Salmon Quiche

First, I have to admit that this is the first time I, or my family, have tried Salmon Quiche.  My good friend, Sarah G., has offered her Salmon Quiche to me at least twice and I’ve turned up my nose!  Normally, I’m game for trying anything, but Salmon Quiche??  Ewwww!

A little bit of background … my supposed dislike of anything made from canned Salmon (not to be confused with my pleasurable dining experiences with Grilled Salmon) stems from my dislike of Salmon Loaf.  I have at least tried Salmon Loaf, but I just didn’t care for the texture. 

So, why try it now?  First, this recipe has a potato crust, which we all prefer.  Second, it has Chef Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning – a little extra kick and a wonderful aroma in the kitchen.  Last but, not least, I had all the ingredients on hand!

Quiche is fairly new to my cooking rotation, but after a great recipe for Ham Quiche I served at Easter a couple years ago, quiche has become a regular entrée on busy nights.  Of course, having a steady supply of eggs makes quiche easy to prepare at the last minute.

This is adapted to the ingredients I had on hand from the original recipe … Smoked Salmon Quiche.
Everyone agreed that this recipe could be added to our rotation and that they would eat it again.  The most enthusiastic was Angelina who went back for seconds!  Eric said it was good, but then he followed up by saying, “but, I’m hungry.”  However, he then cleaned up the remainders from Graham and Angelina (another whole slice was just a bit too much with ice cream dessert on the line).

So, humble apologies to my dear friend Sarah.  I may have to try YOUR Salmon quiche, after all.

Salmon Quiche
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed (I thawed mine in the microwave) 
• 1 tablespoon melted butter, plus 2 tablespoons whole butter
• 1 tablespoon Essence (follow the link above for this recipe) or substitute your favorite creole seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (didn’t have garlic cloves on hand)
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 7 ounces boneless, skinless canned salmon
• 1 tablespoons dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

In a bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, creole seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and toss to combine. 

Dump and press the potato mixture into the prepared pie plate, spreading to evenly cover the bottom and up the sides.

Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into a small skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until clear and softened. Add the garlic powder, mix, and remove from heat.

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and using a wooden spoon, stir in the onions and lemon juice.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring just until combined.

Add the cream, salmon, dill, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Pour the cream cheese-salmon mixture into the cooled potato crust and bake for about 60 minutes, until golden and the batter is set.

Cool quiche for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or chilled.

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #2

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #2
Yield: 7.5 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
7/8 cups powdered eggs*
3/4 cup dry buttermilk powder
1 1/2 Tbls. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.  Store in an airtight container.  Can be kept in the pantry for about a month or in the refrigerator/freezer for 6 months. 

To Prepare:
1 cup buckwheat pancake mix #2
1/2 cup water
2 Tbls. melted butter

Stir the water and pancake mix together in a small bowl.  If batter is too thick, add a bit more water and stir again.  Drop approximately 1/4 cup onto hot skillet.  Makes 4 pancakes.  Double or triple as necessary.

*Can substitute 1/3 cup soy flour for the powdered eggs. 

Buckwheat Pancake Mix

As a child, I can remember enjoying a little pancake variety.  Sometimes, fruit such as banana slices or blueberries (my personal favorite) would be added.  Occasionally, my mom would purchase buckwheat pancake mix created by an in-state company.

For Lent, we are not going to buy any additional cold cereal  We’ll finish up what’s in the pantry and then necessarily be more creative.  Yes, it will take more time in the morning, but we always have breads (bagels, english muffins, homemade bread), fruit, oatmeal and eggs on hand.  Another goal is to teach the older kids how to make some easy breakfast dishes, including pancakes.

To cut down on pancake preparation time, I made up a double batch of buckwheat pancake mix.  There are many variations, but this is the recipe I created after examining the ingredients I had on hand.

Buckwheat Pancake Mix #1
Yield: Approximately 7.5  cups mix

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 1/2 Tbls. baking powder
1 Tbls. salt
1/2 cup sugar

Storage:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with a whisk.  Transfer the mixture to a resealable container.  Store in pantry for about 1 month, or in the refrigerator/freezer for 6 months.


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Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbls. melted butter

Directions:
Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl.  If batter seems to thick, add more milk and stir again.  Drop by 1/4 cup-fuls onto a hot skillet.  Makes approximately 4 pancakes.  Double or triple the recipe as necessary.

Tuna Roll-ups

I really do like tuna & so does the rest of the family. It's just that I've become complacent about thinking outside of the norm of 'tuna on a bun' for our Friday meals away from home. So, this is another attempt to spice it up a bit.

Tuna Roll-Ups
Yield: 4 roll-ups

Ingredients:
1 - 6oz. can drained canned water-packed tuna
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tablespoons chopped celery
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish*
4 four tortillas - 8" is a good size

Mix tuna, cheese, celery, mayo and relish. Spread evenly on the tortillas; roll up. Place seam side down on a microwaveable plate. Microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds or until the cheese begins to melt. To serve cold, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

It would be easy to substitue another meat ... turkey, chicken or ham would be good, as well. You could also eliminate the tortillas and serve the spread on English muffin halves or bagel halves.

*Normally, relish is something I can myself. My version isn't as sweet as store bought, so Miracle Whip could be substituted for the mayo without being too sweet.

Sarah's Terrific Tuna Toasties

Angelina and I ate at a friend's home on Friday for lunch. Sarah made these wonderfully simple, but healthy Terrific Tuna Toasties. When we are on the road nearly every Friday, cold sandwiches have become the norm. To have a hot lunch was such a treat for me, that I probably should have abstained

. . . it is Lent, afterall!

Terrific Tuna Toasties
Serves 8, but easily doubled

8 hamburger or dollar buns, halved
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1/4 small onion, diced
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can tuna (Sarah prefers tuna in water, so do I!)
2 cups crushed potato chips*

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil (easy clean-up!).
2. Dice veggies in food processor or by hand.
3. Put diced veggies, tuna, cheese and mayonnaise/Miracle Whip in a large bowl and mix.
4. Place bun halves on cookie sheet and top each with a spoonful of the tuna mixture.
5. Measure 2 cups of chips and put them into a Ziploc bag. Smash away!
6. Sprinkle chip crumbles on top of the tuna mixture on each bun. Sarah says to press the chip crumbs down good to get all the flavor!
7. Pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
8. Eat and enjoy what you have made!!
9. To complete the lunch, Sarah added cut up apples and bananas. And of course, the remainder of the chips!

* Sarah used Cheddar Cheese Ripple potato chips. I really liked this extra flavor punch and bought a bag at the grocery store on my way home!

Here's a picture of my rendition of Sarah's Terrific Tuna Toasties. I didn't have buns on hand, so mine are made with slices of whole wheat bread. I also think they'd be excellent made with bagel or English muffin halves.

Lefse!

For the past four years, the Familia group at my church has prepared lefse as a fundraiser to provide childcare for our children during our morning meetings. It has been a true learning experience. I am Norwegian (about 1/4!) and I do enjoy eating lefse, but I had only made it twice before starting this fundraiser project in 2005.

The experience has been fun, and it's a day of bonding for all the women involved. I look forward to it, but I'm dog-tired at the end of the two-day process.

The Lefse is rolled and grilled on Saturday, but the process starts on Friday and oftentimes on Thursday. On Thursday, I usually try to get my 20 pounds of potatoes boiled and riced (less to do on Friday, and it helps the whole process move faster if we have potatoes ready to go at different steps). Friday morning or afternoon, a group of us continue to peel and boil potatoes. Different 'stations' are set up: ricing, mixing, and balling. The potatoes need to be riced after boiling. Then, they are mixed with butter and powdered sugar. This mixture is refrigerated until cool. When cool, the mixture is riced a second or third time. After ricing, flour is mixed in and 1/3 cup dough balls are formed. The dough balls are placed on a sheet or tray, covered with a flour sack towel and refrigerated until the next morning. This process continues until all potatoes are boiled, riced, mixed, balled, and refrigerated! It can be a long day, but it does provide plenty of opportunity to visit with good friends.

Saturday morning, I and my mom usually arrive at the church kitchen early to set up (8a). Inside the kitchen, we set up 6 to 7 rolling stations, and this year we had 8 griddles. Women take turns rolling or watching the griddles. The women who watch the griddles are responsible for flipping the lefse and taking it out to the cooling area when it's grilled on both sides.

Just outside the kitchen, in the social hall, we have a row of tables set up for cooling the lefse. Lefse are stacked approx. 10 deep on tops of a layer of absorbant towels and covered with flour sack towels or lefse cozies. When coole, they are folded in half and then in thirds. Three lefse rounds are stacked and stored in a quart-sized ziploc freezer bag. Again, this day can be long! I mopped the floor at 3:15p this year!

Over 400 rounds of lefse were grilled . . . the fundraiser was a success! Next year, one of the moms suggested we have lefse tacos. Since I forgot to eat dinner this year, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Hopefully by documenting it here, I will remember!

Here's the recipe we've used for the past four years.

Lefse – Recipe used by Familia

10 lbs red skinned potatoes (yields about 4-5 qts.)
¼ tsp. salt
½ pt. whipping cream
½ c. butter
3 Tbls. Powdered Sugar
¾ c. flour (plus extra for rolling)

Peel & boil potatoes in water with ¼ tsp. salt added. Mash with potato masher (we rice the potatoes with a Kitchen Aid mixer and the grinder attachment – it’s much easier than a potato masher or ricer!) & add whipping cream, butter, & powdered sugar. Mix together by hand. Rice this mixture at least twice. Cover with a towel and refrigerate (a cool garage is better) overnight.

After cooling, rice the potatoes a third time. Measure 3 cups riced potatoes into a bowl and add ¾ c. flour. Mix by hand until thoroughly blended (if you’ve done this for many years, you may be able to tell that more flour is needed at this stage to make the dough firmer). Form into 1/3 cup balls. Roll immediately into 12” rounds on a heavily floured pastry board, or cover with waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to roll. It is better to refrigerate the balls and take out as needed. **We have started to prepare the dough balls the day before, with mixed results. We learned a lesson the first year . . . dough balls can only be in one layer – not stacked in the pans or bowls. We also use flour sack towels to help absorb moisture while in the refrigerator.

Grill the rounds on a lefse grill. Brown the first side, then turn and brown the second side. Remove from grill and stack 10 deep between absorbent towels (flour sack or lefse cozies). When cool, brush away excess flour. Fold each round in half and then in thirds. Three round will fit nicely in a plastic Ziploc freezer bags.

Nacho Potato Soup

At our All Saints Party this past Friday, I volunteered to bring potato soup. Never one to shy away from trying something new, I chose to bring a recipe I hadn't made before - Nacho Potato Soup. Those who tried the soup said it was delicious; that's the response I had hoped to receive. I made a triple batch, but only brought 2/3 to the party. The last 1/3, I double bagged and have frozen for later. Here's the recipe . . .


Nacho Potato Soup
Serves 6-8

1 package Au Gratin potatoes
1 - 11 oz. can corn, drained
1 - 14 oz. can chili recipe tomatoes
2 cups cubed Velveeta cheese
2 cups water
2 cups 2% milk
Tortilla chips, crushed

Combine Au Gratin potatoes, corn, tomatoes and water in a medium sized saucepan. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add milk and Velveeta; cook and stir until Velveeta is melted. Serve with crushed tortilla chips as a topping.