I’m not sure exactly how to say this, so I’m just going to go ahead and put it out there.

For the first time in…. ever… I had fun at a baby shower.   Real time, legitimate good times at a baby shower.  I wasn’t even faking it, not even a little bit.

I’m going to stand by what may be an unpopular position.  In the past I’ve found most baby showers I’ve had to attend, a troubling combination of boring and humiliating.  Between standing around listening to various labor horror stories and playing disgusting baby games that involve Tootsie Rolls and diapers, I typically just barely manage a fake smile.

This weekend’s baby shower was different.  My friends Mitch and Lara got together, got married, and made another human that Lara is currently growing in her belly.  These people are filled with hilarity, and an uncommon and humble goodness.  Watching them open their baby gifts with grace and a downright speedy efficiency (thanks!), I couldn’t help but imagine their little girl filling the onesies, hats and socks they received.  While it may sound silly, the reality of this impending life became more lovely and amazing as each gift was opened.

That I may or may not have been able to cheat at one of the baby team relay games has very little to do with me having a great time at the shower.  Don’t press me on this.  Please.

Now, without a well-crafted transition, I bring you Crustless But Still Dang Good Quiche.

Yes, I think the best part of a slice of quiche is the crust.  Yes, I still made this quiche without crust.  Sometimes crust, with all of its cutting butter and dusting and rolling pins, seem just a little too daunting for my late morning weekend breakfast.  It turns out, if you slather the pie plate with butter, the quiche will bake up beautifully and when sliced, jump out of the dish with no problem.

I used a combination of spinach, mushroom, walnuts and blue cheese in this quiche.  Feel free to play around with any ingredients you might have on hand.  Next time I make this, I’m going to stay away from blue cheese.  The flavor almost took over the whole quiche.  I think a nice cheddar or gruyere would work better.

Crustless Quiche with Spinach, Mushrooms and Walnuts

adapted from The Good Egg

Print this recipe!

1 10-12 ounce bag of spinach, stems trimmed

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

3 large eggs

1 cup half and half

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I would suggest using cheddar or gruyere instead)

3 Tablespoons chopped walnuts or lightly toasted pine nuts

butter for greasing the pie plate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter a 9-inch pie dish and set aside.

Place the spinach in a large pot, cover and cook over medium heat just until wilted, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and spoon into a strainer set over  a bowl.  Let cool.

Press hard on the spinach in the strainer with the back of a spoon to remove most of the moisture, then squeeze in your hands to remove more.  Turn out onto a cutting board and coarsely chop  Place between two layers of paper towels or wrap in a clean kitchen towel and press to remove more moisture.  You should have about 1 cup packed spinach.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes more.  Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until any remaining moisture has evaporated, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add a pinch of salt (the cheese is salty, so you won’t need much) and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light.  Stir in the half and half.  Spoon the spinach mixture evenly into the buttered pie dish.  Sprinkle with the cheese and nuts.  Pour in the egg mixture.

Bake the quiche until puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into generous wedges.

Three things are true.  Let’s go over some facts.

I’m gullible.  I prefer to think of it as less naive and more trusting.  If you tell me something, in all likelihood, I’ll believe you.  For this reason, let’s keep the April foolery to a minimum this morning.  It’s not really my style, and chances are, if you try to fool me with falsehoods or pranks today, it’ll work.  Let’s not and say we did.

This day reminds me of one particular April Fool’s Day many years back.   I thought playing a prank on my little sister would be ripe with comedy.  It involved a toilet seat, petroleum jelly, and her resulting slippery bum.  As I giggled with success, my little sister busted out her fake (but oh so convincing) cry and I was in a heap of trouble with Mom.  She’s brilliant with the fake cry… award winning.  Well played little sister… I see how you turned that around… Well played.

Lastly, and this is no petroleum jelly joke-  I was featured in the London Times this week!  Check out the interview and the photos… and say hello to London.  Normally I’d tell you how being in the London Times makes me want to yell, and jump and otherwise spaz with excitement.. but I’m trying to play it cool.  You know.. like wearing sunglasses at night, or wearing Converse sneakers with a fancy dress, or putting ham and mustard in cookies…. cool.  Let’s play it cool.

A friend affectionately called these savory pastries, Ham Cookies.  While the name is less than enticing, the description is just about right.  I combined my favorite Dufour Puff Pastry with lovely Dijon mustard, thinly sliced prosciutto and Gruyere cheese.  Roll the dough in towards each other like you would a Palmier, and you’ve got a savory breakfast snack, or a super easy appetizer.  Easy and impressive… that means we all win!

Prosciutto Dijon and Gruyere Puffs

Print this recipe!

1 package Dufour Puff Pastry (It’s the best store bought pastry around.  If you can’t find it, go for a brand that uses all butter, and not the fake fat stuff.)

8 slices Prosciutto di Parma

3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

flour for dusting

fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.  Once thawed, carefully unfold and lay on a floured work surface.  If the pastry tears at the seam in the unfolding process, it’s not the end of the world, but try to keep it in one un-torn piece.  Dust flour on top of the pastry as well.

Puff pastry will already be very flat, but with a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 11×9-inches.  Layer the eight slices of prosciutto on top of the puff pastry.  Using a butter knife, layer the mustard on top of the prosciutto slices.  Top with grated cheese, and as much fresh ground black pepper as you like.

Begin to roll the right side of the pastry in towards the center.  Next roll the left side of the pastry in towards the center.  Press together.  Dough will not stick together, but if you brush away some of the excess flour on the center dough pieces, they will stay together better during baking.

With a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/2-inch thick slices.  Place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper.  Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown.  Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from baking sheet and serve warm or at room temperature.

I know this is a bit of a departure for me. But seriously- check out these grits with grilled sweet corn, grilled onions, jalapeno peppers and sharp cheddar cheese.  Amazingly delicious!

Grits are a corn based, sometimes breakfast, sometimes dinner, always delicious cereal type food.  Is that clear?  Grits are similar to something like polenta, which is another corn product.  Essentially grits are coarsely ground corn.  They’re popular in the Southern United States, where they know how to do them up right with butter, cheese and bacon.  Bless them for they’re fantastic use of fat.  Seriously.

My grits were cooked in water and salt, then graced with a generous pat of butter.  I grilled up some fresh sweet corn, onions and jalapeno pepper until they were nice a browned then layered that on top of the cooked grits.  The whole dish was topped with a handful of grated sharp cheddar.  I had a tub of sour cream ready too, just in case I needed an extra dollop of richness…. but I decided to be reasonable and skipped the sour cream.

With a little creativity, you can add anything you like to grits.  Whatever you’re in the mood for!  I’ll also post a sweet version of grits sometime soon!

The recipe below follows the water/grits ratio suggested on the box that I bought.  You may want to follow the directions of you particular brand.  Now….. go and make!

Grits with Grilled Corn, Onions, Peppers and Cheddar Cheese

Print this recipe!

1 generous serving

1 1/2 cup water

6 Tablespoons quick cooking grits (not instant)

2 dashes of salt

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

pepper to taste

1 ear sweet corn, fresh

1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced, without the seeds

2 Tablespoons diced onions

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cut corn of the ear, dice jalapeno pepper and onions and saute in olive oil.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, bring water to a boil.  Add salt.  Slowly stir in the dry grits.  Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, removing the cover to stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and pepper to taste.   Top with corn and onion mixture and grated cheese.  Enjoy!