Thursday, April 25, 2013

Spring suppers

The weather is changing and so are my menus. In fall and winter I crave brothy soups, braised short ribs, and lots of warm comforting saucy braised chicken over rice. But now that the weather is nicer and the sun is out later it's all about light and fresh flavors in my kitchen. This spring two of my favorite dinners have been warm potato salad and quiche. Both of these dinners are great because they are quick and simple and work with many variations.

Warm Potato Salad: I like to use Yukon gold potatoes. While the potatoes boil I make a homemade vinaigrette and toss potatoes with dressing while still hot.  I usually add a can of albacore tuna, some capers and maybe chopped boiled egg and serve it on spring salad greens. Last week I cooked some ground lamb and served the warm potato salad over greens topped with the ground lamb--delicious!

Quiche: I used to dislike quiche until a friend made me crust-less quiche. now I'm obsessed. It's a great dinner, breakfast or lunch. And without the crust it's light and silky. I think the trick to quiche is not too many additions and always use cream! For dinner I like to serve quiche with some roasted potatoes or root veggies and salad. My favorite combinations are cheddar, bacon and jalapeno, Swiss chard and Parmesan and spinach and mushroom. My basic recipe is so simple. Place your additions in the bottom of a pie plate whether it's sauteed spinach and garlic or bacon and jalapeno. Add some grated cheese if you are adding cheese and top with 3 eggs whipped up with 1 cup cream. Season with salt and pepper and bake 35 minutes at 350. Nothing could be simpler!

What are your go to Spring meals? What are you craving as the season changes?

1 comment:

  1. Quiche! What a great idea! I've been wondering how to transition into spring cooking and that's a great suggestion.

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