Photo: Nina Lincoff
Depending on your relationship status – and how attached to said relationship you really are – Valentine’s Day can either be a heart-filled celebration complete with pink and red, flowers and chocolate or a day where you pretend to remember what number comes after 13. On the other hand, Valentine’s Day is really just a celebration of love, so it doesn’t really matter what’s going down as long as you’ve got somebody or a whole group of somebodies to celebrate that four-letter word with.
Better yet, if you’re food-oriented like us, then chances are Valentine’s Day is just another excuse to create something delicious. Last year, it was an easy to put together meal injected with a heavy dose of cream, bacon, and chocolate. But this year we’ve moved on and upgraded to the best meal of the day: brunch – a combination of breakfast and lunch, a time when you could get out of bed and start the day (and since it’s Tuesday, chances are you have class, jobs to get to and/or a hangover to nurse). An excuse, sanctioned by mothers, WASPS and foodie snobs around the linen-clothed table to take a morning to eat far too many rich things, all washed down with some kind of juice-alcohol concoction.
When married with brunch, friends and loved ones, Valentine’s Day really is something to celebrate. As it turns out, brunch is an exceptionally easy celebration to put together. This year, we’ve got two brunch favorites, quiche and scones (think back to Tuesday), and here’s the secret: they’re easier to make than pie. Both recipes can be tailored with whatever flavor combinations you like and both require relatively no skill in the kitchen to end up with something delicious.
As always, we suggest pairing a meal with something equally delicious to sip on. Nothing quite says brunch on a Tuesday like a Bellini.
Quiche is something easy to make, and more importantly, a relative blank slate. Eggs and crust are a great starting point for a variety of flavors. This week, we’ve paired traditional bacon, cheese, shallots and sage together for a flavorful, luscious quiche but feel free to use any number of other ingredients. Quiche plays well with almost anything—ham, leeks, shredded zucchini and other squashes, sundried tomatoes, feta, gruyére, brie (cheese of any kind really), broccoli, spinach, etc.—just make sure that the ingredients you choose go well with one another.
Bacon-Cheddar Quiche with Caramelized Shallots and Sage
Process 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Break 6 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter into the flour and pulse until the butter is thumbnail-size. Add 4 tablespoons icy water to the dough and pulse three to five times. Bring the dough together in plastic wrap and form into a disc. Refrigerate for at least an hour before use.
Take ½ pound thick cut bacon and cook until crispy, reserving the fat. Set aside and let cool: chop up into small pieces once cooled. Thinly slice two large shallots and sauté until caramelized in a little bit of the bacon fat over low heat. Roughly chop up eight fresh sage leaves and throw into the shallots for the last couple minutes of cooking. Drain the shallot-sage mixture from the fat and set aside. Grate 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll the dough out to fit a standard pie plate or tart pan and fit into the plate. Trim and shape the edges and refrigerate. In a large bowl, whisk together six large eggs, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, and a pinch of salt. Crack fresh black pepper into the egg custard and whisk until fully combined. Evenly spread the shallot, bacon, and 2/3 of the cheddar in the bottom of the pie plate. Pour the egg over the quiche and top with the remaining cheddar. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the quiche has puffed up and the crust is lightly golden. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Bellini
Bellinis, in an non-traditional bastardized college sense, are essentially a fruit juice or puree paired with a sparkling wine like Champagne or Prosecco. We’ll be honest, we used André…
Combine 1 cup white sugar with 1 cup water in the a saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, allowing the simple syrup to thicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat before the sugar begins to darken. Take 2 cups of your favorite frozen fruit and add to a blender with 2 cups of grapefruit or orange juice. Add simple syrup until a desired sweetness is reached. Puree until smooth and divide among glasses or Champagne flutes, filling each glass halfway with the fruit mixture. Take one bottle of sparkling light wine and fill the remaining half of each glass. Give each glass a quick stir and enjoy!
