In a Whiz - Chimichurri into Aioli - It's All Good

Confession time: Sometimes I get a little overzealous buying greens. 

Maybe it's because I have access to about 15 different produce and farmers markets in my little corner of NYC. Maybe it's because my intensions are often better than my eating habits. Regardless, I end up with a, sad, wilted, and unappetizing. 

Rather than waste these abandoned lettuces littering my crisper drawer, I went in search of a recipe that I could hide them in — and I found one! The Chimichurri recipe found in Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen's book, It's All Good, which calls for Italian parsley and cilantro. 

I know, I know, not all greens are alike. But I am one of those lucky humans who tastes soap when I eat cilantro, so I've been substituting it with arugula for years. Why not just replace the parsley with the sad looking red chard or kale or spinach that I have around to keep the arugula company? 

And while I was at it, I upped the amount of garlic, and threw in red pepper flake instead of fresh jalepeno. It's easier to control the heat level my way - Ok, fine, it's just easier. 

But the real magic happened the first time I took this from my mini chopper into my Ninja blender. With just a few pulses, the greens, garlic, EVOO, and vinegar flew past something that resembles a pesto, into something that I can only describe as an aioli. 

This is the most amazing condiment I have ever used. It has just enough fat to be used like a mayonnaise or mustard on a sandwich (I'm partial to a heavy shmear on a grilled chicken sandwich). I've used it on my salmon cakes, in place of ketchup, and found a whole new level of amazing to one of my favorite foods. 

And the best part? In each bite there is a hearty punch of healthy greens. So unlike when I want to slather a my grilled chicken sandwich in mayo, a heavy shmear of my Chimi-Aioli is a guilt-free power punch of flavor. 

I love a win-win, and trust me, this spread is a winner!! 

In case you can't read my handwriting in that photo...

Ingredients: 

• 2 packed cups arugula (or whatever salad greens you have on hand)
• 3 gloves of garlic
• 1 tsp - 1 Tbs red pepper flakes (start on the low end, kick up your spice as needed)
• 1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 3 Tbs vinegar (your choice - I've used red wine, apple cider, white wine — all good)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt OR 1 tsp kosher salt 

Method: Throw it all in a blender, Ninja, bullet, food chopper of choice and whiz it until CREAMY. 

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for... I don't know its shelf life, I've not had any around long enough to go bad. 

Day 5 of NaBloPoMo... I barely made it! 

Mommy Said Yes!!

It was a morning like so many others. 

My son woke up before sunrise. His heavy footfalls on the bunk bed steps would probably wake me anyway, but amplified by the monitor that still sits by my bedside, he sounds like a small elephant crashing through any dream world I might be in. True to form, he barrels into our bedroom, bounding onto my side of the bed, bouncing on his knees, exclaiming, “Look Mom! It’s the sunrise! The Sun is rising! So NOW we can make cupcakes, right?! Now we can make the chocolate cupcakes with the sprinkles?!”

Just the day before, Friday, we had played out this scene: word for word and bounce for sleep crushing bounce. Except, of course, then I had said no. Or more precisely, “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me, dude! No. Way."

Seriously, on a school day?! I liked his teachers, why would I send them a spastic kiddo high on a breakfast of cupcakes? 

As a way to stem the whining that started at the exact moment I uttered the dreaded N-O, I allowed as how we didn’t have the ingredients anyway. It was a half day, so maybe we would go after school and pick them up. 

While Boy continued to bop on and off the bed, my uncaffinated brains sifted through the promises from Friday afternoon: made & then broken. 

A good report from school meant we had gone to the store, he had picked the cake & frosting, but no cupcakes had been made. Chaos had erupted, then time-outs that turned into very late & long naps nixed those Funtime Friday cupcakes plans. New promises of cupcakes for breakfast were made to stem the flow of tears when he woke up and learned we would not have sweets for dinner. 

Times like this I question my choices as a parent. Specifically why am I not a bait and switch parent? Why am I not like my husband who says “if you behave now maybe we can go for ice cream later” knowing damn well he will never do it. Because there are times he simply wants some fecking peace, so he will say, “Yeah, we can do that,” rather than dealing with the WhyNotButPleaseLetMe meltdowns. 

Nope, not me. At some point I found it easier for me to do what I tell the Rebels I will do. Which sometimes bites me in booty. Like, say, at the crack of dawn on a Saturday when I should be dreaming about baked goods, not debating baking them. 

Now of course shite happens, plans change, or (like with the FridayFunday cupcake chaos) behavior warrants punishment or loss of special treats, etc. But if I say yes, I intend to follow through. Which boils down to me saying a lot of NOs. No, you cannot have that toy/sweet/movie/sparkly-cool-object-of-desire right NOW. 

As one does, I try to frame the answers as possibilities. We cannot go the zoo today, but we should be able to go next week.

Still I know what my kiddos hear sound an awful lot like the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons: Whaawaa. Whaaawaaa? No, no, nonononono…

So if I was silly enough to say yes last night, you bet your fudge-flavored frosting we are having chocolate fecking cupcakes for breakfast!

Grabbing a hold of my TiggerBoy I exclaimed, "Yes. Yes, that’s what I said last night, right? Of course we will make them this morning!” 

I might not have had coffee in me, but I did have my wits enough to follow up to get a bit of wiggle room, “But, I need to take care of a few things first.”

Coffee made, kitchen tidied, laundry rotated, bakeware (unused since our recent move) found, washed, and set up. And then…

There were CUPCAKES!! 

Cupcakes for Saturday breakfast. 

Yeah, it was sweet. Even if there was still the moment when I had to cut the Boy off from eating the 5th (or was it 6th?) cupcake. 

However I hope when my Rebels are no longer little kiddos they remember that sometimes we had cupcakes for breakfast, for no reason at all. 

None, that is, except that they asked, and Mommy said “Yes!" 

*Fanfare trumpets may or may not have been blown. But silly selfies were most certainly taken*

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Sexy Lorraine: Serendipity's Lazy Quiche

What makes my Lorraine such a sexy dish? Well, let's just say she's down for a little experimentation. 

So, I have a confession to make. I'm not great at following a recipe. Damn near every time I make something it will be a bit different, as I make adjustments based on what I have on hand.

Over the years, my "tried & true" dishes are the ones that allow for a good degree of variance & still please the masses. This Quiche Lorraine is a perfect example.

For one thing, onions or shallots can be used in place of the chives. Use about 1/2 cup, finely chopped, and sauté in either the rendered bacon fat or butter. Then spread them over the bottom of the quiche crust just before you layer on the bacon & cheese.

I have adjusted the amount of liquid (milk/cream what-have-you) from my mother's recipe in order to reduce the cooking time. Honestly, it's also because I have also been known to use a little extra cheese if I have plenty of milk but don't have enough half & half on hand for both quiche today and coffee tomorrow! (Priorities, ya know?) By the same token, substituting either light or heavy cream for the half & half will only make this quiche more yummy.

I imagine if you were a vegetarian, you could skip the bacon all together and possibly even add mushrooms or broccoli instead. If you go the veggie route, make sure you remove as much moisture from them as possible, so they don't make the egg mix too watery.

See what I mean? Lots of ways to tweak this! OK - Here's my basic recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Pilsbury pie crust. 
• 1/2 pound of bacon (you can use more or less to your taste)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste (maybe 1/2 teaspoon?)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup grated cheese (I usually have reduced fat mexican blend on hand, so that's what goes in)
• 1 heaping tablespoon chopped chives (I usually use dried so I don't have to chop them)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

1. Roll the pie crust over your pie plate. Use your knuckles to gently press the crust into the sides and crease of the pie plate and press gently into the bottom. (Do NOT Pierce with fork!) There is no need to try and flute the sides, just turn them and twist so they don't curl under the lip of the plate. It will make it easier to serve.
Bake the empty crust for about 5 minutes - just enough to set it up a bit.
Remove from oven and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, start cooking the bacon in a large frying pan on medium heat.
My lazy tip? I usually buy bacon in bulk packages or when it's on sale, so I always have it on hand in the freezer. I find if I cut it down to 1 1/2" strips when frozen, I can fit all the bacon in the pan for one batch. I use a fork or tongs to break it up and cook until nicely brown (most of the fat is rendered out).
Drain the bacon on a paper towel to absorb the excess fat.
If you aren't going to cook any onions or shallots in the rendered fat, pour it out of the pan into a jar for future use, or wait until it solidifies and discard in the trash.
If you didn't cut it up before, chop the bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.

3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and chives and whisk a little more. Add the milk and half & half (or cream) and whisk together vigorously.  This is great for getting out some frustrations, and it also introduces a little air into the mix which helps make the quiche light and fluffy.

4. If you went with onion or shallots, spread them on your crust now.

5. Arrange first the bacon, then the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust.

6. Whisk the egg mixture again for a few seconds, then pour it gently into the pie crust.
Use a fork or spoon to gently still the bacon and cheese around a bit, so they are floating suspended in the egg mix. If you use chives they will float, so move them around with a spoon until you like where they are - Or don't. All depends on your control-freak level, really.

7.  Carefully put the quiche into the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.
You  can check for doneness after 30 minutes by inserting a knife all the way down into the center of the pie. If the knife comes out clean, the quiche is done. Alternately, you can gently jiggle the quiche - it should still have just a little wiggle.
Either way, it will finish setting while it cools on a wire rack.

Eat warm, at room temperature, or cold - Your call!!
Note: a quiche will keep for several days in the fridge & can be reheated gently in a 200-degree oven.

Serves 6.

Any questions? Leave them below and I'll get back to you ASAP. 
Let me know how it turns out!

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