roasted tomato and veggie quiche!

hello there peeps! here is a very simple and satisfying dish that is so versatile that you can eat it for any meal of the day... take some pie dough, veggies, eggs, cream and cheese and voila! savory baked goodness!

for this particular quiche, i sauteed some veggies: carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, and onions in a light tomato sauce... i cooked this down until all the liquid had disappeared... i put this aside while i readied the tart pan... i had some pie dough all rolled out and ready to go (it's always nice to have homemade pastry dough on hand, but hey, store bought is just as good... and a time saver too!!) once the dough was placed and pressed into the tart pan, i pricked it a few times with a fork, and baked it for 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven...

while the pie crust was baking, i prepped the filling... in a medium sized bowl, i lightly whisked together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (i used a blend of monterrey and cheddar), and salt and pepper... now to assemble... i spread the veggies onto the bottom of the crust, and then poured the egg and cream mixture evenly over the veggies... but i wasn't done yet... i had this lovely ugly ripe tomato staring at me, so i sliced it up, and placed it on top... then i put it in the oven for 25 minutes and baked it until nice and firm... let it cool before serving, and enjoy!!

mmm...mmmm... delish-ious!

happy baking everyone!

homemade pizza!

i am about to admit something to you... i, like every new yorker am a pizza snob... shocking i know... ha ha... trouble is i don't live in new york anymore... here in the southern most part of new jersey it's very hard to find a good NY style pizza, or bagels for that matter (but that's another story)... and i would starve before i order dominos or pizza hut... but luckily for me there are a few pizza places down here that are owned by former new yorkers... so whoo hoo for that...

but since we don't like to order out a lot, we probably make homemade pizza at least once every 2 weeks... and why not... it's simple, doesn't take a whole lot of time to prepare, it's delicious, and you can jazz it up just about any way you want... we always end up making 2 pies, one for jack, who's a plain cheese man, and one for the grown-ups... usually covered in veggies and maybe even some goat cheese... you know, the kind of pizza a 4 year old would gag at...

we usually use a pizza dough recipe from a better homes and gardens cookbook... but this time i went with a recipe from "smitten kitchen"... and i was very satisfied with the results... not to mention my dad bought me this "pizza stone"... i put that in quotes because it is in fact a piece of tile... you see the big guy is an avid cook, he loooooves the culinary arts... so he read somewhere that a ordinary ol' tile you can purchase at any ol' hardware store is just as good, and even better then a pizza stone... and so far so good... so thanks pops!!

now that the dough was ready, it was time to decorate it... i used some of my homemade marinara (no canned stuff here!), some spinach that was sauteed with garlic and oil, some very ripe jersey tomatoes (hurray for the farmers market!), and some fresh mozzarella... damn it was looking fine... then i popped that beauty in the oven and baked it to crispy bubbly perfection...

it was delicious...

happy baking everyone!

gimme that galette...

i know when you think about galette's you automatically think of beautifully plump blueberries and raspberries, baked until their little bodies are bursting, atop and surrounded by crisp-buttery-flaky-goodness...

hang on a sec while i wipe my drool...

alright... now... i had already filled my quota of new years desserts (delicious post to follow)... but i just had to bake a galette... thats when i stumbled upon this little beauty... for christmas my adoring husband bought me some awesome cookbooks and one was "Baking with Julia"... and low and behold... the cheese and tomato galette... PERFECT!

this was absolutely amazing... the gallete dough is such a mouthwatering combination of of flavors and textures... at first bite you immediately taste the butter, then the slight crunch from the cornmeal, and then just a hint of sweetness is tucked away into those tasty layers... take that and add some ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and just the lightest dusting of grated bellavitano cheese ( bellavitano cheese "combines the rich and creamy flavor of a young cheddar cheese with the savory, crystalline crunch of a premium aged parmesan.”) ... basically this cheese is addictive like crack cocaine :-)

it was the perfect little addition to our new years eve feast...

julia child's galette dough

ingredients:

3 tbs. sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
1/3 cup ice water
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
7 tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into six to eight pieces
directions:
1. to make the dough in a food processor: stir the sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water together in a small bowl and set aside

2. put the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse to combine

3. drop the butter pieces into the bowl and pulse eight to ten times, or until the mixture is speckled with pieces of butter that vary in size from bread crumbs to peas

4. with the machine running, add the sour cream mixture and process just until the dough forms soft, moist curds (this will not take long; air on the side of underdoing it in the food processor and finishing by hand)
5. chill the dough, remove the dough from the processor, divide it in half, and press each half into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic and chill for at least two hours

happy baking everyone!!

oh and a warm thank you to my kitchen helpers... love you guys!