Category: Brunch

Brunch

Italian Easter Pie

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Italian Easter Pie
Italian Easter Pie

This savory pie is packed with over two pounds of meat and four pounds of cheese. Easter Sunday is just not the same without it.

Click here for my pie crust recipe. Double this pie crust recipe for the Easter Pie.

Italian Easter Pie

  • Servings: 21
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


2 Pie Crust
12 Eggs
3lbs Ricotta
1C Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
1 ½lbs Ham, cubed
1lb Genoa salami, cubed
16oz mozzarella, cubed and chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough and place in 14”x10” rectangle baking dish and trim edges. Dock dough by poking holes with a fork so that the steam can escape while it’s baking. Set any extra dough aside for the top.

In a large mixing bowl mix together eggs, ricotta and Romano.

Evenly place ham, salami and mozzarella in the baking dish. Pour eggs and ricotta mixture over it. Sparsely top with any left-over dough. Cook in preheated oven for 1 ½ hours, until crust is golden brown. Let rest and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Brunch, Lunch

Croque Monsieur

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Croque Monsieur
Croque Monsieur

Croque Monsieur is a classic French sandwich made with ham and gruyere cheese and topped with a béchamel sauce. The name of the sandwich, croque monsieur, loosely translates to mister crunch. Fitting name since the bread has this perfect crunch while be smothered under a buttery creamy béchamel sauce.

Why not make it a Madame? Add a fried or poached egg to easily transform this sandwich into a Croque Madame.  

Croque Monsieur

  • Servings: 3
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


6 Slices white bread
7oz Gruyere cheese
6 Slices of uncured ham
4T Dijon Mustard
2T Butter + some for brushing onto bread
2T Flour
½t Mustard powder
1 ½C Whole milk
Slat and Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Thinly slice gruyere cheese. Spread Dijon mustard on one side of each bread slice. Layer with gruyere cheese, ham and another layer of cheese and top with a slice of bread.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Brush each side of the bread with butter. Place on skillet and cover with a lid for about 3 minutes. Flip and grill the other side until golden and cheese has melted.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 2T of butter. Do not let it brown. Add flour and dry mustard powder and whisk until smooth and golden.

Gradually whisk in milk and raise the to medium and continuously whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and the sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the béchamel sauce over the top of the sandwiches and sprinkle with remaining gruyere cheese. Place in oven and cook until cheese has melted and is golden.

To make it Croque Madame, add a fried or poached to the top.

Brunch, Lunch

Quiche Lorrain

by laurenrhillLeave a Comment on Quiche Lorrain
Quiche Lorrain

This is the ultimate Quiche Lorrain recipe. A light and cheesy custard filled with bacon, onions and chives in a buttery crust.

When I was younger my parents owned restaurants and delis so as a child, I spent most of my time there eating Quiche Lorrain. I consider myself a bit of an expert on quiche and this recipe is by far the best and is the original recipe from our restaurants.

If you have time, I highly recommend making your own crust. It adds a little extra time to the recipe but it’s worth every minute. Click here for my favorite quiche dough recipe.

Quiche Lorrain

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


3 Large eggs
2C Half and Half
½t Salt
¼t Nutmeg
¼t White pepper
1C Bacon, chopped
½C Onions, chopped
1C Swiss cheese, grated
1T Chives, chopped
2t Dijon mustard
1 Quiche dough

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough and place in 9-inch round springform pan and trim edges. Dock dough by poking holes with a fork so that the steam can escape while it’s baking. Brush the bottom of the dough with mustard. Refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook chopped bacon so that most of the fat has rendered out but not crispy. Remove bacon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate and leave bacon grease in pan. Add chopped onions to pan and cook until soft and translucent. Remove onion and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add half and half, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously until mixture is well incorporated.

Place bacon, onions, chives and grated swiss cheese in bottom of quiche crust then pour quiche custard over it. Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden and eggs are cooked through. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.