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‘Quiche and savory muffins’ Category

  1. So green – Swiss chard and ricotta strudel

    October 19, 2011 by Giulietta

    I love vegetables, in fact, I adore them … I eat them in huge quantities, and I love every color they could possibly be, even different from the canonical five ones (actually, more or less, all of them fit into those colors)!

    So, since I spoke recently about blue-violet and orange vegetables, I have to talk about white and red ones, 'cause in today's recipe green rules the roost!

    This quiche, to which I gave a strudel shape (more or less, but don't be fussy), hides (not so much) a stuffing made with Swiss chard (or spinach beets), a vegetable that I love and that I often alternate with spinach, whether I choose to eat them alone or, as in this case, in a quiche. Nevertheless, if you don't like Swiss chard, you can replace them with Popeye's best friends.

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    Category Appetizer and Finger food, Quiche and savory muffins, Savory tart, Single course, Vegetables | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 48 Comments

  2. What’s going on in my head?! Squash, potatoes and prosciutto crudo tart

    October 8, 2011 by Giulietta

    October has arrived, and with it arrived autumn, too … despite the nearly 90° F (30° C) we had this week, the other day the wind changed, and in these last two days the temperatures went down, and it almost seemed fall. It appears that next week they'll rise again, but meanwhile I'm enjoying a few days of soups and hot dishes. If next week I'll have to make a rice salad again, then rice salad will be, but it will be a problem of future Giulia.

    However, rising or falling temperatures, finally a vegetable made its entrance again: the beloved, colorful and versatile squash (or pumpkin). I love it so much for its sweet and distinctive taste, that goes well with both the sausage and chocolate… how many other ingredients have this innate ability? Very few.
    And then, let's face it, squash is so good even accompanied by other vegetables, for example in the evergreen (or everorange .. ok, bad joke) cream of pumpkin soup, a real must in my kitchen's fall-winter collection (but thanks to the freezer, even in spring it appears on my table … and a friend of mine suggested me to make a summer version of this soup, eating it cold with a sprinkle of cinnamon … so I'll have pumpkin all year).

    In short, I just love the pumpkin and squash in all their forms and combinations .. and this year two things will help to bring even more of them on my table, in every possible dish: first of all, other than my trusted dealers in farmers market this year a friend of mine grows pumpkin in her own garden (I could already taste one of her pumpkin… simply delicious!); secondly, later this month I'll attend a cooking class entirely dedicated to pumpkin. I think you'll see this vegetable again and again here on my blog, continuing this saga.

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    Category Appetizer and Finger food, Cold cuts, Dried fruit, Herbs, Quiche and savory muffins, Savory tart, Single course, Vegetables | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 44 Comments

  3. Red Carpet: cherry tomatoes tarte tatin

    September 12, 2011 by Giulietta

    I admit it: this title is because I came under the spell of color red, with just a drizzle of Venetian charm (and this year I didn't even followed Venice Film Festival that much: I just heard some news here and there).

    The truth is that three things  will remain imprinted in your memory about this tarte tatin: its color (a bright, full, scarlet scarlet), the easiness of its preparation and its taste, rustic and barely sweetish.

    Today the inspiration for this recipe comes from another blog, this time in English, started by an Italian couple now in the UK, who wants to fight with recipes the foreign misinformation about Italian cuisine … not coincidentally the name of their blog is Don't call it Bolognese. As soon as I saw their cherry tomatoes and goat cheese tarte tatin  I just thought that it was a great idea! A savory tarte tatin, made with one of the most precious and colorful summery fruits, cherry tomatoes!

    But I didn't want to slavishly copy their recipe, so I made ​​some changes here and there … come and discover the differences!

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    Category Appetizer and Finger food, Herbs, Quiche and savory muffins, Vegetables | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 57 Comments

  4. Bundle turnovers stuffed with zucchini and gorgonzola cream… instead of the usual quiche

    July 3, 2011 by Giulietta

    When you have some good seasonal vegetables and some tasty cheese, one of the easiest things to do, if you also have some puff pastry, is a quiche: cook the vegetables, mix some cheese, fill the quiche and bake … at this point the quiche will do everything by itself, and a mixture of ingredients, random or not (there are some quiche called empty-your-fridge, for example), will always become something great (well, if you have in the fridge only tuna fish eggs, lemons and strawberry jam I don't guarantee the result).

    But sometimes the idea of the classic quiche (for me is almost always an open one, ie not covered with a layer of puff pastry) doesn't attract me, and the other day was just one of those days … so, from the union of two evil minds (mine, of course, and my boyfriend's – birds of a feather) is born this simple -but effective- alternative to the traditional quiche (which I still love ,uh).

    I insisted I wanted to make single-portion quiche, little bundle turnovers more pleasing to the eye, while my boyfriend bashed on with something else: instead of chopped vegetables and cheese, he wanted a creamy filling made with vegetables and cheese. In short, we tried to satisfy both ideas and, despite some moments of panic ("Oh, I can't detach the turnovers from the pan") the experiment worked: the turnovers were pleasant to the eye, perfect (more than the usual quiche) for appetizer (sooooo finger food) and the creamy filling was very delicate. Sometimes the union of evil minds produces some good ideas (and don't say I didn't give merit to my boyfriend, huh?)!

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    Category Appetizer and Finger food, Cheese, Quiche and savory muffins, Vegetables | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 30 Comments

  5. How to revolutionize Roman tradition: pecorino and black pepper muffins

    March 31, 2011 by Giulietta

    Of all the Roman culinary traditions, this is the combination that I love the most … Pecorino, on its own, is one of my "weakness" (in general I have a weakness for cheese, and I believe in this rule "the more a cheese stinks and more it's good".. I don't know whether this rule has already an "inventor", but otherwise we could easily call it "Robert theorem". And no, I did NOT change sex, Robert is only my heavy surname): in fact no one should ever, ever, ever leave me alone with cheese, because I shouldn't be liable for my actions!

    Until now we discussed cheeses in general … but sheep or goat ones, you may say?! They should come to me, too, 'cause with me they will always find an open door! I love these cheeses, whether fresh or matured, for their flavor intensity, and they are also better for those who have cholesterol problems, always without any exaggeration … and there's the rub! How can you live behind a poor cheese?! It's cruel!

    And among all the sheep and goat cheeses, I especially love Pecorino, an Italian glory, which is common to Lazio, Basilicata, Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily, Campania, Abruzzo, Umbria (I have happy memories of Umbrian Pecorino) and Marche! Pecorino, which I prefer well-seasoned, it's absolutely one of my favorite cheeses, for its strong taste, his innate freshness, its salt intake, its texture, its fragrance…

    Pecorino, I love you, and there's nothing I can do about it!

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    Category Appetizer and Finger food, Quiche and savory muffins | Tags: ,,,,, | 1 Comment