Irish Cheddar Quiche with Guinness Caramelized Onions

 
Last year my St. Patty's day breakfast didn't go so well.  I woke up early to make my husband green eggs.  Yes, super cheesy, I know.  While I was cooking breakfast I accidentally knocked over the bottle of green food coloring which I cleaned up with the closest kitchen towel.  I sat it aside happy that I saved the counter-tops from an uncertain greenish future.   When my husband was showered and dressed, I excitedly "surprised" him with the green eggs.  He was over the moon.  Not so much.  But regardless, I made him smile with my quirky enthusiasm for St. Patrick's Day.

Here comes the bad part.  Just as he was walking out the door he washed his hands and grabbed a kitchen towel to dry them off with - the same towel fully saturated with green food coloring.  This resulted in dark green hands that wouldn't wash off!!  To top it off, he had an important early meeting he couldn't be late to, and certainty not have green hands at.  He called me at lunch time and told me the green dye still hadn't washed off.  He said he had to explain all morning why he had green hands - mind you, to a group of conservative big clients.  I felt SO bad.  Apparently they didn't have a sense of humor and an "I wrestled with a leprechaun" excuse wasn't going to fly.  (I thought that excuse was hilarious though).

So this quiche is food coloring free, yet still celebrates St. Patrick's Day!  This crustless quiche uses delicious Irish Cheddar (the Irish know cheddar, that's for sure), Irish potatoes, and a secret ingredient - Guinness caramelized onions.   And to still incorporate the color green, I added in fresh spinach and kale.  I highly recommend using healthy good-for-you greens, instead of the green food coloring. Lesson learned! :)

Ingredients

Don't these ingredients just scream Irish to you?

1 cup Irish cheddar, grated
1/2 large onion, sliced
1/3 cup Guinness
1/2 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 cup kale, chopped
1 small potato, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
4 egg whites
1/4 cup non-fat milk
parsley to garnish
extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray to coat pans

Guinness caramelized onions adapted from Closet Cooking

Method

Coat a large sauce pan with a little bit of olive oil or cooking spray.  Add onions over medium heat and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the Guinness to the pan, stir and cover.  Let cook for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  While those are cooking, add diced potatoes to another greased pan, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl add eggs and egg whites and milk.  Whisk together.  Next, add in the cheese, onions, potatoes, kale and spinach.  Stir together and pour into a greased baking dish (I used a round pie dish).  Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.  Garnish with parsley.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Growing up my family always served biscuits with Sunday dinner and definitely at all of our family get-togethers.  As a kid, I was an extremely picky eater and refused to eat anything except the main meat and the biscuits.  No veggies for me, not even mashed potatoes!!  I probably ate 2 or 3 biscuits with every meal.  I remember one time my Mother told me I wasn't allowed to leave the table unless I finished my green beans.   So when I thought she wasn't looking, I brilliantly managed to hallow out my biscuit and stuff it to the gills with the veggies on my plate.   I thought I was so sly. 

Looking back,  I realize she probably knew all along.  I also can't believe how limited my taste buds were.  Ahhhh, I am glad to say my taste buds have developed.  But when I crave comfort food, I always seek out biscuits.  These are great for an occasional treat.  They are buttery, fluffy and delightfully cheesy.  You will want to have 2 or 3 even if you don't have any vegetables to hide! 

Ingredients
recipe source: Ina Garten

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cold extra-large egg
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk

Method

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and mix together.  Slowly add the butter and mix until the batter is in small clumps, the size of peas as Ina says. 

In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and egg.  Whisk lightly.  Quickly add this mixture to the flour mixture with the mixer on low.  In another small bowl, mix the cheddar and a handful of flour.  With the mixer still on low, add the cheese to the dough.  Mix until it is all roughly combined.

Place the dough on a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times.  Roll out the dough until it is about 2 inches thick.  Use a biscuit cutter to cut biscuits, re-rolling scrapes to keep making biscuits. 

Place biscuits pieces on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush the top of each biscuit with the egg wash.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are browned and biscuits thoroughly cooked.  Serve hot with a little bit of garlic butter or alone as a snack!  Enjoy!

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Easy Cheesy Dog Treats

The last few things I have made  have turned out only "ehhhh".  Not great, but not bad.  Except for a chicken dish that was pretty terrible.  Definitely not going to share any of those.  So to change things up I decided to make use of some staple kitchen ingredients and make my beloved puppy some new treats!  Like most dogs, he loves everything, so I thought these couldn't be too hard.

I guess I have to start out by saying that I have wanted a puppy for YEARS.  It was something that as soon as my husband and I started seriously dating, I seriously started talking about getting a dog.  You see, my Dad is allergic to dogs and cats, so growing up I envied my friends with four legged furry pets, and always envionsed that one day I would have a dog of my own.  My husband also didn't grow up with pets either... but he was much, much more apprehensive about the whole "getting a dog thing".

Four years later, I finally caught my husband in a weak moment backed up with lots of nerdy spreadsheets that contained research about different breeds and costs associated with owning a pup.  (Finance guys love spreadsheets).   But since we got our puppy our lives have dramatically changed for the better and we both agree that getting Charlie was the best thing we've ever done!

So why not make your dog his or her own special treats?  Of course any puppy of mine loooooves cheese.  (I actually wanted to name him Cheddar but was vetoed).  This recipe uses everything you already have in your pantry, and your puppy will love the treats!  I found a dog shaped cookie cutter while shopping for this recipe over the summer.

Ingredients
Source: Simply Yummy Goodness

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup low-fat cheddar cheese (I used Kraft)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 egg
3/4 cup water

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl stir together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, and corn meal.  Add in the cheddar and parmesan cheese.  Lastly add the egg and water.  Knead the dough until the ingredients are well combined.

Take half of the dough and place on a floured surface.  Roll out to a 1/4" thickness and use your favorite cookie cutter to make each treat.  Place on a sheet pan and bake until golden for 25-30 minutes.

I hope your dog loves these as much as ours does!  Nothing like spoiling your puppy silly... I mean he deserves it, right?

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Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers

What hands down goes best with cheese??  Crackers!  For years, I have tried and tested almost every single variety of crackers available at the grocery store, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, you name it.  I have read all the labels, compared ingredients, taste tested, and read nutritional labels with hopes of finding the BEST crackers to pair with my favorite cheeses, dips and hummus'.  Most of the time I am looking for a flavorful cracker that is low in fat (so I don't feel guilty eating 15 of them) and is not crazy expensive.

These homemade Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers are decidedly light and crispy.   They are pretty simple to make and use ingredients you probably already have on hand.  I immediately had the urge to make my own crackers when I came across this biscuit cutter at my favorite kitchen store, Sur La Table.   If you ever need any bakeware, kitchen tools, or pretty dishes, they have it all!  I could spend hours in this store (and hundred's of dollars).

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp table salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
2-3 large rosemary sprigs, minced (about 1 tbsp)
3/4 tsp sea salt

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Mix rosemary and sea salt in a small bowl.  Mix all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl.

Add olive oil to the bowl with flour and salt mixture, and then slowly add the water.  Stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together (sometimes it helps to press the dough against the side of the bowl).

Divide the dough into three balls.  Cover two of the balls with some saran wrap and set aside while you work the first ball.

Lightly flour your work space and with your fingers press the dough into a flat oval.  Use a rolling pin to further roll out the dough.  I suggest using one because you want the dough to be pretty thin.  The rolling pin below was my Granny's that she passed down to me long before I actually knew of recipes that used one! 

With a cookie cutter or biscuit press, cut out each cracker and place on baking sheet. Continue to do so for each ball of dough, or in batches depending on the size and how many baking sheets you use.

Lightly brush the top of the dough with some water and sprinkle the top of each cracker with the rosemary sea salt mixture.  Be careful not to over season the crackers.  Bake for 8-10 minutes till slightly golden.  Remove and let cool.

These are sooo good just to snack on and are also great for entertaining.  Pair these crackers with a extra sharp Vermont White Cheddar and a cold glass of dry white wine.  Enjoy!

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