Customized Cuisine

In keeping with my goal of delivering easier, more budget-friendly recipes that don’t require a trip to the specialty store, I tweaked my favorite salmon-and-cream-cheese quiche recipe a bit to make it more everyday friendly. Quiches are one of the most versatile, cost-effective meals you can make. And, they brown up wonderfully the next day in the toaster oven, so the thought of eating leftovers for lunch at work won’t be so grim.

Make it your own by…
- Subbing the spinach or leeks with the veggies you have in the fridge (I’m talking to you onions and bell peppers). Or try frozen corn kernels.
- Replacing the cream with milk or plain soy milk to make it a little healthier.
- 86ing the bacon to keep it vegetarian.

Kitchen Sink Quiche
Serves 4

1 pie crust, pre-baked according to package directions
4 strips center-cut bacon
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium leek, halved and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
2 c. fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (or softened for 45 s. in the microwave)
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 eggs
2/3 c. cream (heavy or light)
1 c. (divided) your favorite shredded cheese (I like gruyere or havarti)
1 tsp. nutmeg sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with foil, cook the bacon, turning once, until it’s browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool. Crumble into small pieces.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leek and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the spinach and cook until just wilted (not even a minute). Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, leek mixture and lemon juice with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring just until combined. Add the cream, ½ cup of the cheese, the crumbled bacon, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Tear off 3 thin strips of aluminum foil. Gently fold the foil around the pie crust, being careful to not break the crust or go too deep into the pie tin. Set the pie on a baking sheet and pour the quiche batter in, then sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the center is set. Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes before serving.

Restaurant Review- Stella Trattoria

The same folks that brought us Osteria 832 and the popular noodle chain Doc Chey’s recently unveiled their (slightly) more upscale Italian concept, Stella Neighborhood Trattoria.

Located in the Grant Park neighborhood and bordering historic Oakland Cemetery, Stella still feels a little shiny and new to be called a local spot. The ground-level patio offered welcome breezes on a recent fall evening, but, unlike nearby seafood mecca Six Feet Under, affords diners no view of the cemetery. And that’s a shame, because the mixed-use complex that houses Stella isn’t much to look at.

The comparisons between Stella and another casual pasta spot, Figo, are inevitable. Although Figo is a chain, corporate has done a better job integrating the restaurants into their respective neighborhoods—the spot on the Westside leans towards industrial chic, the locale in the Highlands, cozy and worn-in. However, the food at Stella has a leg up on Figo, both in quality (many of the organic ingredients have local pedigrees) and in selection (daily specials reflected the early fall season nicely).

A starter of crisp, fried calamari with garlic aioli and crunchy basil leaves succeeded in providing my daily dose of grease. Every so slightly chewy, the calamari was nonetheless well seasoned and fresh tasting. The portion was on the smaller size, but who really needs the usual 4 lbs. of fried food we receive as an “appetizer”? It was nice to still be hungry for my main course.

For my main course, I chose the boscaiola, a dish of cremini mushrooms, spinach and pancetta tossed with cavatapi in a creamy mascarpone sauce. (An aside—servers, please learn how to pronounce the names of your dishes.) Believe it or not, the pasta was a little too on this side of al dente for my taste—a few minutes longer in the pot would have allowed it to really melt in the mouth. The veggies tasted fresh and the sauce was perfectly seasoned (I didn’t even miss the salt and pepper shakers that weren’t on our table), but the pancetta was cut a little large. My dining companion’s dish didn’t fare quiet as well. The “Tuscan Chicken” pasta (spinach fettuccine tossed with organic chicken and sun-dried tomatoes in a cream sauce) could have benefited from the addition of some fresh herbs and Parmesan shaved on top. But, the portion was generous for the price and none of it went to waste.

The wine list was a highlight for me—almost everything is available by the glass and all but one varietal is under $10 (I had a lovely dry Riesling, a steal for $6). One complaint—the server had to come back to inform us that the requested beer was unavailable. Sell-outs happen, but servers should stay on top of the no-go list.

All in all, Stella is a welcome addition to the rapidly gentrifying scene in Grant Park. I’m told that it’s family friendly, which is nice for an intown spot I suppose, but I do hope it doesn’t become overrun with screaming toddlers, ala Osteria 832. Flinging pasta against the wall to test for doneness is one thing, but flinging it at fellow dinners is quite another.

Hail to the Chef

Ok, I’m back, I don’t want to make a big thing of it, “but you’ve been gone for so long,” I know, I know, I’m sorry. Can we please put this behind us?

Here’s the skinny: I’m going to post a little less ambitiously, I’m going to factor in time and cost a little more judiciously, and I’m going (to attempt) to keep in mind that not everyone has access to the more exotic of ingredients. That doesn’t mean that a 4+ hour pasta recipe isn’t going to show up next week (spoiler!), it just means that I’ve had some time to ruminate on life, the failing economy, my personal weight-loss goals, etc. during this downtime.

So, without further ado…