So you’re at that place in your life where you want to start cooking and entertaining at home. Awesome. We can definitely help you get there. But what to cook? Make brunch. It’s a good place to start your venture in preparing food and hosting friends and family. Brunch is a casual, relaxed meal that’s served all at once, eliminating the potential of panic in making a big multicourse meal.
Additionally, the menu we propose — quiche, salad and a sparkling drink — affords you the luxury of preparing and cooking in advance, so you’re not spending time in the kitchen away from guests.
For the quiche, I call for a handmade pie crust, but a refrigerated pie crust is a totally fine substitute. The filling, fashioned after a traditional quiche Lorraine with ham and cheese, is as simple as stir and dump. And it’s highly adaptable. Keep the proportions the same and substitute shredded rotisserie chicken for the ham — or use crumbled bacon, diced meatballs or diced leftover steak.
The homemade thyme-shallot-mustard salad dressing is so easy that once you learn how to make it, you will forever think twice about purchasing bottled dressing. Toss any mixed greens in the salad dressing just before serving. I like a combination of arugula, baby kale and spinach. Or simply cut a head of iceberg lettuce into wedges. If you’d like to gild the lily, top the salad with chopped, roasted, salted pistachio nuts, almonds, pecans, cashews or any combination of chopped nuts. Or consider adding shaved Parmesan cheese, dried fruit, canned pears, a sliced apple, shaved carrots, roasted cherry tomatoes or wedges of garden-fresh heirloom tomatoes — you get the idea.
The sparkling drinks, based on simple fruit purees, could easily become a cocktail with the substitution of sparkling wine for the sparkling water.
So, go ahead and make brunch; you got this.
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HAM AND CHEESE QUICHE WITH GREEN ONIONS
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 45 minutes
Rest: 20 minutes
Makes: 8 servings
Half-recipe of perfect pie crust, or 1 frozen pie crust, thawed
1 1/2 cups whole milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup diced smoked deli ham
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pie dough, and press the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp the edges of the dough using your thumb and pointer fingers to make a decorative edge (watch the video — it’s super easy to do), or crimp the edges of the dough with the back of a fork all along the rim of the pie plate. Place in the freezer, 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, salt and pepper until very well blended, about 30 seconds. Remove pie plate from freezer. Scatter the ham on the bottom of the pie crust; spread the cheese evenly on top of the ham. Scatter the green onions on top of the cheese. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the ham, cheese and green onions, filling the crust almost to the rim. You may have a little milk mixture leftover.
3. Place the quiche on a baking sheet; bake until the top is golden brown and the center jiggles slightly when shaken, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack. Let rest at least 20 minutes before serving. You can serve the quiche warm, room temperature or cold.
Nutrition information per serving: 334 calories, 23 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 173 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 3 g sugar, 15 g protein, 399 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
PERFECT PIE CRUST
Prep: 10 minutes
Chill: 30 minutes
Makes: Two 9-inch single pie crusts or one 9-inch double pie crust
2 cups flour
7 tablespoons cold lard, diced in 1/2-inch pieces (or nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening)
5 tablespoons cold butter, diced in 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup ice water
1. Pulse together the flour, lard, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, about 10 pulses. (You’ll want to see visible pieces of lard and butter, unevenly sized).
2. Add 1/2 cup of the ice water; pulse several times, adding more water by the tablespoon as necessary, to form a crumbly mass with many visible pieces of butter and lard, that holds its shape and doesn’t stick to your hands when lightly pressed together; about 10 pulses.
3. Turn dough crumbles out onto plastic wrap, pressing slightly to bring together. Form into 2 discs, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Note: For the quiche recipe, you'll only use 1 disc of pie dough; freeze the other disc (up to three months), double wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a resealable plastic bag. Thaw in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight, before using.
THYME-SHALLOT-MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING
Prep: 5 minutes
Makes: about 2 cups
For the thyme, don’t be tempted to substitute the dried herb. It just doesn’t work. The dressing can also be shaken in a jar with a tight-fitting lid or mixed with a whisk.
1 small shallot, peeled, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (although any mustard will do)
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup canola or other salad oil (safflower, corn, peanut)
1. Place shallot, thyme, Dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a tall jar. Use an immersion blender to blend at medium speed until shallots are minced and mixture is thoroughly blended, about 30 seconds. (Or use a blender.)
2. With the blender running, add the oil in a slow steady stream to create a smooth dressing, about 30 seconds. Taste, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Hold at room temperature until ready to use. (Blend or shake slightly just before using to make sure mixture has not separated.) Refrigerate unused dressing in a covered container for up to one week.
Nutrition information per tablespoon: 66 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 0 g protein, 48 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
SPARKLING FRUIT DRINK
Prep: 15 minutes
Makes: About 10 servings
6 large strawberries, hulled, roughly chopped (or 1 cup roughly chopped honeydew melon or cantaloupe or 2 kiwi fruit, peeled, roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or sugar
2 quarts sparkling water or 2 bottles (750 milliliters each) sparkling wine, such as prosecco or cava
Lemon or lime wedges, optional
1. Place fruit and honey in a tall jar. With an immersion blender, blend at medium speed to create a smooth puree, about 30 seconds. (Or make the puree in a blender.) Refrigerate.
2. Just before serving, fill tall glasses with ice; top with sparkling water or sparkling wine almost to the top. Add 2 tablespoons fruit puree per glass; garnish with lemon or lime wedges. Serve immediately.
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