Caramelized Onion and Bacon Mini Quiche

Quiche. It's one of those foods that you can eat any time of the day and it tastes appropriately delicious. You can serve it for all occasions too. They're great for an ordinary day of the week, but seem special enough for a party. Did I mention that they taste like you spent a lot of time making them when you didn't? That's just a bonus. These particular mini quiches are a favorite around here. Make up a batch of these and freeze them to grab when you don't have time to cook. This batch I made when I was having a party to show of my grandson. Here's what you'll need: 

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 oz bacon, finely chopped 
  • 3 TBL wholegrain mustard
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C milk
  • pepper to taste
  • prepared pie crust

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 

Sauté the chopped onion in a couple of teaspoons of oil, cooking until golden brown. This will take about 20 minutes. In a separate pan, cook the bacon until crisp.

While the onion and bacon are cooking, unroll the pie crust. Using a 2" round cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles. Line the mini muffin tins with the discs. 

When the onions and bacon are done, combine them with the mustard and set aside. In a pourable measuring cup, mix the egg and milk and pepper. 

Add a small amount of the onion and bacon mixture to the bottom of each muffin cup. 

Pour the milk and egg mixture over the onion and bacon mixture filling to just below the top. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and puffy. 

This recipe makes 4 dozen mini quiches. Try them. You won't be disappointed. 

Enjoy! 

Lynn

Grilled Scallop and Shrimp Pizza

As I've said before, homemade pizza is a favorite around here. I've made it more times than I can count and I love coming up with non-traditional varieties. Tonight I'm making a grilled pizza with shrimp, scallops, caramelized onion, mushrooms, and roasted poblano pepper. 

You'll need some pizza dough. Check out my pizza dough post for all the details. You can use store bought if you really have to, but I want to encourage you to try making it at least once. It's easy and it's so much better than anything you buy at the store.

Here's what you'll need for this pizza:

  • 6 sea scallops
  • 10 shrimp
  • 1 yellow onion, caramelized
  • 1 poblano pepper, roasted
  • 1/2 C shredded pepperjack cheese
  • 1/2 C shredded parmesan
  • 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms, cooked
  • 1/2 C pesto

The most important thing to do when you make grilled pizza is to prepare all your ingredients so that they are ready to go. Grilling pizza is a much faster process than baking and you won't have time to get ingredients ready once you put the dough on the grill.

First, let's roast the poblano. Put the pepper over a high flame until it blisters and chars, turning to get all sides. Now put the pepper in a zip top bag and seal it. The steam will loosen the peel. After about 5 minutes, remove the pepper from the bag and, using your hands, remove the charred peel. Don't be tempted to run it under water to clean it. You don't want to wash off all that good smokey flavor and a few bits left on just add to the taste. Now remove the stem and the seeds and chop and set aside.

​Now slice the mushrooms and sauté them until just done. In case no one has ever told you this, don't wash your mushrooms in water to clean them. I used to dump mine into a bowl of water to get the dirt off and I wondered why they were always so soggy. Mushrooms are like sponges and they soak up the water. Just use a cloth or paper towel to wipe off any soil. I cook my mushrooms in my dry wok on high heat. Because of the high moisture content of the mushrooms you don't need any oil or butter. Just add a little salt and stir until they're ready. After they're done, you can add any oil or butter or seasonings you like.

Now for the shrimp and scallops. First peel and devein the shrimp. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise so that you have 2 skinny shrimp pieces instead of one whole one. Season them with a little Old Bay and flash fry them in a nonstick skillet on high heat for about 30 seconds. That's really all it takes because you don't want to over cook them. Now clean the scallops. There is often a little muscle still attached to the side of the scallop that you need to remove because it's tough. Just give it a little tug and it comes right off. Throw that piece away. Now cut the scallops into discs. You want them to be thin so you should get 3-4 discs per scallop. Flash fry the scallops too. Just about 15 seconds on each side on high heat and you'll get a nice tender scallop with a golden brown sear.

I have another post on how to make caramelized onions so if you don't know how, check it out. I'm afraid this post is getting way too long...​

Put all your ingredients on something you can carry out to the grill​, because it's time to make pizza!

Fire up your grill and get it smoking hot. I have a gas grill and I light all 3 burners and leave them on high for about 15 minutes. While it's getting hot, roll out your dough. I roll mine on parchment paper because it's easy to just pick up and carry to the grill and the paper peels right off. I used to spend a lot of time making perfectly round circles, but I decided I really like the more rustic, freeform look of the irregular shaped pizza. It is homemade after all. Brush olive oil over the entire surface of your crust. This will be the side you cook first. Now carry everything outside.

Put the dough oiled side down on your grill. The oil will keep it from sticking. You will notice bubbles start to form on the top and the bottom will get charred grill marks. While the crust is cooking, oil the top side of the crust. This will end up being the bottom of the pizza when you turn it and add your toppings. Using a pizza peel. turn the crust.

Now you can turn the heat down a little on your grill. I put mine on medium. If you are using a charcoal grill, just put the pizza to whatever side is a little cooler. Spread on the pesto first. Now add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Next come the shrimp and scallops and finally the 2 kinds of cheese. Close the lid and let the cheese melt and the crust finish cooking. This will only take a couple more minutes and now you're done. Cut the pizza and serve.

Looks pretty good, right?​

I realize that this is a really long post, but I wanted to give you as many details as possible. Don't be intimated but the seemingly endless steps. It's not as bad as it probably looks right now. The key is in the prep work. It does take a little time, but I promise the results are worth it.

Enjoy!

Lynn

Caramelized Onions

Caramelized onions--yum!!​ I love to have these on hand to add a little flavor to so many different things. They're great on pizza, a grilled cheese sandwich, a burger, mixed with a little cream cheese for a spread... You get the idea. Here's how to make them.

Cut a large yellow onion in half​, remove the papery skin and discard. Lay each half flat on your cutting board and slice into thin half moon pieces.

​Put the sliced onions into a frying pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Turn the heat on medium low and cook the onions for 30-45 minutes or until very soft in texture and a deep brown color. You'll want to stir them very 5 minutes or so. 

​Now they're ready to put on anything you want. Notice how much they cook down. I often do more than one onion so I have plenty for later. Store whatever you don't use in a covered container in the refrigerator. They'll keep for days.

Enjoy!​

Lynn​