Guinness Caramelized Onion & Irish Cheddar Quiche

We celebrate the feast of St. Brigid of Kildare, 5th century Irish saint, on February 1.  Our family has had chickens almost two years now and I really enjoy having the fresh eggs readily available in our kitchen. I recently learned that St. Brigid, in addition to being a patron of Ireland, is also the patron of poultry farmers. So as "poultry farmers" I thought it would be nice to find an egg dish to celebrate our patron's feast day and found this great recipe chock full of Irish ingredients - Guinness, potato, kale, Irish cheddar.  The Guinness caramelized onions add a tasty zing to this egg abundant dish.  Great for a breakfast or brunch on her feast day or that of other Irish saints. 

Guinness Caramelized Onion & Irish Cheddar Quiche

Ingredients:

1 cup Irish cheddar, grated
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Guinness beer
1 cup spinach, chopped  (or combo spinach and kale)
1 small potato, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray to coat pans

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute onions over medium heat in olive oil and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Pour Guinness into the pan, stir and cover.  Let cook for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Place diced potatoes in another greased pan, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. 

In bowl, beat eggs then add milk and mix.  Add cheese, onions, potatoes, spinach (& kale optional), salt and pepper.  Mix together and pour into greased round baking dish or quiche pan. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. 

For past St. Brigid day recipes that recognize another of her patronages - dairy farmers - check out these bread recipes, with include buttermilk. Traditional Irish Soda Bread  and St. Brigid's Oaten Bread

St. Brigid, Pray for us!

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A St. Joseph's Day Baby Shower

I am in the middle of preparing to host a baby shower for a dear sister-in-law who is expecting her third child soon. Since we know the baby is a boy we opted to have the shower on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, so that we could celebrate the wee little one and this dearly beloved saint all at the same time. Since it is St. Joseph's feast day and he is so loved by the people of Italy, I decided on an Italian theme for the shower. My SIL wants to have a girl's luncheon more than an official shower, so you won't see any typical baby themed treats. I've been working on the plans and wanted to share them with anyone looking for a new way to honor St. Joseph or maybe just a fun Italian dish to try. Here are some recipes for the food I am planning on serving:

~ Spinach Potato Frittata ~

 an Italian frittata is like a quiche with less cream and no crust. It's supposed to be a hearty, rustic dish, not light and airy.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 small red potatoes, sliced
• 1 cup torn fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, until tender but firm. Mix in spinach, green onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm. 

I have tested this recipe already and it is delicious! For convenience sake, I am going to cook all the veggies first and then transfer them to a quiche pan and let it cook in the oven until firm.

~ Pesto Crostini ~

 ...crostini is basically toasted bread with cheese or savory spices on top

Make you favorite pesto, spread it on a slice of bread and toast it with a slice of tomato and some mozzarella cheese. Let the slices broil until the cheese is melted. I like to toast the bread slices first and then toast it again to get the cheese bubbly.

~ Cream Puff Cake ~ 

...This cake looks like a giant cream puff which is a traditional dessert served on St. Joseph's feast day. 

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs

• 1 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese
• 4 cups milk
• 1 (3.5 ounce) pkg. each french vanilla, white chocolate, & cheesecake pudding mix
• fresh whipped cream
• 1 jar Nutella or melted chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, heat butter and water to boiling over medium-high heat. Add flour and reduce heat to low. Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.
3. Spread in bottom and up the sides of a springform pan or two pie plates. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Cool completely. Spread a layer of Nutella or melted chocolate over the shell flattening any large bubbles that might have baked up in the middle.
4. To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine cream cheese with a little of the milk until blended. Slowly add the rest of the milk and beat until smooth. Add pudding mix and beat until thickened. Spread over cooled shell. Top with whipped cream
5. As a note... the filling made enough for two while the dough really only made one. I made two by making two batches of dough but only one batch of filling. The original recipe called for spreading the dough in a 9x13 inch pan but I wanted a round pan so that it would look more like a giant cream puff. In a 9x13 pan, this amount of filling might be just enough.

~ Italian Sodas ~

Another SIL is actually in charge of making these, but here is a recipe you can try. I also plan on serving a cold pasta primavera salad and fruit on the side. And I'm making bouquets of lily shaped candy lollipops to send home with each of the ladies.

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Meatless Meals :: Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Ingredients:

1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
3 cups of spinach
1/2 cup chopped or sliced mushrooms
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9" pie pan.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and saute. Stir in spinach and mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple more minutes.  Transfer vegetable mixture to pie pan.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Poor over vegetable mixture.

Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note:  The Quiche tastes much better than it looks. ;)  Despite the Spinach, Mushrooms and Onions, my husband and all our children (with the exception of our super picky 2 year old and nursing 2 month old) loved it and requested seconds.  Next time I'll be doubling the recipe!

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Daffodil Cake for St. David's Day

As a whole, our family abstains from treats during Lent but since St. David's day fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate in a small way this patron saint of Wales. In the past, we have enjoyed a traditional Welsh treat called a bara brith which means "speckled bread". This year we opted for a Daffodil Cake because it sounded so intriguing when mentioned by Dawn in this post. Being low on egg whites, we opted for a simpler version. I made a white cake but set aside about a cup and a half of batter, flavored it with 1 tsp. lemon extract and mixed in some yellow food coloring. Then using a standard marbling technique, I swirled the dark yellow batter into the batter already in the bundt pan. It is hard to see in the picture above, but the marble effect was really striking. Cream cheese frosting was the icing on the cake! (Couldn't resist!)

Now, as we are thoroughly americanized Welshmen, we like to eat our leeks, not wear them. Here are two of our favorite leek recipes. Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup
1/2 C. butter
2 leeks
4 C. chicken broth
1Tbl. cornstarch
4 C. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 C. half and half

Melt butter in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute leeks in butter with garlic salt and pepper as desired until leeks are tender, stirring frequently (about 10-15 minutes). Add broth, cornstarch and potatoes. Bring to boil. Add cream and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. I like to use my full immersion hand blender to puree the soup at this point or it can be served as is. It goes great with a nice crusty bread!


Cheese and Leek Quiche
2 Tbsp. butter
3 eggs
4 oz. trimmed leek, thinly sliced
3oz. Stilton cheese, diced
1 1/2 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 C. milk
pinch of paprika
salt and pepper
Premade pie crust (either store bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line quiche pan or pie plate with crust. Melt butter in a small skillet and saute the leek for 4-5 minutes. until soft but not brown, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl and stir in the diced Stilton, then spread over the base of the pie crust. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of leek and stilton mixture. Whisk eggs and milk together in a separate bowl. Pour over leek and cheese mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen. Remove and let stand 10 mintues.

I am sorry this post is so late. Happy St. David's Day! Pin It