Let’s begin with a dish you can serve for any meal!

Buy a store bought crust, preferably one made with butter!

Make sure to prebake the crust in a  375°oven for 15-18 minutes until slightly golden. Use a 9” crust.

Remove from oven & let cool a bit before adding the filling.

Basic filling for quiche:

Dice 6 pieces of lean bacon and fry until nice and crisp. Dry on paper towels. Add one small onion to the bacon grease adding a small pat of butter. Cook the onions over medium heat 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. The onions should be caramelized.

Drain on paper towel.

Grate 1 cup of Gruyère Cheese.

Custard:

In a large bowl beat 4 eggs, 1&1/2 cups of heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper & 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional). Beat these ingredients until the eggs and cream become fully blended!

Place the Gruyère cheese in the cooled pie crust, sprinkle the bacon & onions over the cheese, pour the egg and cream mixture slowly until it reaches the top of the pie tin. Be careful not to overfill.

Place in a preheated 375° oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Helpful hints: placing the pie plate on a baking sheet prevents spills on the way to and in the oven! Always check the quiche around 30-35 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 if getting too brown.

Quiche should be ever so slightly jiggly. Let cool  10 minutes or so before cutting.

Preheat oven 425°

Use ham, bacon bits,  spinach, onions, mushrooms, cooked sliced potatoes & peppers (choose any of the above).

Sprinkle1/2 teaspoon salt over the veg and then:

Sauté on medium heat briefly in a 10-12 inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet…5 minutes should be adequate.

Note: Cook bacon bits until crisp, ham lightly sauté. Remove the meat and then sauté veg.

Beat 8 eggs and 1/2 cups of cream until well blended.

Drain the veg/meat and pat dry and return to the skillet.

Let the veg heat up on medium heat.

Pour the egg mixture over the meat/veg and cook on top of the stove on medium heat for 3 minutes.

Spread a cup of grated cheese (cheddar works great) over the top of the frittata.

Quickly place in hot oven and let bake for about 15 minutes until the frittata is puffy and golden.

In a large skillet, melt 3 Tablespoons butter and 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat.

Slice one Jalapeño chile (remove seeds) and add to the butter and oil, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. You can use shallots or onions instead of chiles, if you prefer.

Lower heat to medium and then add 1 clove of finely minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute being careful not to brown the garlic. 

Add 2 cups baby  spinach, sauté quickly.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the pasta water.

Assemble the dish as follows:

Return the skillet to medium heat.

Pour the drained pasta over the spinach mixture.

Add one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 cup heavy cream.

Stir the pasta into the mixture with tongs or a big spoon.

Add the reserved pasta water until you have a creamy mixture.

Pour into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Cook fettuccine or spaghetti pasta according to directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta liquid.

While the pasta is cooking, dice six slices of quality bacon and cook in a skillet until crisp. Remove from the grease and put on paper towels. Pour the bacon grease from the skillet leaving a small bit in the skillet.

Beat 3 eggs and 1/2 cup heavy cream…beat it well.

Return the skillet to medium heat, add the bacon bits. Put the cooked pasta in the warm skillet, quickly add the egg and cream mixture, stirring constantly, adding pasta water to make a smooth sauce.

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2  cup of Parmesan cheese.

Adjust the sauce with pasta water as needed.

Good over any pasta. Also make a great pizza sauce.

Heat 3 Tablesoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add one chopped onion and cook until the onions are ever so slightly golden. 

Lower the temperature to medium, adding one clove of finely minced garlic..cook the garlic for about 45 seconds stirring constantly.

Add two cups of fresh (seeds removed) tomatoes or one 14.5 ounce can of good marzano tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoons salt and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Stir into the sauce adding a bit of red wine or water to the sauce.

Add 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Lower the temperature to medium low, put a lid on and let it simmer for ten minutes………add more liquid if needed!

Finish with 1/2 cup fresh basil.

Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup chili crisp

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon oil

I Tablesoon sesame oil

1 clove minced garlic

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

Mix together.

Take 2 boneless pork chops and slice them thinly (about 1/2 inch).

Cover the slice pork with 1/2 the marinade. Refrigerate the pork in the marinade for 1 hour.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add 2 Tablespoons of oil,

Quickly cook mushrooms, green onions, peppers, snow peas (any combination of veg will do)

Let the veg cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently.

Raise the heat to high. Add the pork & marinade to the skillet.

Cook for 3-5 minutes…be careful not to overcook the pork.

Serve with rice.

Dice an onion.

In a big pot over medium high heat, add 3 Tablespoons of oil.

Adding onion to the oil  and cook for 2 minutes.

Add 1 pound ground beef and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Break the ground beef up with a spoon and let it brown until cooked thoroughly.

If you have excess grease, drain it off!

Add:

I jar tomato juice,

1 can kidney beans (drained)

1 carton of beef broth

1 piece of unsweetened chocolate

3 Tablespoons chili powder or more to taste.

Let simmer for at least 30 minutes……

I break a little spaghetti in mine and let it cook until soft!

Great winter dish!!

Buy brioche bread as well as gruyère, sharp cheddar or Swiss  cheese

Caramelize one sweet onion in a heavy stainless steel or cast iron skillet using 3 Tablespoons of butter. This will take about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Remove onions from skillet, wipe the skillet with paper towels removing any bits left from onions.

Take two slices of brioche, place 2-3  slices of cheese and lots of caramelized onions between.

Place the skillet back on the stove on medium high heat,

Add 2 tablespoons of butter to skillet. Melt the butter but do not let it burn. 

Place the sandwich in the melted butter.

It usually takes 2-3 minutes per side to get the bread golden and toasty. 

Mash the top with your spatula to get the best ease for turning the sandwich.

This seems simple dish but regulating the temperature and adding more butter as needed is key to success!

Preheat oven to 325°

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt one stick of butter and two squares of unsweetened chocolate.

Remove from heat. Quickly beat in 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 beaten eggs.

Beat well but do not over beat..the mixture should look a little grainy.

Stir in 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Beat again until well mixed.

Add 1 cups chopped walnuts or pecans,

Pour the batter into a 8 inch square pan (it is best to use parchment paper) but you can butter & flour the pan if you do not have parchment paper. Call me for better instructions!

These need to bake about thirty minutes.

They will be very soft and gooey!

Preheat oven to 425°

You will need:

1.5 cups All Purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the dry ingredients together

Dice 1 stick of very cold butter into small cubes.

With your fingers work the butter into the flour until it looks like small peas.

Quickly add about 1/2 cup of buttermilk and bring the dough into a round… carefully. 

Knead the dough back and forth on a floured surface until the dough is shaped into a ball. This requires skill, do not over knead. Do not handle the biscuit dough too much. It should come together into a nice round ball.

Roll or pat the dough (on a floured surface) until it is about two inches thick. You will need a biscuit cutter OR you can cut the biscuits into squares.

Place on a buttered sheet pan.

Pop into the hot oven and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Grab a hot biscuit, slather it with butter and some good jam!

Think of your great grandma! ❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️