Perfect Quiche

My quiche always came out rubbery until I came across this recipe.  The diva that gave me this ran her own restaurant.  I was adding too many eggs and not enough cream.  This quiche is wonderful. 

4 eggs

2 cups half and half

1 cup shredded cheese ( cheddar, Swiss, or your favorite blend)

1- 1 1/2  cups of crumbled crispy bacon, cooked sausage, ham, broccoli (par cooked or frozen defrosted and drained) or whatever you like for filling ( mix them together)

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

9” unbaked pie crust (Use a frozen deep dish and let it defrost while assembling ingredients).

Sprinkle meat or vegetable filling in bottom of pie crust. 

Sprinkle cheese on top of filling.

In a pretty bowl slightly beat eggs, add in the half and half, salt and pepper 

Add other seasonings if you like.

Pour mixture into  pie crust.

Place in oven at 425 for 15 minutes. 

Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until knife inserted ½ way to center comes out clean.  

Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicago Hot Dogs

While I'm not a huge fan of hot dogs in general, I will eat a good one.  I like Hebrew National, Pearls, and Nathan's.  Recently I heard that President Obama has a thing for Chicago dogs, and I decided to check it out.  The last time I heard a president like grilled food, it was about Bill Clinton who liked his hamburgers with onions that had been marinating in Balsamic Vinegar.  I was not led astray.  This was a great tip. 

Yet I was skeptical about a hot dog with all those vegetables.  Boy, have I been missing out!  This has been delicious and filling in a good way.  Also, I did not know and still don't know what sport peppers are.  I substituted pepperoncini peppers.  Absolutely fabulous.

Chicago Hot Dog

 1 all-beef hot dog (see above recommendations)

 hot dog bun (I like wheat)

dijon mustard

dill  relish

chopped onion

tomato slices

a few dill pickle slices

a few pepperoncini peppers
 

Taco Soup

This dish is quick, easy, and fabulous--everything cooking should be.  You can whip this up in no time with ingredients mostly on hand.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 onion chopped

taco seasoning to taste

16 oz. tomato sauce

 15 oz. diced tomatoes

1 cup corn

1 cup kidney beans

2 cups water

shredded cheese to taste

sour cream to taste

Fritos or Corn chips

Saute ground beef and onion.
Transfer mixture to large pot, draining fat as you go.
Add taco seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, corn, and water.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve up with sour cream, cheese, and Fritos!

Make it a meal:  Serve soup with some nice bread.

Wine:  Some sort of Spanish red would be lovely.

Vegetable Quiche Cups

My mother gave me this recipe when she was doing the South Beach diet. She would have one for breakfast. I would have two. These little guys are pop in your mouth fun. They are great for a breakfast on the run. Play around with the cheese and vegetables you use for wonderous variety.
(photo by Viewoftheworld)


Vegetable Quiche Cups

1 package frozen spinach

2 eggs

2 cups shredded cheese

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

Mix all the ingredients and put into a cupcake tin.
You can line the tin with cupcake paper, but I just spray them with Pam.
Cook at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Wine: Champagne

Spinach Soup

Use fresh spinach if you like. That involves more cooking and transferring and chopping than this diva likes. Some recipes call for peeling the potatoes. I do not see the point. The peel, of course, has the most nutrients, and divas need their strength.


Spinach Soup

1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed

1 potato, sliced

½ onion, chopped

2 cups chicken stock

¼ cup sherry

white pepper

nutmeg

salt and pepper

cream (I use half and half)

Sauté onions in olive oil or butter.
Add potatoes and chicken stock; bring to a boil.
Simmer 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Transfer potato mixture to a blender; add spinach.
Blend.
Pour back into pot.
Add cream, sherry, white pepper, and nutmeg.
Heat and serve.

Options: Puree carrots into the mix for extra vitamins; substitute cauliflower puree for ½ cup cream

Make it a meal: Serve with Gruyere bread.

Wine: Chardonnay or Champagne

Apple Squash Soup

This recipe uses fresh autumn harvest delights with delicious results. This takes a bit more time than most of my recipes, but it is worth it. I served this soup at our Uncorked Divas Book club and received high praise.

(photo by audinou)

Apple Squash Soup

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 lb. butternut, chopped

2 apples, peeled & chopped

1 tsp. rosemary

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cream (I use half and half)

Combine first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until squash is tender.
Puree in a blender, then return mixture to pot.
In a separate pot make a roux by melting the butter and adding the flour.
Whisk the roux into the squash mixture.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the cream, salt & pepper.
Do not boil.

Make it a meal: Serve with focaccia or Gruyere and garlic bread.

Wine: A crisp Sauvignon Blanc or light Pinot Grigio.

Roasted Broccoli

This is a nice alternative to steamed broccoli once in a while. Just mix and pop in the oven. (photo by wanko)

Roasted Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli, chopped into florets and bite-sized pieces

olive oil

salt & pepper

Drizzle olive oil over chopped broccoli.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix.
Spread on a baking sheet.
Roast in oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes until broccoli is tender.

Make it a meal: Serve with slow cooker chicken and mushroom.

Wine: Chardonnay

Breakfast Frittata

This breakfast or brunch frittata is simply a quiche without the crust. This is so easy. All my diva relatives and friends make this. The options are endless. See below for my favorite combinations of fillers. (photos by ricoeurian and The Marmot)

Breakfast Frittata

6 eggs (Omega 3 eggs are nice, but so are locally laid)

1/2 cup of milk or half and half

salt and pepper

chosen fillers (see below)

Oil a pie plate.
In a pretty bowl mix the fillers (keep looking below)
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
Pour into the pie plate.
Add the fillers.
Place plate on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees until middle is bouncy.

Fillers:
Tex Mex--frozen hash browns, salsa, scallions, cheddar cheese
Greek--spinach, black olives, feta cheese
French--ham, apples, Swiss cheese
asparagus, Gouda
tomatoes, mushrooms, chives, mozzarella cheese
shrimp, scallops, cheddar cheese
bacon, tomato, cheddar
sausage, onion, peppers, cheddar

Wine: Champagne

Tortilla Pizza

These are easy and have incredible variety. Kids love them and they are fewer calories, for dieting divas, than traditional pizza crust. Some of my suggested toppings are below, but the variations are endless. (photo by Carol329)

Tortilla Pizza

4 8-inch tortillas

toppings (see below)

olive oil

salt & pepper

Place 4 8-inch tortillas on a baking sheet. Lightly oil if you wish.
Load toppings on top (again see below).
Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees until toppings are heated and tortillas are crisp.

Toppings:
BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese,leftover cooked chicken, and onion
red roasted peppers and Gouda cheese
red sauce, chopped spinach, garlic, and feta cheese
hummus, sliced tomatoes, and chives
cooked hamburg, mozzarella cheese, and mushrooms
Cooked shrimp, butter, garlic, with or without red sauce
mushroom, spinach, and feta cheese

Make it a meal: Serve with a side salad

Wine: This depends on your toppings, but if you can't decide, Chardonnay is always good. Always.

Crock Pot Portuguese Chicken

This is one of those throw-it-all-together-and-let-it-cook-all-day recipes. It is a hearty meal to feed your family on cold autumn nights.

Personally, I skip the olives and save those for martinis. Up to you.

Crock Pot Portuguese Chicken

1/2 lb. chorizo sausage, chopped

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes with roasted garlic

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

a dash of pepper

6 oz. can tomato paste

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Combine all ingredients except artichokes in crock pot and mix.
Cook on low for 7-9 hours until chicken is cooked.
Stir in artichoke hearts and olives and cook on low for 10-15 minutes longer.

Make it a meal: Serve over rice or couscous.

Wine: Sangiovese

Harvest Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Ah, autumn. This time of year screams soup to me. While I love creamy soups, I do not love the calories and fat that comes with them. I have found, however, that by pureeing vegetables, you can get that creamy flavor and texture as well as a pack of nutrients.
This is not a quick recipe with all the blending in batches and slow cooking, but when you’re done, you’ll have a lot of great soup that you can freeze or share with your mother-in-law.

This recipe said you could use an immersion blender instead of the regular kind, but I don’t know what that is. Can you make margaritas with an immersion blender? If so, I’ll buy one! (photo by VirtualErn)

Harvest Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

1 glug olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the cooked vegetables to a slow cooker.
Add sweet potatoes, squash, stock, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper
Cook on low for six hours.
(Or transfer ingredients to a large soup pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 1 hour.)
Puree the soup in batches using a blender or food processor.

Make it a meal: Serve with focaccia.

Wine: A nice Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz for hearty flavor

Crabmeat Appetizer

This recipe called for everything to be FINELY chopped. Mine does not. I will chop however coarsely or finely or whatever I want. I do not have time to discern finely. (photo by ian ransley)

The bottom line is divas don’t like to be told how to chop their vegetables.

Crabmeat Appetizer

1 lb. cooked crabmeat
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup red bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. parsley, minced
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix & chill.

Make it a meal: Divas are still steaming about how to chop their vegetables, so there is no meal per say. If you are still hungry, soak some more olives in your martini and eat them.

Wine: Chardonnay or Champagne

BLT Mashed Potatoes

The man in my life thinks everything tastes better with bacon. He is also a fan of sun-dried tomatoes, so this dish does it for him. Divas love making their men happy. Just take it easy on the cayenne.

BLT Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes, mashed

sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

bacon, cooked and crumbled

leeks, chopped and sauteed

a dash of cayenne

Mash your potatoes as you normally would.
I like to use light cream cheese instead of butter for my growing hips.
A bit of milk works well, too.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well.

Make it a meal: Serve with roasted pork and peas.

Wine: Chardonnay

Pumpkin Ravioli Soup

To change things up a bit, I served this at Thanksgiving one year as a starter. It was an enormous hit. It also gave me a bit of time to finish dressing--myself--not the turkey. Okay, I was undressing because the Chanel scarf draped tastefully around my neck kept dipping into the food. It had to go. To the cleaners.

Serve this on an autumn night or a drizzly afternoon when you first get to use the fireplace again. (photo by D3 San Francisco)

Pumpkin Ravioli Soup

1 can pumpkin

32 oz. chicken broth

9 oz. package ravioli (I like cheese)

salt & white pepper

butter

Combine pumpkin, broth, salt & pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Add ravioli for 7 minutes.
Drizzle with butter.

Options: Drizzle with honey and nutmeg instead of butter.

Make it a meal: Serve with focaccia. Or ahead of Thanksgiving dinner.

Wine: Chardonnay is nice with the butter flavor. Champagne is nice. A light red, Pinot Noir or a Chianti would work, too. There is no go-to wine with pumpkin.

Ham & Pineapple Soup

I was actually eating at an Irish pub, of all places, when I first had this soup. The chef was pleased as punch to give me, well, not the recipe exactly, but a list of ingredients. Here 'tis.

(photo by visualdensity)

Ham & Pineapple Soup

ham (or hot ham)

pineapple

leeks

roasted red pepper

garlic

shallot

brown sugar

cumin

chicken or vegetable stock

salt & pepper

Mix it all in a pot and stir.

Make it a meal: Serve with bread.

Wine: Chardonnay

Cheesy Creamy Potatoes in the Crock Pot

This easy side dish is something to assemble in the morning, and then forget about it. Serve this with the big Sunday family dinner. These potatoes make heroes of divas.

Cheesy Creamy Potatoes in the Crock Pot

4-6 large potatoes, sliced

½ large onion, sliced

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ cup milk

Salt & pepper

a few handfuls of grated cheese (I like Vermont Cheddar)

Salt and pepper the potatoes.
Layer the potatoes and the onions in a crock pot.
Add the soup and milk.
Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3 1/2 – 4 hours on high.
Throw the cheese in for the last 30 minutes.

Options: Use cream of mushroom or celery instead of chicken; add bacon bits and scallions; season with oregano and Cajun spices.

Make it a meal: Serve with a roasted duck or turkey and green beans.

Wine: Chardonnay for the potatoes, big red Cabernet Sauvignon for the duck, or Pinot Noir for the turkey.

Celery Gratin

I adopted this recipe from a Martha recipe. Mine is a little different. Martha makes you peel the celery. I never heard of such a thing. Busy divas don’t have time to peel something that doesn’t even have a peel!

She also makes you take slices of bread and pulse them in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Mine just calls for, well, bread crumbs. You know, the kind that come in a cardboard tube? Love ‘em.

Martha also makes you divide this all up into 6-oz. ramekins. She sure does like a lot of steps. (Photo by EverJean)

Celery Gratin

6-8 celery stalks, sliced crosswise (I like mine thin)

¾ cup shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese

½ cup cream

salt & pepper

¼ cup bread crumbs

1 glug of olive oil

In a large, pretty bowl (mine is pink), mix celery, ½ cup cheese, cream, a bit of salt and a dash of pepper.
Place in casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
In a smaller, pretty bowl (also pink), mix the breadcrumbs and the last ¼ cup of cheese.
Drizzle with olive oil and mix.
When the celery is done, uncover, sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Make it a meal: Serve with roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, and roasted potatoes.

Wine: Chardonnay for the celery, Beaujolais for the turkey

Rice & Artichoke Salad

I make this with dinner as a side dish, and then I bring it to work for lunch. This is for all the divas out there that can’t get enough artichokes. I love them on everything. The man in my life thinks I cook with too many artichokes. I put them on pizza, I put them on chicken with tomatoes and call it a hash, I add them to salads.

What does he know? He thinks everything tastes better with bacon. He won't eat pizza without meat. He thinks a chili-dog, that’s a hot dog topped with hamburger sauce, is the ultimate lunch.

This dish is full of antioxidants. I adopted it from a health article as part of a diet to cleanse your liver.

Rice & Artichoke Salad

6 oz. long-grain rice

1 glug olive oil for sautéing

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 onion\cooked, finely chopped

2 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

14 oz. canned artichoke hearts, drained

2 Tbsps. parsley, chopped

2 Tbsps. lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed (sometimes I use 2)

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. French mustard


Cook rice and set aside.
Pour oil into a pan, add garlic and onion; sauté until golden.
Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir into rice.
Cut artichoke hearts in half and add to rice mixture with parsley.
Put remaining ingredients in jar with tight-fitting lid and shake well.
Pour onto salad and toss.

Make into a meal: It is a meal. This can also be served with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli spears.

Wine: Skip the wine. You’re supposed to be cleansing your liver, dah-ling. Have a glass of Chardonnay tomorrow.

Spicy Bean Salad

When it comes to choosing beans, I opt for pinto because they’re pink, and kidney, because I have always loved the color combination of pink and cranberry. In addition to being gorgeous, this recipe is zesty and feisty. (photo by Ema Yudistira)

This dish is also nice for us divas who need more fiber, fewer calories, and lower cholesterol choices.

Spicy Bean Salad

3 cans of various beans (such as pinto, kidney, and northern)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1/2 red onion, chopped

Juice of 1 lime (or a few capfuls of Rose’s Lime Juice kept nearby for margaritas)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup champagne vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Cayenne to taste

Mix beans, corn, and onion well.
Add lime juice, oil, and vinegar. Stir to coat.
Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.
Serve immediately, or set aside for 30 minutes for flavors to intensify.

Options: Northern, Garbanzo, or Cannalini beans are all fine alternatives. Your salad won’t be quite so pink, though.

Make into a meal: Serve with grilled shrimp or salmon with lime sauce and grilled asparagus.

Wine: Chardonnay works best with buttery beans or Chianti to accompany the spices.

Potato & Chive Crusted Salmon

The recipe is easy and quick. Hardly any ingredients. This is wonderful on one of those autumn nights when the weather is just turning a bit cold, you’re bored with BBQ-ing, and want to be cozy in the kitchen with your man. Divas often find their men love helping with the tedious task of getting potatoes paper thin. Divas make it a challenge for them, and they can’t resist. (photo by Crystl)

Potato & Chive Crusted Salmon

1 baking potato, sliced paper thin

a few glugs of olive oil

1 lb. salmon

a few tablespoons of chives, chopped

Drizzle the potatoes with a glug of olive oil and mix.
Place the salmon in a baking dish that has been oiled.
Sprinkle the salmon with chives, salt, and pepper.
Cover the entire fish with potato slices, overlapping is fine.
Bake at 450 degrees until the salmon is opaque, 18-23 minutes.
Do not over bake.

Options: Substitute chives with scallions; add Parmesan cheese to potatoes

Make it a meal: Serve salmon with steamed broccoli. It already has enough starch, especially if, like me, you added extra sliced potatoes around the fish as well as on it.

Wine: Pinot Noir is quite nice, but a buttery Chardonnay will match the potatoes well.