Love it: Smoked Salmon Quiche with Crispy Potato Crust

This is not an everyday quiche- it's for special occasions. It's rich, decadent, creamy, delicious and I love it. I've made it twice now and to give you a sense of how special this quiche is, I've made it once for a New Year's Eve dinner and more recently for Valentine's Day.

Cream cheese and whipping cream, leeks and smoked salmon are what makes this such a killer quiche. And what I especially love about it is that it has a crispy potato crust. No pastry! I'll spend my time doing a lot of things but making pastry is not one of them. Not yet anyways. So this is perfect for me. And I bet it is for you too.


Smoked Salmon Quiche with Crispy Potato Crust (serves 4-6)
Source: Emeril Lagasse, Food Network

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups grated, cooked potato
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus 1 tablespoon whole butter
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 medium leeks, halved and thinly sliced, about 1 cup
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces smoked salmon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate.

Grate potatoes and then boil in water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a colinder, rinse with water, and then squeeze the grated potato to get out the excess water.

In a bowl, combine the cooked, grated potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and Essence, and toss to combine. Add the Parmesan and breadcrumbs and toss to combine. Press the potato mixture into the prepared pie plate, spreading to evenly cover the bottom and up the sides. Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining tablespoon of butter into a small skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and using a wooden spoon, stir in the leeks and lemon juice. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring just until combined. Add the cream, salmon, dill, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Pour the cream cheese-salmon mixture into the cooled potato crust and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and the batter is set. Cool quiche for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or chilled.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup

A Dinner Party Favorite: Leek and Cheese Phyllo Tart

Anyone who likes to cook, host dinner parties or entertain friends and family has at least a few showcase recipes. One of my favorite that always works and never fails to impress is Chef Rob Feenie's Leek and Cheese Phyllo Tart.



It's a delightfully delicate tart that combines the flavours of leeks, goat and ricotta cheese, dill and chives. Now it uses phyllo pastry and I know many people are a little nervous using phyllo- but honesty there's no reason for nervousness. If the Greeks can use it with success so can the rest of us.

One of the reasons I like this tart so much is that I find using phyllo easier then making pastry. And this tart is rustic in that the edges of the phyllo are just folded over custard, in a free form style.

Leek and Cheese Phyllo Tart (serves 4-6)

Ingredients
1/3 cup melted butter
6-10 sheets of phyllo

For the Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups sliced leeks (about 4-5 leeks)
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons dill, chopped
3 tablespoons chives, chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olice oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add leeks and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, combine the goat and ricotta cheese in a medium bowl. Stir in the dill, parsley, chives and lightly-beaten eggs until well incorporated. Season with pepper. Once the leeks have softened and cooled a little, stir them into the bowl.

Brush a pie or tart plate with butter. I use a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Brush one sheet with phyllo with butter and place across the pan. Butter a second sheet and overlap the first sheet by three inches. Continue to make a cirlcle using about six to ten sheets, buttering each as you go.

Spoon in the filling and fold over the overhanging edges of the phyllo pasty. Butter the edges using a pastry brush. Place on medium rack and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Perfect Quick Dinner: Eggs Baked in Cream

I know. It's a busy time of year and sometimes you just don't feel like spending a lot of time making dinner. Well now you don't have to. Eggs for dinner has always been one of my staple dinners - either for when I don't have a lot time or groceries in the fridge. This recipe for eggs baked in cream from The Wednesday Chef will amaze you. It's the perfect quick fix for a busy weekday dinner.



This adorably tasty meal is all layered into a ramekin, which also makes it a great dinner for one or two. Herbed tender leeks are topped with a farm fresh egg, cream, salt and pepper. I've made this dinner twice now (it's that good) and the second time I used shredded Brussels sprouts in place of leeks and topped them with chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Equally good and the colour combination keeps things festive.

Egg Baked in Cream (serves one)

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 leeks, sliced, light green and white parts only
Salt
2 sprigs thyme, chopped
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
1 large farm-fresh egg
2-3 tablespoons half-and-half cream
Toasted bread or bagels

Directions
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, a splash of water, a pinch of salt and cook until the leeks are tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in herbs.

Grease a small ramekin with butter and add tender herbed leeks. Crack the egg into the middle of the dish. Add enough half-and-half to barely cover the white. Sprinkle with salt and coarsely ground pepper.

Cook until the white is set, 8 to 12 minutes. Serve with toasted bread or bagels.

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Asparagus, Leek and Mushroom Frittata
Frittatas are delicious for lunch, brunches or dinner. Try this combination of asparagus, leeks, mushrooms and fontina cheese.

Tofu, Leeks and Lemongrass

This is a simple yet elegant meal, delicious and vegetarian: sweet chili-fried tofu with leeks in coconut and lemongrass broth. The marinade is a little hot but is set off by the sweet and mild coconut, lemongrass broth. From the Cafe Paradiso Seasons cookbook...

Sweet chili-fried tofu with leeks in a coconut, lemongrass broth
Serves 2-4

3 T sambal oelek
6 T soy sauce
2 T sugar
juice of 1 lime
Package of tofu

olive oil
4 stalks lemongrass
1 T grated ginger
1 handful of basil and cilantro leaves (leave whole)
2 leeks chopped in diagonal slices
21 oz coconut milk
2 oz coconut cream

Stir together the sambal oelek, soy sauce, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl. Add two tablespoons of water. Chop the tofu into 1/2 inch squares and marinade them in the sauce for 15 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan, adding a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Add the tofu squares with the marinade and fry until all the marinade has been absorbed and the tofu is golden and seared. Flip the tofu squares searing both sides.

To make the coconut sauce, bring some water to boil, drop in the lemongrass, ginger and herbs, and simmer for five minutes. Strain and return to pot. Add the chopped leeks and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until tender. Pour in the coconut milk, coconut cream and a pinch of salt, simmer for a few minutes before serving.

Serve the tofu sitting on the leeks in a generous pool of the coconut broth.

Dinner menu
Sweet chili-fried tofu with leeks in coconut and lemongrass broth
Lightly steamed carrots
crusty bread