (full 3/4 cup)

8 eggs

____________________________________________________________________

1.      Preheat oven to 475° F. Place the pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet and cook until the skin blisters and begins to darken, about 10 minutes (turn the pepper over 2-3 times using tongs, so all sides get dark). Pull the foil up and around the pepper until it’s completely enclosed and let sit for 10 minutes (to steam). Once the pepper is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, remove the stem & seeds, cut lengthwise into thin strips and halve the strips.

2.      Reduce oven temperature to 325˚ F. Pulse the corn in a food processor until you have a coarse purée. Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the corn purée and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.

3.      Stir in the corn grits, water, and salt, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring from time to time, until thickened and cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with black pepper. Stir in the poblano pepper and cheese. Polenta can be made ahead (reheat before adding eggs to ensure even cooking).

4.      Divide the polenta between two oiled pie plates or four individual oiled gratin dishes. With the back of a spoon, make little indentations in the polenta, like evenly spaced craters that can each receive its own egg.

5.      Crack the eggs into the indented spots and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle a few drops of water over the tops of the eggs to keep them from drying out.

6.      Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are shiny–not runny, but still soft. Transfer to plates (no need if you’re using gratin dishes) and serve hot.

slightly adapted from Myra Kornfeld

poblanos (I made an extra and rubbed
mine with oil, but you don't have to)

roasted poblanos

peeling off the skin (after steaming in a bag)

stem and seeds removed

shucking corn

cutting kernels off the cobs

puréed corn

cooking the corn purée with a little butter

adding the grits

water and salt added

thickened

stirring in the cheese and poblanos (I cut my
poblanos a little smaller than the recipe says)

making a well in the polenta

eggs cracked into the indents

I ended up using three small gratin dishes plus one
larger one and only 5 eggs (and I left the poblano
out of two of them so they'd be more kid friendly) 

baked

You can see the indent for my egg was just
a little too small because some of the white
ran over to the side. Still delicious!