The holidays. Time for love, laughter and lots of food! Coming from an Italian family, food is a BIG part of the holidays, well it is for everyday life, really. Christmas for me always begins Christmas Eve at my nonna’s house. She cooks everything except the kitchen sink! The family all piles into her house and before we know it, we are all sat around the dining room table with the first serving of nonna’s homemade tortellini soup. This is a family recipe which I finally had the privilege of learning last year (unfortunately because it is a family recipe, I cannot give away nonna’s secret ingredient but I assure you, it is AWESOME). Once the plates are cleared, it’s onto seafood salad garnished with fresh parsley and lemon...Then the real games begin: pasta and meatballs, pizza, turkey, ham, spareribs, polenta and bacala and nonna’s infamous mystery meat which ranges from beef tongue to goat cheek, nobody ever asks, we just eat it and enjoy while trying not to entertain the idea of which part of the anatomy it is. To finish off, there is homemade Italian wine, crustoli, cheeses and grappa. The list goes on and this is only the beginning.
Christmas morning begins at my parents house where we have cookies and tea out of our singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer mugs while nestled around the tree and Puddy, our cat, chasing bows to and fro. At around 11:00am, the doorbell rings and through the door walks my dad, stepmom and sister for our annual Christmas morning shot. Then dashing through the snow, we head to Aunt Sheilagh and Uncle Wayne’s for Christmas brunch. Christmas brunch at my grandparents is one of my favourite parts of the day and I am so lucky to have been part of it since the age of 4. It’s always been my job to prepare the shrimp cocktail in Aunt Sheilagh’s crystal shrimp cocktail bowls. Brunch starts with apple cider and rum, eggnog and rum or cocoa and baileys, what better way to warm up after coming in from the cold Canadian outdoors. Once we sit down at the table, we cheers with a mimosa and nosh down on shrimp, quiche, meat-on-a-stick, tortière, perogies, peameal bacon, rolls and a sweet finish with Lindt chocolates. Once the table is cleared and our tummies full, we are out the door again to nana and papa’s house who, every year, try to feed me turkey dinner, but I always have to decline because I am already stuffed like the turkey and have another turkey dinner to get to at my mom’s house. Instead I like to call this the digestion stage where we sit around the fire and visit with the family.
Being in Paris this year, I was naturally feeling a bit nostalgic and missing my family traditions, so when I opened my fridge to find a lone container of crème fraiche, I decided to bring one of those traditions to my little Paris kitchen. A simple, light and fluffy quiche! I just used what I had in the fridge and in no time, the aromas of the delicate tart were flooding through my house (the only thing missing was a mimosa!)
Crème Fraiche Quiche:
Ingredients:
left over veg from the fridge (I used a zucchini and an onion), sliced (you can use 3/4 lb of bacon as well for a more carnivorous plate!)
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup grated Emmental cheese
Directions:
Put a baking sheet on a middle rack and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook the vegetables (or bacon) in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (If cooking bacon, transfer to paper towels to drain with a slotted spoon).
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch square. Because pastry sheets are in a squares, it is easier to roll it into a larger square and then trim it into a round. Fit pastry into pie pan and trim the pastry so that just about 1/4-inch of puff pastry hangs over the sides.
Whisk eggs and egg whites until well combined, then whisk in creme fraiche, salt and nutmeg until just smooth. Pour filling through a fine-mesh strainer into pastry shell. Sprinkle bacon evenly over filling and top with Gruyere.
Bake quiche on heated baking sheet until center is set (it should not jiggle when shaken), 45 minutes to 1 hour. Quiche will puff up while in he oven and sink a bit once it’s out and cooled. Transfer to rack to cool to warm or room temperature.
Et voilà! Bon appétit! And happy holidays!
Christmas morning begins at my parents house where we have cookies and tea out of our singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer mugs while nestled around the tree and Puddy, our cat, chasing bows to and fro. At around 11:00am, the doorbell rings and through the door walks my dad, stepmom and sister for our annual Christmas morning shot. Then dashing through the snow, we head to Aunt Sheilagh and Uncle Wayne’s for Christmas brunch. Christmas brunch at my grandparents is one of my favourite parts of the day and I am so lucky to have been part of it since the age of 4. It’s always been my job to prepare the shrimp cocktail in Aunt Sheilagh’s crystal shrimp cocktail bowls. Brunch starts with apple cider and rum, eggnog and rum or cocoa and baileys, what better way to warm up after coming in from the cold Canadian outdoors. Once we sit down at the table, we cheers with a mimosa and nosh down on shrimp, quiche, meat-on-a-stick, tortière, perogies, peameal bacon, rolls and a sweet finish with Lindt chocolates. Once the table is cleared and our tummies full, we are out the door again to nana and papa’s house who, every year, try to feed me turkey dinner, but I always have to decline because I am already stuffed like the turkey and have another turkey dinner to get to at my mom’s house. Instead I like to call this the digestion stage where we sit around the fire and visit with the family.
Being in Paris this year, I was naturally feeling a bit nostalgic and missing my family traditions, so when I opened my fridge to find a lone container of crème fraiche, I decided to bring one of those traditions to my little Paris kitchen. A simple, light and fluffy quiche! I just used what I had in the fridge and in no time, the aromas of the delicate tart were flooding through my house (the only thing missing was a mimosa!)
Crème Fraiche Quiche:
Ingredients:
left over veg from the fridge (I used a zucchini and an onion), sliced (you can use 3/4 lb of bacon as well for a more carnivorous plate!)
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup grated Emmental cheese
Directions:
Put a baking sheet on a middle rack and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook the vegetables (or bacon) in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (If cooking bacon, transfer to paper towels to drain with a slotted spoon).
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch square. Because pastry sheets are in a squares, it is easier to roll it into a larger square and then trim it into a round. Fit pastry into pie pan and trim the pastry so that just about 1/4-inch of puff pastry hangs over the sides.
Whisk eggs and egg whites until well combined, then whisk in creme fraiche, salt and nutmeg until just smooth. Pour filling through a fine-mesh strainer into pastry shell. Sprinkle bacon evenly over filling and top with Gruyere.
Bake quiche on heated baking sheet until center is set (it should not jiggle when shaken), 45 minutes to 1 hour. Quiche will puff up while in he oven and sink a bit once it’s out and cooled. Transfer to rack to cool to warm or room temperature.
Et voilà! Bon appétit! And happy holidays!