Hope
you all had a happy Mother’s Day! I tried
two new recipes this past weekend for our brunch. It was at my parents’ place,
but I didn’t want my mom to have to make anything. My dad made our traditional “John Wayne”
casserole along with bacon and cinnamon rolls. I made a sweet potato crusted
quiche and a fruit tart. And my Grandma
Anne brought some beautiful tulips.
The
quiche was a huge success – it was healthy and a lot simpler than I expected. I’ll definitely make that again.
The
fruit tart looked beautiful, but unfortunately it was a way more complicated
recipe than I had planned for. I should have read ahead of time that it
requires several hours or up to a day of preparation, so it didn’t set
properly. The pastry cream was more of a yogurt consistency and after putting
it in the freezer to try to get it to firm up, the crust was so hard we couldn’t
cut through it. So we ended up serving
it more like a parfait instead.
I’ll
also post the recipe for the “John Wayne” casserole. This is one of my dad’s
all-time favorite dishes to make. My Grandma Anne came across this recipe in a
magazine years ago and it’s been in our family ever since. If you’re looking
for a healthy egg dish, this is not your thing. It is loaded with two pounds of
cheese and has evaporated milk to give it a creamy consistency. The green chiles give it just the right
amount of spiciness.
Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche (adapted
from Cooking
Light)
Ingredients:
·
2
medium sweet potatoes
·
1
teaspoon canola oil
·
1
(5-ounce) bag baby spinach
·
1/2
cup 1% low-fat milk
·
1/2
teaspoon kosher salt
·
1/4
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
·
1/4
teaspoon crushed red pepper
·
4
large eggs
·
2
large egg whites
·
1.5
oz feta cheese, crumbled
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven to 350°, then peel and slice sweet potatoes into rounds.
2.
Coat a pie dish with cooking spray, then fill the bottom of the dish with a
layer of sweet potato slices. Cut the sweet potato rounds in half and fill
around the edges of the pie dish; round side facing up.
3.
Once the entire dish is filled, coat one more time with cooking spray. Bake for
20 minutes. Turn heat up to 375°.
4.
For the filling, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add spinach; sauté 3
minutes. Remove from heat; cool.
5.
Combine milk and next 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Arrange
spinach mixture in crust; pour egg mixture over spinach. Sprinkle with feta.
Bake at 375° for 35 minutes.
Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream (adapted
from Erica’s
Sweet Tooth)
Ingredients:
Crust:
·
1
large egg yolk
·
1
tbsp heavy cream
·
1/2
tsp vanilla extract
·
1-1/4
cups all-purpose flour
·
2/3
cup confectioners' sugar
·
1/4
tsp salt
·
8
tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
Pastry cream:
·
2
cups whole milk
·
1/2
cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tbsp
·
4
tbsp cornstarch
·
2
egg yolks
·
1-1/2
tsp vanilla extract
·
3
tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Topping:
·
Whatever
fruit you’d like! I used strawberries, kiwis, blackberries, blueberries and
raspberries, but use whatever is in season
Directions:
Crust:
1.
Whisk together the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.
2.
In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse briefly to
combine. Add the butter pieces over the flour mixture and process until the
mixture resembles coarse crumbs - about 15 1-second pulses. With the machine
running, add the egg mixture until the dough just comes together (about 15
seconds).
3.
Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6" disc. Wrap
in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
4.
When the dough is ready, unwrap and roll the dough out onto a lightly floured
surface into a 13" round. Transfer the dough to a 9" tart pan and
mold the dough to the sides of the pan. Freeze the pan for 30 minutes.4
5.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and press foil
over the frozen shell and fill with pie weights. (I didn’t use the pie weights…perhaps
this would have helped)
6.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven, remove the
foil and weights, and then bake another 5-8 minutes longer until golden brown.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Pastry
Cream:
1.
Combine the milk and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir
until simmering.
2.
Meanwhile in another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 2 tbsp of
sugar for about 15 seconds. Then add the cornstarch and mix until pale yellow
and thick.
3.
When the milk has reached a simmer, slowly add the milk to the egg yolk
mixture, whisking constantly as you combine. Return the mixture to the saucepan
and return to medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture just starts to
boil and the mixture is thickened.
4.
Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. Strain pastry
cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.
5.
Cover pastry cream with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the top of
the cream so that a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours
and up to 2 days.
Topping:
1.
Spread pastry cream evenly in tart shell and top with desired fruit.
John Wayne Casserole (family
recipe)
Ingredients:
·
2
cans (4 oz) chopped green chilies
·
1
lb Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
·
1
lb cheddar cheese, grated
·
2/3
cup evaporated milk
·
2
tomatoes, sliced
·
1
T flour
·
½
t salt
·
4
egg whites
·
4
egg yolks
·
1/8
t pepper
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven to 325°.
2.
Drain and dice green chiles. Combine the grated cheeses and chiles in buttered
shallow casserole dish (12x8x2).
3.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. In a small bowl,
combine egg yolks, milk, flour, salt & pepper. Mix until well blended.
4.
Gently fold beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour the mixture over the cheese in the casserole dish using a fork to ooze it
through the cheese.
5.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and arrange the sliced tomatoes on the
casserole. Bake for another 30 minutes or until the cheese in the center is
firm. (If you do not use the tomatoes, bake for the full hour, but check
periodically and once the top begins to brown, cover with tin foil).
Enjoy!
