Bacon and Leek Quiche

407.  Quiche was on the menu tonight with a lovely recipe.  The Magnolia Table Vol II should be a staple in every kitchen because of the useful tips, hints, suggestions and recipes.  Joanna Gaines shares her processes and ideas and this quiche recipe is part of the collection.  It is the Bacon & Leek Quiche and is "Perfectly Delicious"...my words written in my copy of the cookbook.  

The ingredients include bacon, eggs, heavy cream, leeks and Gruyère cheese.  The flavors are delightful and the finished quiche is perfect!

Pick up the cookbook and get the recipes, you will be very happy you did.

"The reality is, we all need food.  We can't survive without it, and I've never met anyone who'd want to.  Because food fuels and satisfies.  We wake up hungry for a morning meal because it breaks our fast and fills us up.  We anticipate dinner because it gathers us at evening's end and declares another day done."

~Joanna Gaines "Magnolia Table Volume II"

Quiche

358.  Spring is here and it was a perfect day to celebrate a beautiful young lady who is a bride-to-be.  We held a shower for her and I wanted to share our simple but delicious menu.

Two plates of mini Quiche Pies were a big hit.  We prepared one with sausage and one without.

Here is the recipe:

To save recipe card just select and drag to desktop and print as an image or print as a photo from your mobil device.

 Next was a Yogurt Parfait with vanilla greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and blueberries and a sprinkle of granola on top.

 A charcuterie board with a variety of crackers, cheeses, olives, meats, honey and jam along with

a heaping platter of fresh fruit.  And a fantastic chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting (you can find the recipe here:  Best Chocolate Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

 Coffee and Fruit Water with grapefruit and orange slices were the beverages.

It was a lovely event filled with great friends, conversation, fun facts, yummy eats and beautiful gifts.

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."  ~ Mother Theresa

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

 10.  Puff pastry is divine!  

I found a recipe for "Savory Pumpkin Puffs" in a Martha Stewart Living Magazine several years ago.  It went into my "need to try" pile of recipes.  So this year was a perfect time to try it.  Although I love working with puff pastry, I encouraged my daughter to make this recipe so she could experience the "divinity factor".

We set the dough out at room temperature and prepared each ingredient and she began the assembly process.  

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

Makes 18-24

parchment paper

flour for dusting paper

1 pkg puff pastry, room temp

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 1/2 Tblsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups finely grated Gruyere Cheese

1 cup finely gated Parmesan Cheese

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Generously flour 2 pieces of parchment paper; on each, roll out an unfolded pastry sheet to form a 15 x 13" rectangle, about 1/16th inch thick.  Refrigerate until firm about 15 min.  Meanwhile, stir the paprika into the melted butter and whisk together.  Remove pastry and brush off excess flour.  Spread a rectangle of pastry with mustard; sprinkle with both cheeses. Season with pepper.

Lay the second pastry rectangle on top covering the cheese.  Lay the parchment paper on top of the stacked pastry; using a rolling pin, roll until smooth and pastry layers are sealed together.  Remove the parchment and brush the top of the pastry with paprika/butter mixture.  Chill until firm, about 30 min.

With a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, cut 18-24 shapes.  

Immediately place the shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Using a sharp knife, score each shape four or five times to make pumpkin ridges.

If you forget to brush the top of the dough before it is cut.. brushing them after cut works out fine.)

Bake until golden, 15-20 min.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Aren't they lovely?   Divine, right?

So after they were finished and we all were munching on the finished product...we came up with a variety of options for this recipe:

Why not a sweet version...jam or fruit filling in the middle, any flavor would do, and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top.  Or...Mexican with taco flavored meat and cheddar cheese and cut them in triangles...

You get the picture...whatever your mind can think up...you can try with puff pastry.

Try this one...you will be delighted and so will your guests!