Oregon Fall Bounty Hash with Quinoa

A week ago Sunday we went to the delicious and oh-so-very-Oregon Mushroom Festival at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum with our dear friends Eric, Nic & Vic, and Nic & Vic's friends Gabe & Suzanne and their daughter Coral. I'll post separately about the festival and that lovely day; it was so cool it definitely deserves its own post!

It was fantastic and sooooo fall and a pretty perfect way to spend an autumnal afternoon. There were hay rides! And many mushrooms on display -- Coral, who's eight years old, delighted in pointing out to us the coral mushrooms. Which, I gotta say, really do look like coral! And they are gorgeous. Who knew mushrooms came in so many different colors, textures, sizes, and shapes? And I was again reminded of mushrooms' truly mysterious magic -- they have so many incredible medicinal properties!

While there, we signed up for a mushroom CSA! I'll post more on that later for sure. What a brilliant idea, no?

In keeping with the spirit of the season, I threw together this dish for our dinner on Sunday night. It was seriously seriously no joke not even kidding delicious. I have already promised hubby I'll be making this every week for as long as these fall ingredients last.

It's super easy and super seasonal, so get thee to the forest a-foragin' or store or farmer's market and get a-cookin'!

Dena's Oregon Fall Bounty Hash with Quinoa

• EVOO (use of acronym is just for you, James)
• As much chopped garlic as you can handle like (for us, that's about 5 or 6 cloves or so, depending on their size)
• ~ 3 cups cooked quinoa (I prefer to cook in mushroom or chicken broth to boost the flavor)
• Anywhere between 12 to 20 heads brussels sprouts, trimmed of brown spots and halved lengthwise
• 3 to 5 good-sized leeks, green stalks removed and white to light green parts sliced lengthwise and then chopped and washed (ours came from our garden!)
  
• 1/2 lb chanterelle mushrooms, sliced (and if you're lucky like us, they were foraged for very nearly in your own backyard. And remember that the smaller the chanterelle, the creamier and more delicious it will be!)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Good, nutty Parmesan cheese as a garnish

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 400F. (Also begin cooking your quinoa in a pot right about now -- I always do 1½ parts broth or water to 1 part quinoa. So, 3 cups broth to 2 cups uncooked quinoa, which does get you about 3 cups cooked, give or take. Add the broth and quinoa to your pot, set it to high uncovered and once it is boiling, bring down to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Easy!)

Heat about 1 tbsp (remember that's ~ one solid drizzle around the pan) EVOO in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once it is shimmery and hot enough, add the sprout halves, cut-side down. Cook without moving until they brown nicely and develop a crust. Do not move them, no matter the temptation to do so -- this is where the unique and addictive nutty-delicious brussels sprout flavor is developed. If necessary, brown the sprouts in batches. I used about 20 heads, and had to do about 3 batches or so -- it's very important every sprout gets a chance to develop that browned deliciousness!

Once all the sprouts have been browned, toss them onto an oven-roasting sheet with sides and pop them into your 400F oven for about 7 minutes. When they are done, set them aside in a big mixing bowl -- this will be where you mix all the ingredients together.

Next add more EVOO to your skillet and toss your leeks in when the oil is shimmery and hot enough, letting them get translucent and hopefully even a little browned -- about 10 minutes, give or take. When done, add to brussels sprouts in mixing bowl.

Then bring up the heat on your skillet a bit, to a little above medium-high heat, adding EVOO and letting it get nice and hot before you add your chanterelles. Give them a couple of minutes to heat up and develop a bit of brown fond, then stir to make sure they're cooking all over. After about 5-7 minutes, toss in your garlic and stir to get the garlicky goodness and mushroom yumminess all mixed together. Let it cook for a few more minutes, then add to your brussels sprouts and leeks.

Add your quinoa, mix it all together, add plenty of salt and pepper, and serve. Oh god it will smell absolutely heavenly. Garnish with Parmesan cheese or another nutty hard cheese of your choice. You will taste the warmth and flavor of fall in each bite.

Serve with your favorite Oregon beer in a frosty glass and enjoy!

Quiche for a Rainy Day

 

Or for a sunny day! Quiche is always a lovely dinner treat -- it's so luscious and fancy-seeming, even though it's surprisingly easy to make.

One of the great things about quiche is that once you know the basic formula, you can play with the ingredients and make countless variations depending on what you're in the mood for.

Yesterday I made quiche in the morning to have for dinner with a small side salad later in the evening. I highly recommend this as a Sunday dinner! Plus you can make two just as easily as you can make one, which means you've got delicious leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. Quiche keeps wonderfully.

 

Dena's Mushroom-Leek Quiche
(based on and adapted from Cook's Illustrated's quiche recipe)

Note: to keep it easy, I used store-bought, pre-made frozen pie crusts. Just make sure you look at the ingredient list -- the ones I bought had only four ingredients! If you're in the mood to make pie dough, by all means, you should.*

Makes two 9-inch quiches, since most pie crusts that you buy come in pairs.

2 pre-baked pie crusts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp organic butter
3 medium leeks
2 cups crimini mushrooms (or any variety you prefer)
4 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks
2 cups organic Half & Half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper (or regular pepper, which is what I had on hand, so it's what I used!)
2 cups freshly grated Gruyere cheese

Follow the directions on the pie crust package to pre-bake them and get them ready for your quiche -- usually you'll want to bring them to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter for about 10 minutes, prick the sides and bottom with a fork, and put them in a 375-degree oven for 7-10 minutes or so. Set aside when done.

Keep the oven on.

Cut the tops and green parts off the leeks, then cut in half length-wise and then cut into 1/4-inch slices width-wise. Saute the leeks in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat til they are soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Slice the mushrooms and saute them in the remaining olive oil and butter in the same pan over medium-high heat until they are nicely browned and even slightly crispy on the edges.

Whisk all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cheese (eggs, half & half, salt & pepper) together in a big bowl. Add in mushrooms and leeks and stir to combine.

Spread the cheese evenly over the bottom of the warm pie shells and set the shells on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil for easy clean-up should any spills occur). Pour the custard mixture into the pie shells so that it just comes up to right below the rim of the crust, but no further. Carefully -- very carefully! -- move the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake until light golden brown-ish, 32-35 minutes. Test for done-ness by inserting a knife blade about 1 inch from the edge of the crust: if it comes out clean, it's done! Don't worry if the center looks slightly uncooked or set but soft. It will continue to bake and become perfectly done once you've removed it and it's cooling. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack (like the kind you use for cookies) so that air circulates all around and prevents condensation on the bottom.

Serve warm or at room temperature and ENJOY!

Other variations you could try:

• Bacon
• Spinach
• Leek and goat cheese
• Ham and asparagus

The list is really endless!



* The Best Pie Dough
(8- or 9-inch Single Pie Shell)

When rolling out the dough, roll to a thickness of about 1/8-inch thick (about the thickness of two quarters).

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3–4 tablespoons ice water

1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with some flour. cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball with your hands, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.