FRIDAY FISH: Salmon, Leek, & Fennel Quiche

Springing up in our yard

There’s just something about eggs and cream together. A marriage, as they say, made in culinary heaven. The wide, wide world offers so many choice custard desserts (do you know natilla?); my hub and best sous Dave adores old school American custard pies, as does good friend and fine baker Ruth Lehmkuhl. I, myself, like nothing better than a little crème brûlée to tuck into at the end of a long, laughing dinner, along with a not-too-tiny Armagnac, of course. I also love plain old custard with nutmeg –the perfect sore throat fast food– baked in Pyrex custard dishes, so there. And next comes quiche, which is simply a savory custard pie no matter what shape it’s baked into or what kind of dish or pan or plate holds it. It’s all good fun to bake a few quiche (quiches?) for a brunch, having them ready when folks arrive so they can choose their favorite(s). While yummy when warm — they’re not good straight out of the oven as they need to set a spell before cutting to avoid a hot mess — they’re also stunning at room temperature or even cold sliced up into bites on an appetizer platter. I have to slip in here that they travel beautifully; we often have a slice or two in hotel rooms after long car rides. I’ll also attest you can make a quiche out of just about anything, which makes them exceptional dishes for using up leftovers — more on that later. Today’s SALMON, LEEK & FENNEL crustless quiche (no pastry worries here) was just such a fortunate pie in my kitchen. After making a Salmon Cheese Spread for a charcuterie platter demonstration, I had just a little salmon leftover…

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Wild Goose Breast on Smashed Potatoes and Peas with Bacon and Mushroom Sauce (Icelandic Memories)

Use this recipe for turkey, pork, chicken, or duck if wild goose breast isn’t in your freezer!
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When I told one of my besties, Sue Hall, about this recipe and sent her a first photo, she said, “And so where in the h-e-double hockey sticks are you getting wild goose?” I said, “I have someone shoot them for me.” “Of course you do,” said she.

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Quarter-Sheet Pan Salsa Chicken Dinner for Two (with Cheesy Broccoli and Potatoes)

Cooking for one? Tomorrow’s dinner is done!

Sheet pan dinners have earned their popular place in the kitchen over the last several years and love them I do. But for couples and singles, that’s a lot of food — even if you’re a leftovers type person. Back in December of 2022, I promised you a few more quarter-sheet pan meals and because I make good on my promises, here’s post #3. The quarter-sheet pan, at just 9″x 13″, is the baby bear of the sheet pan group and is perfect for smaller recipes–like today’s nearly effortless Salsa Chicken Dinner for Two with Cheesy Potatoes and Broccoli.

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Bruschetta for Dinner

Who said dinner couldn’t be fun?!

Bruschetta (broo-SKET-ta), the incomparably attractive Italian appetizer, is simply too big of a starter come the dog days of summer. I mean, it’s like eating pizza for hors d’oeuvres before Thanksgiving dinner when the temps are 95 F in the shade–like today. Typically grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with chopped silky ruby-ripe tomatoes and a scatter of fresh basil slivers, I like to instead offer it up with a variety of toppings for an al fresco dinner and let everyone make themselves happy. And while I thought I was being somewhat imaginative this July, when I dug out some of my Italian cookbooks to get a little background, I of course discovered that while not everyone, certainly certain someones have been there before me. (Curses, foiled again.) Folks like one of my favorite food writers, Lynne Rosetto Kasper.

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Garlic Cream Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole

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When folks “talk turkey” about holiday dinners, they, in fact, don’t talk much about turkey. Or ham. (Though they might if it’s roast beef.) They instead remember sides or desserts. Nonna’s baked ziti. Oma’s sauerkraut. Dad’s gravy. Aunt Susan’s pumpkin pie. Because of that, the menu is often a done deal. Who can fight history? As a longtime Thanksgiving cook (I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner at 24 hugely pregnant with my first child), I pore over each year’s November magazines and keep Thanksgiving cookbooks on my coffee table from September on–always interested in finding something new to dream about. You can well imagine it’s my favorite holiday.

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Grilled Parmesan-Garlic Zucchini

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About this time of year — right after the 4th of July, in fact — the typical grill faves at our house seem to fade off into the proverbial sunset. They’re not nearly so exciting as they were when we dusted off the patio in May and had the first cheeseburger with grilled sweet potato wedges and Sriracha Mayo dip. Or even when the early sweet corn got overly buttered and salted just a week or two ago and I thanked God my dentist had only two weeks before — and for the third time (sheesh) — fixed the snaggletooth chip in my right front tooth. (Just you wait for the Olathe corn coming up next month! I’m ready.) The sides, particularly, feel a bit lackluster. Another ho-hum pasta salad or middle-of-the-road caprese? More lemony green beans?! “What’s for dinner?” begins again, especially as the sun seems to just hang there up in the sky something like forever and it’s hot as ________. Are we bored that easily? It seems we may be. A bit of an embarrassment, isn’t it?

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