This is the perfect homemade dessert for those who think they cannot bake and for those who can too! Preheat oven to 425 degrees and have ready a baking dish large enough to hold fruit.
2 lbs. peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (or fruit of your choice)
For the topping:
3/4 cup flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 oz. cold unsalted butter, diced
Combine flour, sugar, salt and almonds and process until nuts are roughly chopped. Add cold butter cubes and process just until mixture starts to "clump".
Spread fruit evenly in baking dish and sprinkle topping over it.
Bake until topping is brown and fruit is bubbling. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
Quiche Lorraine - essentially a fancy sounding French name for what the Brits would call a bacon and egg pie! Still, the combination does produce an elegant dish that is at home for brunch, lunch or supper. Even better - you can make it ahead and even freeze it. Doesn't get much more versatile than that.
Ingredients:
1 prebaked pie shell, 9 to 10 inches
4 slices bacon cooked till quite crisp and crumbled
1 large onion, sliced about 1/4" inch thick and cooked until softened in bacon fat
6 ounces Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
a few gratings of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine eggs and cream either in a food processor or mix well with a whisk.
Put onion, drained of fat, in bottom of pie crust, top with bacon pieces.
Add cheese and pour in egg/cream mixture.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes or until pie seems fairly firm when shaken.
Variations:
Cooked broccoli and cheddar cheese
Smoked salmon, Swiss cheese and asparagus.
These lovely mushroom croustades are from a cookbook that is about 55 years old! While many of the other recipes in the book seem outdated, these tartlets have stood the test of time and have remained in my repertoire to this day.
Both the filling and the tart bases can be made ahead and frozen which makes them perfect for impromptu entertaining.
Enjoy! Croustades:
24 slices fresh, thinly sliced white bread 2 tablespoons very soft butter
Filling:
4 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots 1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 3 tablespoons finely chopped chives 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese to finish. Watch the video
I first tasted this lovely torte at my friend Flora's house. It's a
recipe that has been around for ages and was originally made with
Italian prune plums cut in half. I have changed it a bit, replacing
some of the flour with almond flour, adding almond extract and using
sliced peaches in place of the plums. Of course the original is good
too! You can also use any plum, sliced, or pears. In the winter, I
have used canned apricot halves well drained and placed on paper towels
to dry further.
Note: If you cannot find almond flour, simply place 1/4 cup of
sliced almonds in a food processor with the sugar and process until
finely ground. Otherwise, just use an additional 1/4 cup of plain
flour. I particularly like the texture the almond flour gives.
¾ cup (145g) plus 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick (112g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (120g) unbleached flour
¼ cup (20g) almond flour
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (5g) almond extract
Pinch of salt
2 or 3 ripe peaches
sliced almonds
Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, cream the ¾ cup sugar and butter.
Add the flour,
almond flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. Place
in a 9 ungreased cake pan lined with parchment paper. Cover the top
with the sliced peaches.
Mix the sliced almonds with the remaining 1 or
2 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center tests done with a
toothpick. Remove and cool to room temperature or serve warm. Serve
plain or with vanilla ice cream.
Note: Cake freezes well. To serve, return to room temperature and reheat at 300° until warm.
Variations: I have made this with Italian plums cut in half or
regular plums cut in quarters omitting the sliced almonds and
substituting a teaspoon of cinnamon. Canned apricots very well drained
also work as do canned pears. This recipe will also make two 6” cakes.
Long a popular appetizer in Italian restaurants, this is a great way to use up some of that bumper crop of zucchini taking over your vegetable garden. It’s not only a tasty appetizer, but a delicious side dish kids will love! In addition, it is significantly lower in calories than the fried version.
Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini cut into sticks
2 egg whites
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmegiano cheese
Preheat the oven to 425º convection or 450º conventional.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.
Place the egg whites in a rimmed dish and whisk until well blended
Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a plastic bag and shake to combine.
Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmegiano on a sheet of waxed paper.
Place half the zucchini sticks in the bag and shake to coat. Remove and shake off excess flour.
Dip sticks in egg whites and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture to coat.
Place on the baking sheet, spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serve with marinara sauce.
NOTES: Panko breadcrumbs are large, crunchy breadcrumbs available in most grocery stores. If you can’t find them, use plain breadcrumbs. A recipe for marinara sauce can be found here on my website and is also on You Tube.
