Crustless Smoked Salmon, Leek and Red Peppers Quiche

This crustless quiche is easy to make and great for any meal. The smoked salmon lends a touch of elegance, and the leeks can be substituted with onions or shallots. 

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs

- 1 1/2 cup milk or cream

- 6 oz smoked salmon

- 1 large leek, white and light green parts sliced (about 1 cup of slices)

- 1 small red pepper, chopped 

- 3/4 cup shredded cheese - almost any kind or combination is fine, but not too much strong-flavoured cheese such as Parmesan

- 1 tsp dry mustard (I replaced with Dijon)

- 1/2 tsp thyme

- pinch of cayenne pepper or a bit of hot sauce

- paprika, salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Saute leeks in a little olive oil. When they begin to soften, add the peppers. Add a little salt and cook for 3-4 minutes. Just before taking off the heat, add the thyme.

Brazilian Shrimp Soup

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup long-grain rice
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (from one 15-ounce can)
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and cut in half horizontally
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add the rice, red-pepper flakes, salt, tomatoes, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the rice is almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir the coconut milk into the soup. Bring back to a simmer and then stir in the shrimp. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just done, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the black pepper, lemon juice, and parsley.

Now, I know that a real Brazilian shrimp soup should also have okra in it, but my soup was thick enough without it. You can, of course, instead of the shrimp, to use one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about three), cut crosswise into quarter-inch strips. Cook for the same amount of time.

Enjoy!

Veal Cutlets with Red Bell Pepper

For this recipe I used veal for scallopini, so no need to bother beating the meat. I also made some modifications, which I will mention as I go along. The listed quantities yield 6 servings, but I halved them for our needs:

• 1 1/2 pounds veal slices (about 1/4 inch thick)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (I replaced with 1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I didn't use it)
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 medium sweet red peppers, julienned
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (didn't use )
• 1/2 quart chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (I omitted it)
• 2 teaspoons water

Place veal in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. dish; set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, oil, lemon peel, garlic, sugar, salt, paprika, mustard and nutmeg; reserve 2 tablespoons. 

Orange and Lemon Chicken Drumsticks

A very simple and cute recipe, not costly at all, just the right thing at a time when vegetables are not so abundant, but we feel the need for some fresh flavours on the plate.

Ingredients: 

- 6 chicken drumsticks (feel free to use 8, or a whole chicken, cut in pieces)

- 3/4 stick butter

- salt and pepper to taste

For marinating the meat:

- 1 orange

- 1 lemon

- 1 medium onion, very finely sliced

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 10 drops Tabasco

Cauliflower and Vegetable Soup

I honestly hope you'll forgive my photos, but the kitchen bulb died on me and no, it's not that easy to replace it, a) because I don't have a high enough ladder and b) I don't know how to remove the ceiling light fitting. On this note, I had to wait for the building maintenance personnel to assist with this very important problem, which took quite awhile. In the meantime, the light under the cabinets had to do, but they are definitely not suitable for taking photographs.

Now that I've vented, let's get down to business. For this soup (inspired by Dana) you'll need:

- 1 head of cauliflower

- 2 celery stalks, diced

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 2 large carrots, diced

- 1 bell pepper, cleaned and diced

- 2 qt chicken stock (can of course be replaced with vegetable stock)

- 1 bunch parsley, chopped

- tomato juice (to taste, about 1 cup)

- salt and pepper

- red pepper flakes to taste

Chicken Cacciatore

I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of, together with some mushrooms that I needed to disguise in the food because my daughter, as you know already, doesn't like them. So this was the perfect solution: chicken cacciatore.

Deviled Chicken Drumsticks

I know, it's chicken again, but at 90 degrees outside I was happy to get in and out of the kitchen as soon as possible. So I found this wonderful recipe that did not require any supervision, the product went into the oven and was done in under one hour.

I used:

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3/8 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 3/8 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in the upper third of the oven.

Pat chicken dry, then toss with mustard until evenly coated.

Stir together panko, cheese, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. 

Drizzle with butter and toss. 

Dredge each drumstick in crumb mixture to coat

Arrange, without crowding, in a buttered large 4-sided pan. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature

I made some roasted bell pepper salad to go with it (roasted bell pepper, vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, everything left in the fridge for at least 3 hours)

 

And I added some roasted eggplant salad to serve

I am sorry the pictures are blurred, my daughter was patrolling around the kitchen, as the smell of the freshly baked chicken was unbearable ;). These moist and juicy drumsticks (with a slight kick) are perfect picnic food, since they're also terrific cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagna

About two weeks ago we had another party in the office and, as I seem to be the designated cook for such functions, I had the very important task to cater the entire lunch. So I made manicotti, raw broccoli salad, the vegetarian lasagna and three colours chocolate mousse cake for a colleague that was celebrating her birthday.

This post is for GreenGirl, I hope it will help her find some time for herself ;) (excuse the elbow, I didn't know there was a photo shoot going on :D).

Young Eggplants Stuffed with Italian Sausage

For this Turkish-inspired dish I used a recipe in which I substituted the beef meat for Italian sweet sausages. It was a very flavorful and interesting twist!

- 4 small eggplants (baby eggplants are just fine)

- 0.8 lb Italian sausage meat (casings removed)

- 1 medium yellow onion

- 1 bell pepper (I used a red one)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 1 large tomato (can be replaced with canned tomatoes)

- 4 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

- sweet or hot paprika (optional)

Quick Chicken Breast and Bell Peppers Stew

After a long day at work, I realized when I arrived home that I had ironing to do for my little Girl Scout. So between applying all those numerals and identification tags, emblems, insignia and whatnot, I quickly put this together using:

- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

- 3 bell peppers (in my case red, orange and green), diced

- tomato sauce, about 1/2 cup 

- salt and pepper to taste

- some dried rosemary and oregano

- 1 dry bay leaf

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

I started by heating up the oil on medium-low heat, added the meat, seasoned it with salt and pepper to taste, and left it in there until no longer pink

Ratatouille

The ingredients:

It's better to use fresh tomatoes, but I did not have any available and I didn't like the ones at the store, so I decided for the canned version.