Bridal showers, brunches and more

This past weekend was one of my close friends surprise bridal showers.  The bridesmaids threw the shower, and I came up with the idea of personally catering a bridal shower for almost 50 people.  I've written before about how lots of the recipes that I use are easy and can be made in advance - this bridal shower put this to the test! I needed to figure out what dishes could be either completely made the day before and reheated, or things that could be completely prepped the day before and then assembled and baked the day of.

Here is the menu that I came up with and was a HUGE hit at the shower. If you've checked out my blog before, you're sure to see a few oldies but goodies.  Click on the recipes that I've made before for a direct link to those recipes: 

Broccoli Rabe Egg Bake

Baked Blintzes with Blueberry Sauce
Creme Brûlée French Toast

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Sage
Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche
Kalamata Olive, Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche
Mixed Vegetable Quiche

All of these with the exception of the baked blintzes are really very easy to make.  The baked blintzes require a little more prep and are a few more steps,  but still not too hard to make.

QUICHES


I've made quiches before (see here), so that was a obvious choice for something quick and easy to make.  I fully cooked each of the quiches the day before and then just brought back to room temperature before serving them on the morning of the shower.  To make things easier, I bought frozen crusts instead of making my own crust, but you do whatever it is that's easiest for you.

The base recipe is the same for each quiche - in fact I made one giant bowl of the egg custard that forms the base of the quiche, and then added the filling ingredients to each quiche and just poured the egg custard over the fillings to each quiche shell.

Egg Custard Filling for Quiches (makes one quiche)
8 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk or cream
1 tsp salt/ 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Combine all the above ingredients, whisking well.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
2 cups steamed, chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Kalamata Olive, Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
1 1/2 cups chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1 cups crumbed feta, preferably greek or bulgarian feta
2 cups roasted red peppers, sliced (either homemade or from a jar)

Mixed Vegetable Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
1 cup steamed, chopped asparagus
1 pint button mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and finely chopped

Directions
As I said above, when I made the quiches for the bridal shower I made one large batch of the egg custard filling and added the ingredients of each quiche filing to the pie shell.  Then all I needed to do was pour the egg filling into each pie shell.  If you are making more than one type of quiche, this is the easiest way to do it.  If you are just making one quiche, then add the ingredients in with the egg before pouring into the pie shell.

Using the technique of adding the egg custard separately lets you make multiple types of quiche, which is fun.  For the mixed vegetable quiche use whatever veggies you like - just make sure that each ingredient is steamed or cooked before hand so its nice and tender.


Roasted Potatoes

 My mother makes the best roasted rosemary potatoes, ever.  They are always crispy and completely cooked through.  I've had problems trying to achieve the balance between a crust on the potato and having it be cooked through and not raw in the middle.  What I've started to do which works out great (especially for a make-ahead brunch like this) is to par-boil the potatoes until they are 3/4th the way cooked through.  Allow them to cool, and then fry them up in some olive oil to finish cooking them and get them crisp all over.  Keep them in the oven at a low temperature to keep warm until ready to serve.

Roasted Rosemary and Sage Potatoes
A few pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half if small, or into quarters if larger (note: if you are chopping the potatoes before you are going to cook them, leave place the cut potatoes in a large bowl with water - this will stop them from browning).
A few tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup of chopped fresh rosemary and sage

Place the cut potatoes in a large sauce pan and cover with water.  When the water comes up to a boil add a handful of salt.  Cook the potatoes until they are cooked 3/4th the way through.  Drain and set potatoes aside.  The potatoes can be stored in the fridge until you're ready to use them or be used immediately.

Put the boiled potatoes in a large bowl  Pour the olive oil, salt/pepper, and fresh herbs into the bowl and toss well to coat. Each potato should be coated in oil and fresh herbs.


Heat up a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Fry the potatoes in batches, making sure that you fry them in a single layer in the pan.  Let the potatoes sit for a few minutes so that a crust can form - do not keep moving them around the entire time! Once the potatoes are browned all over transfer them to baking sheet and keep warm in a  250 degree oven until all the potatoes are cooked and ready to serve.

Blintzes


I usually look at recipes and then adjust them to water my tastes are.  For this baked blintz recipe however I pretty much followed it completely since it is a more involved recipe. It's an Ina Garten recipe (thanks again Ina!) and while it takes a few steps it was delicious!

For the Batter:
1 1/4 cups milk

• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder

For the Filling:
3 cups (24 ounces) ricotta cheese

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh Blueberry Sauce (recipe follows)  (instead of fresh blueberries I used a bag of frozen blueberries and it worked just fine)
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch cake pan or baking dish.

Directions

For the batter, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. (You can also use a blender.) Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set.

Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the fresh blueberry sauce.

• Blueberry Sauce:
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 half-pints fresh blueberries
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool. Yield: Makes 2 cups.

another brunch favorite - egg bakes

As I've said before, I love brunch.  It's the perfect way to see friends and relax and then either have the rest of the day to do something, or nap like I did last weekend.  Egg dishes are always popular at brunch, but what you dont want to be doing when everyone is relaxing is hanging out alone at the stove cooking individual fried eggs or making scrambled eggs that need to be eaten immediately when they get off the heat.  For brunch, you want foods that can stand to sit out at room temperature and taste just as good, if not better.  Egg bakes are a perfect food to make for brunch. Easy to throw together earlier in the morning, and just pop it in the oven when people are close to arriving.

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Egg Bake
3 links of sausage (pork or chicken)
1 bunch broccoli rabe
1/2 large loaf of country or whole grain bread, ideally day old (you want it a little stale), cut into 1 inch cubes
8 large eggs, whisked
1/4 cup milk/cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt/ 1/2 tsp pepper

Take the sausage out of the casing and brown the sausage, breaking it up.  Once it is cooked through set it aside. In a large bowl whisk the eggs together with the milk or cream and add about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Blanch the broccoli rabe first. Broccoli rabe is a bitter green and blanching helps take some of the bitterness out of it.  To blanch the broccoli rabe, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.  Heavily salt the water.  While the water is boiling set up an ice bath - a large bowl of water filled with ice.  Also heavily salt that water as well.  When the water is boiling, place the broccoli rabe in there for about 2 minutes (you don't want to keep it there very long and let it get overcooked).  Pull the broccoli rabe out of the boiling water and place it directly in the ice bath to cool off.

Once the broccoli rabe has cooled, drain it and wring out the extra water.  Chop the broccoli rabe into one inch pieces and set aside.  Add the broccoli rabe to the egg mixture.  Add the cubed bread, stirring as the bread starts to absorb the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into a large baking dish (around 9 by 13 inches) that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  I had a little extra mozzarella cheese that I needed to use up so I cubed it and threw it in the mixture as well.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the eggs are fully cooked throughout.  About 50 minutes into the cooking process the entire dish was cooked except for the very middle.  If that happens to you, turn the broiler on and broil the egg bake for a minute or so, keeping a close eye on it so that the bread doesn't burn. 

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product - it was all gone pretty quick.  So simple and delicious. Here's what was left.

One of the things I like to do is try to make healthy versions of things that I like to eat.  Ever since I began cooking I've strived to make healthy food that doesn't taste like it's healthy. Don't get me wrong - I like to indulge, but I also really love to eat, so I've always had the mindset that if I make it healthy I can eat more of it.  Not always the best plan, but it works for me.  I'm always trying to make crusts healthier but its been difficult.  A significant amount of butter is usually required, and there's no real substitute that you can use instead of butter.  That in mind, I decided last weekend that I wanted to make quiche.  I've tried making crust-less quiches before, but it wasn't great. You really do need the crust.  I decided to try to make a crust using quinoa.

I love quinoa and am always looking for new ways to use it.  If you haven't cooked with it before, go out and buy some now.  Quinoa is considered a grain but it's actually a seed.  Once it's cooked it tastes nutty and each of the grains have a little crunch when you don't overcook it.  Not only is quinoa yummy, it's also incredibly good for you.  It's packed with essential amino acids, protein, calcium, iron...you name it. It's considered one of the healthiest single foods out there.  So instead of making a quiche with a butter rich pastry dough, I decided to give a try to making a quinoa crust. The crust can be made a day ahead - just bake it off, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge.  The veggies listed below are what I used, but by all means swap them out and use whatever you have on hand.  This recipe is a great way to use leftover veggies, so don't feel bound by what I used. Just cook whatever veggies you are planning on using before putting them in (besides fresh spinach).

Vegetable Quiche with Quinoa Crust

For the crust
1 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/3 cup oatmeal
2 tbsps flax seeds (if you have - if you don't have these you can leave this out)
3 tbsps slivered almonds (any type of nut will work here, that's what I had on hand)

For the filling
8 eggs, beaten
2 tbsps milk
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped
1 cup cooked sliced mushrooms
1 handful spinach, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any extra cheese you have on hand)

To make the crust, combine the quinoa and the stock in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add about 1 tsp of salt to the stock once it comes to a boil. Cook the quinoa, stirring often, until all of the stock is absorbed. This will take a little while. It will look like you don't have enough liquid in there but it'll be fine.  Once all the stock is absorbed turn off the heat and cover the pan and let it steam for 5 minutes. Allow the quinoa to cool enough to be able to handle.

Put the oatmeal, flax seeds, and nuts in a food processor and grind them until it resembles the consistency of flour. Combine the oatmeal mixture with the quinoa.  The quinoa should be moist enough where you won't need to add an egg to the crust.  If for some reason the quinoa is very dry, you might need to mix a little egg in to the crust, but I didn't need to.  Put the crust in a greased 9 inch pie pan, pressing it firmly into the pan and pressing it up the sides until it's even.  You'll need to wet your hands to keep the quinoa from sticking to your hands a few times during this.  Bake the crust at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until when you touch the crust it's starting to dry out and harden a bit. Set aside. It should look like this:

To make the filling, combine the beaten eggs and milk.  Add about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of fresh cracked pepper and the dried thyme (if you have fresh definitely use fresh - use about 1 tbsps of fresh herbs - you could also use whatever herbs you have on hand).  Put the chopped broccoli and mushrooms into the cooked quinoa crust. Put the chopped spinach into the egg and milk mixture and add almost all of the shredded cheese, saving a little to the side.  Pour the egg mixture over the veggies in the crust, moving the vegetables as needed to get the egg everywhere.  Put the remaining bit of cheese on top of the quiche.

Bake the quiche at 350 degrees for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until when you move the pan around the middle of the quiche is set and isn't liquid at all.  It works great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy!