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"

Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole with Potatoes

406.  Cookbooks!  Cookbooks!  Cookbooks!!!

"Cookbooks for everyone!!!"...was the theme of our Christmas gift exchange.  Not only cookbooks but books in general.  

A fabulous cookbook is Stanley Tucci's "The Tucci Table" filled with great home recipes that are simple but incorporate memories and tips from his family.  You can order this great cookbooks HERE.

This recipe incorporates veggies, potatoes, and tomato sauce smothered in cheese.  I used Stanley Tucci's recipe but adjusted it a bit to our liking.  Here is my recipe:

To save this recipe drag and drop onto your desktop or select and send to your printer.

This recipe strays away from pasta for a carb and adds potato instead which is a really great substitute.

And, it is such a hardy meal.  It warms you up and fills you up without the extra carb stress.

It also tastes delicious as leftovers the next day or to freeze for a later date.

"Throughout my childhood, almost every night in the middle of dinner, my father would shake his head and ask, 'What does the rest of the world eat?' That's how good my mother's cooking has always been--to my dad, it was inconceivable that anyone could possibly eat as well as we did.  And I agreed with him every time."

~Stanley Tucci

Christmas Baking 2020

 

405.  Christmas preparations, with cookie and cinnamon roll baking always leaves our house smelling like a bakery.  These mini browned butter cookies with toffee bits were a huge hit.

Delicious almond-flavored cookies are a favorite to make every year.  The recipe is from a Family Circle magazine back in the 1980's.  

Slice-a-Fancy-Cookie is a recipe I found in my mother's recipes many years ago.

Pitzells are a yearly staple and we tried pistachio red peppercorn cookies, sliced, baked and iced with a salted icing.

Cinnamon Rolls from scratch.  Christmas morning is never the same without them.

Someone asked, "What do you do with all those cookies...and who eats them?".  I have always shared my baking every year.  I package them up into cookie trays and then give them as gifts, hostess gifts or my offering to any party.

Creating cookie trays is always a delightful task and so rewarding.

And sugar cookies with royal icing...beautiful!

Rugelach cookies is a recipe from a Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine.  It always pleases.

And Eggnog Logs are a Taste of Home Recipe.

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Feast.

Beef Wellington was on the menu with roquefort cheese, salad and julienne carrots.

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” 

― Hamilton Wright Mabie

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” 
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

“How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Thanksgiving Highlights

404. Thanksgiving will always bring warm and beautiful memories from years gone by.

Delicious food, desserts and time with those we love.

  Each year I am blessed to plan and prepare and sit down to a table surrounded with people I love.  

This year was no different.  Enjoy highlights from our families day of thanks.

"For me, every hour is grace.  And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile."

~Elie Wiesel

Polish Potato Dumplings "Kopytka"

 403.  Every autumn, when the leaves start to change and the air turns cool and everything is frosty in the morning, I start to crave dumplings.  The dumplings are ones my sweet mother would make.  They are Polish Kopytka or Potato Dumplings.  The method was a slight variation from a plain spoon dumpling but has the same fulfilling effect.

I had made a large pot of Squash soup and thought these beauties would be perfect as an accompaniment.

This was a delightful meal and so satisfying!  I lightly chopped fresh sage as a compliment and garnish.

Here is my recipe easy to save by selecting and dropping to desktop and printing as picture.

The best part of these dumplings are to heat them in a pan the next day to toast them.  They will brown on the edges and are so tasty!

"Nie istnieje droga na skróty do miejsca, do którego dojść warto."  "There are no short cuts to any place worth going."   ~  Polish Proverb

Oatmeal Muffins/ Bread with Fruit

402. To have an Oatmeal Muffin Recipe that you can add any fruit to is a staple for your recipe file.  This recipe is lovely and you can edit and tweek the flavors.  

Blueberries and lemon zest were the flavoring and fruit added to this recipe.  And the texture of the muffin seems more like a loaf bread and not as dry as a muffin.  So I made both muffins and mini loaf bread.

Whole oats add texture but you may want the batter to sit for 15 minutes before pouring into your pans.

I am not a fan of cupcake paper liners with muffins so I cut small strips of parchment paper and crisscross them in the oiled cups as well as the mini loaf pan.  Once baked, removal is a snap.

I use my extra large cookie scoop to fill the oversized pans.  A muffin or loaf is spectacular with a dome when baked, hence my "overfilling" of the muffin cups and loaf pan.  And then a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar on top to create that crunchy crust.

Here is my recipe:

To save this recipe simply select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a picture.

This is a lovely recipe to use any time, breakfast, brunch or to wrap and give to a friend.

"The most important decisions you make are not the things you do,

 but the things you decide not to do."

~ Steve Jobs

Pizza with Asparagus, Pesto & Chicken

401.  An experiment with pizza toppings was in play today.  I had chicken breast, pesto, Mozzarella cheese, and asparagus.  But, I was craving pizza...so, this delicious combination was created. 

The dough was whole wheat crust layered first with pesto, next, chopped onion, Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken chopped in pieces.  Then topped with more Parmesan cheese, shredded Mozzarella cheese and finally asparagus spears cut in 4" pieces.

I baked the pizza at 425 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

Amazing flavor, texture and the chicken was a hidden surprise with each bite.

"It's a lot harder to get people to 'ooh' and 'aah' over beets or carrots than it is to get them to 'ooh' and 'aah' over asparagus.  I enjoy being able to take these humble, 'low-brow' foodstuffs up a few notches and serve them with great exuberance."

~Charlie Trotter