Sentimental Journey - Quiche Lorraine in French White

This is the first piece of CorningWare I ever purchased (it came with a 1 1/2qt Souffle Dish as a set) so it is sort of near and dear to my heart.  I got the set on sale at JC Penney back in the early 90's.  Which was a good thing, cause it was expensive stuff and I wasn't making much money at the time.  I lived in Clackamas, had roommates and coexisted with an evil cat that use to relieve himself in my bathtub all the time.  Man, those were the some interesting times. It's sometimes amazes me how many memories you can tie to something as simple as a baking dish.

Sort of fitting, since it IS French White, that the two piece set consisted of a Quiche Dish and a Souffle dish.  :) I love this piece (F-3-B) and I use it all the time.  Mainly because it is used for one of my favorite things. One of the first things I ever learned to bake as a matter of fact.  Quiche!

Oh yeah, the whole "Real men don't eat quiche" thing.  Poppycock!  I say.  Ain't ever been nothin' wrong with Eggs, Bacon and Toast for breakfast.

It's true.  Quiche, which is a French-ization of the German word Kuchen (meaning Cake), was originally made with bread as a crust.  So in essence, it kind of started out like a bread pudding (minus the sugar of course) Then, sometime along the way, down through the ages the toast was replaced with a pastry crust.

This, for me at least, is awesome, cause NOW it's pie.  And I love Pie.  I love pie almost as much as I love my CorningWare French White Quiche dish.  It must be noted, that this dish works equally well for tarts and other open pies.  There have even been times that I have baked Mac & Cheese in it, cause you get more crust.  :)

Quiche Lorraine, in particular, is one of my favorites.  How can you go wrong with Bacon and Egg Pie?  Please note, I left out the onions.  That is because there are no onions in Quiche Lorraine.  Bacon & Onion Quiche is called Quiche Alsacienne  (Let's give them credit)  There is no cheese either... That is an American thing.  The reason is simple.  In Lorraine, they use Crème Fraîche instead of Heavy Cream to make quiche.  Crème Fraîche is already flavorful enough, so no cheese is added.  Since it has been rarely available in the United States, up until recent years, cheese was sort of a necessary addition.  But now that it is available in most supermarkets (heck, it's even made domestically now) I think it's time to forgo the cheese and use Crème Fraîche for a more authentic flavor.

Quiche Lorraine

10-inch (24cm) French White Quiche dish
1 cup (4.5oz) (127g) AP Flour
1/2 cup (2.25oz) (62g) Spelt Flour
8 TB unsalted Butter
1 TB Sour Cream or Crème Fraîche
1 TB Ice Water
6-8 oz (170-226g) Bacon, cooked (about 12 regular slices or 6-7 thick cut)
6 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups (350ml) Crème Fraîche
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Dash of Nutmeg

Always remember, the key to perfect pastry crust is cold ingredients and speed. (the refrigerator is your friend)
In a medium bowl, combine AP Flour, Spelt Flour, Salt and Black Pepper (if using) with a whisk.

Add sliced butter and work it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter.

In a small bowl, combine Ice Water and Sour Cream with a fork.

Add this to the Flour/Butter mixture and stir with a fork until a dough forms.

You may chill it at this point if you like, or roll out to a 13 inch circle.

Roll the pastry over your rolling pin to move to your 10-inch Quiche dish. (F-3-B)  Spelt makes it a little more tender and it will rip fairly easily if you try to fold it into quarters to move it

Unroll into your dish and gently coerce it down into the dish.

Because of the rustic nature of quiche, I simply tear the extra pastry from the edge and leave it, but your can trim with a knife and crimp it if you like.

Dock it (poke holes in it) with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

Line with foil and fill with beans, rice or pie weights.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let the pastry shell cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325F degrees.

Cook the Bacon. (By whichever method you prefer)

Chop the Bacon.

Sprinkle the Bacon all over the bottom of the cooling pastry.

Now, in a bowl, place 6 Eggs and beat them lightly just until the white and yolk are combined.

Add the Crème Fraîche and stir well to combine (be careful not the beat it too much, you want to keep the bubbles to a minimum)

Season with a dash of Nutmeg, Salt and a sprinkle of White Pepper.

Pour into the awaiting pastry shell very slowly as to not dislodge the bacon from the bottom.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the center is just barely set.

Let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes to allow it to finish cooking and to "set".

Cut a slice and enjoy.

Creamy, smooth and silky; best Bacon and Eggs ever!

Where is your Corningware?
~~

Crumbly In My Tumbly - Rhubarb Crumble

Well, I had the best intentions when I started this off-shoot of Culinary Alchemy.  Alas, it has fallen to the wayside in lieu of pressing personal matters, (Even Culinary Alchemy is suffering from a lack of postage) lack of inspiration and the fact that I have not really been using much CorningWare of late... Lots of quickly tossed pasta dishes, you know.

The rhubarb is in full swing though, so I decided it was time to whip out one of my favorite Goodwill finds from last year and make a crumble.  What is a "crumble", you ask?

Well, it's in the genus of bottomless pies (spoon pies) just like crisps, slumps, cobblers, grunts, pandowdies and even a Brown Bettys.  (they are called "spoon pies", cause you eat them with a spoon, not a fork) Of all the spoon pies out there, the Crisp is the closest relative.  They are kind of like siblings, really. You see, Crumbles are usually topped with, what amounts to, a brown sugar shortbread topping (very similar to a streusel topping, minus the cinnamon).  Crisps are covered with a VERY similar mixture, however, the topping usually has Oatmeal and/or Nuts added as well. Thus rendering a Crisp "crispier" than a "crumbly" Crumble.

Did that make any sense?

Anyway, this blog is not about Spoon Pie semantics, it's about CorningWare...

The reason I love CorningWare is that it's stove top capable.  (Please do not try this with the current stoneware that "World Kitchen" is marketing under the CorningWare name)  This is extremely handy when making a Rhubarb Crumble, since the filling needs to be cooked on the stove prior to baking in the oven.  Rhubarb tends to require a longer cook time than most pie crust (and crumble toppings) can withstand.  Ergo, I partially cook the rhubarb before constructing my final "oven ready" dish of deliciousness.
(a step not really necessary for most other crumbles or crisps)

This particular Grab-It dish is all I need to cook and bake a wonderful Crumble.  OK, I did need separate bowl for the mixing, but you know what I mean.

This is a P-270-B Grab-it 1 1/4 qt casserole dish.....

Complete with a lid.

Which, when finding "finds" at the Goodwill or Salvation Army, is the part that is usually missing.  (Bonus!) 

Rhubarb Crumble

1 CorningWare "Grab-It" Casserole (P-270-B) though the lid is not necessary.
16 oz (500g) Rhubarb (500g is really about 17 oz)
1/3 cup (112g) (4 oz by weight) Orange Blossom Honey
1 TB Grand Marnier
A tiny pinch of Cinnamon
2 tsp Cornstarch

5 oz (140g) AP Flour
1/4 cup (50g)  Light Brown Sugar (or light Muscovado)
3 oz (85g) (6TB) Unsalted Butter
pinch of Kosher Salt

Incidentally, I used my favorite Rhubarb cultivar, Victoria (AKA: Strawberry Rhubarb).  It's nice and tart, without being too astringent and best of all, it kind of tastes like strawberries. Which is why I grew up hearing it called "Strawberry Rhubarb".

Cut the Rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks.

Place in a medium bowl and drizzle with the Honey.

Let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours until it begins to "juice up", then add Grand Marnier and stir.

Add a teeny tiny pinch of cinnamon and stir again.

Drain off the juice into your CorningWare Grab-it Casserole dish.

Whisk in 2 tsp Cornstarch.

Turn up the flame on the stove to medium.

Add the rhubarb and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so that everything is all nice and glossy.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F degrees (180 C).
Wash and dry the bowl you used for the rhubarb and begin making the crumble topping.

Combine AP Flour, Brown Sugar, and Salt in the bowl, tossing well to remove any lumps in the brown sugar.

Grate the Butter over the flour mixture. (A nifty trick I learned from my friend Michael, who owns Sunny Day Coffee on NW 23rd and Everett in Portland)

Toss to coat the butter, then begin working it all together until you end up with what looks like a moist golden sand, that holds together when squeezed, but breaks apart easily.

Set aside until the Rhubarb finishes cooking,

at which point, you can remove the dish from the stove....

and sprinkle the crumble topping over the surface evenly.

Grab the dish with potholders (cause it's hot) and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once it's all nice and bubble around the edges, its done.

Let cool for about 20 minutes.

Serve a big scoop with a large dollop of fluffy whipped cream.

And if there is any left over.....

Simply store in the refrigerator for later.

Where is your Corningware??
~~