I arrived in Florida (where my parents live) exactly two days ago, on a red eye flight. I was sitting next to the most adorable baby in a onesie. We said hi, we smiled…we became friends.

And then she totally betrayed me. An hour into the flight, she started bawling her eyes out. And didn’t stop…for the. next. four. hours. Right then and there our friendship ended, obviously. Her poor mother…she was doing everything she could. Nothing worked.

So, instead of sleeping with my eyes closed, I tried to sleep with my eyes open. You know…where you just stare REALLY hard and try to take your brain to a newprettybetter world, like, immediately?

I thought about Christmas morning…oh Christmas morning. Does a cozier more lovely place even exist? I think not…

This year I have nothing to do with Christmas dinner. I bowed out since I cooked all of Thanksgiving dinner.

Instead, I’m on the sidelines mixing cocktails, making playlists, drinking cocktails…

I did, however, agree to get down on Christmas morning.

Last year I made this eggs benedict, PW’s cinnamon rolls and some spice hot chocolate.

In a couple days, I’m gonna make Joy’s pull apart bread (have you made this?!?!), some more spice hot chocolate, an apple cheese danish…and this quiche.

This quiche is so dreamy.

Sure there’s a bit of flour and butter mixing, and water mixing, and rolling out.

BUT you can do all of that the night before. Yes, that’s right. The pie crust can be made the day before, rolled out, put into its pie crust or tart shell..so it’s all ready for the next day. You can even mix up the filling if you like.

This way all you have to do is wake up, shuffle into the kitchen in your pjs, do a little pre-heat action and stick the thing in the oven.

An hour later, you’ll be met with this beautiful cheese, ham and spinach filled quiche.

I can’t think of a better breakfast to share with a bunch of people on Christmas morning.

I’m wishing you all a beautiful peace-filled Christmas.

Merry merry!

xo

Adrianna

Ham Spinach and Gruyére Quiche

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Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cold and cubed
1/4 cup cold water

Egg Filling:
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 handfuls of spinach
4 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup cubed ham (sliced to a 1/4-inch thickness)
1/2 cup cubed Gruyére

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Working quickly, and using your fingers, add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and break up until butter is in pea-size bits. Make a well in the center of the mixture, pour in 1/4 cup cold water, and incorporate it into the mixture it’s moistened and comes together forming a ball. Note: If you find it to be too dry, add a tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Wrap the disc of dough in plastic and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the handfuls of spinach and cook until wilted. Drain in a colander (or on a handful or paper towels) and set aside.

3. Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl beat eggs together with cream, milk, salt and pepper.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle (or just a bit bigger than your tart shell–mine was 9.5 inches). Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Gently press the inside bottom edges of the dough against the sides of the tart pan to eliminate any air bubbles. Roll the rolling pin across the top surface of the tart shell to cut off the crusts’ edges.

5. To the bottom of the tart shell, add the wilted spinach, cubed cheese and ham. Pour 3/4 of the egg mixture over top and transfer to a baking sheet. Place in oven on rack and top off with the remaining egg mixture (this way it won’t spill over!).

6. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. The top of the quiche will be puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly until serving. It’s delicious warm or at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from this Jacques Pepin video

Before I moved to the big city of Los Angeles, I went to college in the small city of Winston Salem, NC. Although I’m glad to have moved on, I still pine for my favorite foodie spots. If you ever find yourself in Winston Salem, I have a few suggestions of places to visit.

First, you need to get a cup of coffee at Chelsee’s downtown. Order something with chocolate in it.

For lunch I recommend the fish and chips at Foothills Brewery. If you’re in a rush, don’t go. You’ll see a server approx. once per hour, but the fish and chips are worth it if you have an afternoon to kill.

Be sure to stop by 6^th and Vine for a glass of wine. Tell them I say hi, and that I miss them. Ask if they’ll move to LA, pretty please?

Then, you need to mosey over to 4th Street Filling Station. Order the spinach-artichoke dip. Because it has feta in it. No one else in town makes it with feta, and therefore no one else in town has a better dip. This is logic, pure and simple.

I have to admit I was a little hesitant to post this. Partly because Adrianna already made her delicious recipe for a spinach artichoke dip a few months ago, and really, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Also, I feel sometimes like spinach artichoke dips are the one recipe for which there is no shortage of supply.

However, I ended up going with my gut on this since I’m on somewhat of a mission. See, I feel like I have a calling to spread the word on the wonders of feta. I know you’re probably scoffing at the screen right now thinking, “yeah Caroline, I KNOW what feta is, thank you very much.” But here’s the question you should really be asking yourself – sure I know what feta is but have I ever put it in my artichoke spinach dip? If the answer is “no” then I think a trip to the grocery store is in your near future.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip with Feta

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8 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup feta cheese

Pita chips (for serving)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix together the all ingredients, leaving out 1/4 cup of the feta cheese. Pour the mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the dip is hot and bubbly and beginning to brown on top.

Serve hot with pita chips.

Hi.

How did the holiday treat you? I ate PW’s cinnamon rolls (thank you to everyone who offered tips!), got a pair of red Tom’s and hung out with family. It was wonderful!

Did you know that 2011 is on…umm…Saturday! How did that happen? What an amazing year this has been! I’m ringing it in at a friend’s Mad Men themed New Year’s Party.

So my friend Teri and I are getting beehive hair-do’s, putting on glittery 50′s dresses and whipping up retro appetizers.

I contemplated a few options: tacky Jell-O molds, Swedish meatballs, deviled eggs (which I LOVE), pigs in a blanket (ew!), fondue (umm, yes please!).

I finally settled on this Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

It’s 50′s-ish, right?

I dunno. I think it counts, though, it reminds me more of late night runs to TGI Friday’s in college.  I went to college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and that was the only place open past 9pm.  TGI Friday’s taught me a few things about spinach dip.

1. It needs an ample amount of spinach.

2. Have a ton of creaminess going on.

3. And an equal amount of cheesiness.

This spinach dip has all three of those things. It’s a winner!

A few tips? I got ‘em. (I think.) I used frozen spinach.  To thaw it quickly, I threw it in some really hot water. I then drained it and used a cheese cloth to get all the water out.  You don’t want water in your spinach dip. It just ain’t right!

I added one artichoke heart. I went to battle with this artichoke for one artichoke heart. I recommend buying jarred artichoke hearts. MUCH easier.

Easy is good. If your spinach dip takes too much work then it’s not right.

I added Parmesan and mozzarella. I think the Parmesan gives it really good flavor and mozzarella gives it a good cheesiness. Add what you like! I think goat cheese would be lovely, too.

And then you just mix it all up. That simple. No biggie.

Put it in a gratin or casserole dish and top it with some more cheese. Bake it for 20-30 minutes and serve it with baguette slices or tortilla chips. Take a bite and then scream…

Happy New Year!

Perfect way to start 2011!

xo

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

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10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed

2-3 canned (or frozen) artichoke hearts, chopped

1/2 cup parmesan. grated

1/2 cup mozzarella, grated

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 tablespoons of mayo

1 1/2 tablespoons of sour cream

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Baguette or chips for serving

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Add all of your ingredients (except the baguettes, of course) to a large bowl and stir until combined. Place the mixture in a gratin dish or casserole dish, smoothing the surface with a spatula.

Top with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until all melty and golden on top. Serve with baguette slices or tortilla chips.

Once upon a time, me and quiche were BFFs. We got together on the weekends at the local cafes in North Carolina quite a bit, and quiche had also been known to appear in my refrigerator for days, even weeks, at a time. We were quite the item.

Somewhere along the way, I sort of fell out of love. Not because quiche is too difficult to make; in fact, it can kinda be too easy. Quiche is one of those foods that you can prepare a million ways. It’s also really hard to make it taste bad. I read this article a few months ago in the LA times that gave an incredible run-down on quiche. It also made me rethink a few things that I always considered the rules of preparing what was once a favorite dish.

1. Quiche custard is a little more complicated than just mixing together eggs and milk. I didn’t know that if you scald the milk first, and then whip up the batter into a froth, you’ll have the lightest, fluffiest quiche you’ve ever tasted.

2. Quiche crust should be baked a little before hand. The LA times recommended baking it until completely brown before adding the batter, but I found that mine became too crisp when I did that. I do think that some baking is required beforehand though, it gives the crust a nice crispness which the batter would normally prevent.

3. Ingredients should be fully cooked and completely dry. I’ve totally thrown in raw vegetables before. That was a bad decision. Soggy, thawed out spinach also doesn’t turn out so well.

To test out my new knowledge, I went for some tasty autumn flavors and I am sooooo back in love with quiche. The butternut squash was sweet and blended perfectly with the buttery parmesan. You’re definitely gonna see me and quiche hanging out quite a bit more.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Quiche

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The only thing in my original recipe that I wasn’t totally satisfied with was the crust. For now, use any sort of tart, pastry or pie shell that you prefer.

IMPORTANT – this recipe is for your standard pie pan or a 9″ x 1″ tart shell., which is fairly shallow as far as quiches go. If you prefer a thicker quiche and have a deep dish pie crust or tart shell you should double the recipe.

Quiche Batter:

1 cup milk
1 cup cream (I used half & half)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon fresh nutmeg

Combine the milk and cream in a heavy saucepan and heat over medium heat until it scalds (this is when a skin begins to form on the surface.) Set aside and allow to cool slightly for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Slowly combine with the cooled milk. Using a hand blender or upright blender, blend together the custard until it’s light foamy (about 30 seconds).

Immediately pour this into a hot baked crust and bake.

Filling:

½ butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup blanched spinach (or thawed out frozen spinach)
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

Slice the squash into ¼ inch slices with the skin on. Roast in a 475 degree F oven for an 45 mins to an hour, or until the edges start to crisp and darken. Allow to cool and remove the skins.

Layer the bottom of the partially baked crust with the squash, spinach and cheese. There are no rules for how much filling to add, it’s up to your discretion on what you want the filling/custard ratio to be. Slowly pour in the custard until the crust is full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 – 45 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and doesn’t move at all when the pan is shaken.

Important note: If you are using a deeper tart dish, only place half of the ingredients in at first. Pour in some of the custard, then the remaining filling ingredients and the rest of the custard. Since the custard has been whipped into a froth it will keep the ingredients from all sinking to the bottom.

Once the quiche is baked, allow to cool. The quiche will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week as long as it’s well wrapped.

Sometimes I decide to cook something because it’s a recipe I’ve done a million times and I know that it’s going to taste amazing, like cheddar & pinto bean patties. Sometimes it’s because I see a recipe in a book, magazine, or blog and am immediately compelled to give it a try, like Smitten Kitchen’s pasta with goat cheese. Then, I have the days when I realize that I’ve had that box of couscous in my cupboard for a year, a YEAR, and by George, I’m going to do SOMETHING with it. That’s when I make things like Couscous Salad with Cherries.

And you know what? I should get fed up with my cupboard ingredients more often, because this was delicious. It was a little too healthy for Chase to even try, but that was fine because I really didn’t feel like sharing anyway. This salad is perfect for picnics, because the dressing is very light and doesn’t make it soggy. It’s also perfect for sitting at home on a summer day with a glass of lemonade, enjoying it bite by tasty bite.

Cherry Couscous Salad

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Adapted from Vegetarian Times

The original recipe called for cucumber, but I’m not a big fan so I omitted it. Similarly, if there’s an ingredient that you feel is missing or should be added, feel free to customize this salad however you would like.  You can also substitute quinoa or bulgur for the couscous.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
2 cups spinach leaves
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved, or 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
5 Tbs. olive oil, divided
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced

Toast the almonds, either in a over the stove at medium heat or in an oven at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes, or until the almonds have just turned golden brown.

In a saucepan, combine 1 ½ cups water, 2 tablespoons olive oil and ½ tsp salt and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the couscous. Stir well and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool. Meanwhile, lay 5 or 6 spinach leaves flat on top of one another on cutting board and slice into strips.

Toss together couscous, almonds, spinach, cherries, chickpeas and red onion in large serving bowl. Whisk together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in small bowl. Pour over salad, and toss to coat. Chill 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop, then dig in.