Quiche from Blue Apron

Howdy, 

So I was beyond excited to get the items for this dish. Maybe more excited than someone should be about food LOL but I love me a good Quiche! I rarely get to have one so it was extra special. Side note: Kelly's French Bakery on the Santa Cruz west side have AMAZING quiches. So buttery and scrumptious!

This Blue Apron Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quiche had everything. It was savory and flavorful, marrying each ingredient together creating a satisfying dinner. I liked that I knew what was in the quiche and it was yummy but a bit healthier than maybe a store bought one would be. Adding the goat cheese was a smart choice too, giving the quiche a little bit of tanginess. I will definitely try to recreate this!

In all honesty...I did not like the Arugula salad...arugula is not my friend and the lemony dressing did not help. My taste-buds immediately rejected it! Craig ate mine ha ha!

Thanks Blue Apron for such a yummy dish!

-Bunny

Beautifully Broken Bisque

Howdy!

 The lust for blood has returned...True Blood that is and I wanted to pay homage to one of the best characters I've ever had the privilege of watching. He is charming, snarky, eloquent, strong, weak, passionate and cultured. A true villain that you couldn't help but be fond of. Some nights I will re-watch TB snuggled in my covers and skip to Russell's scenes. To honor his bloodlust and his love for Talbot here is his Beautifully Broken Bisque. This dish wasn't too complicated and tuned out to look just like the original. 

In a sauce pan, heat up the olive oil and add the onions. Cook the until soft then add in the carrots and then the beets. Cook for another 5 mins. Add the lemon, salt, pepper, broth (I chose veggie) and water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Let simmer for about 30 mins and make sure the beets are soft.

 Remove the beets/mixture from heat and let it cool a bit. Then add to your mixer. I only had a blender handy but it worked he he! Once pureed your bisque is ready!

Plate the bisque while warm and garnish with sour cream. We added a bit more pepper and seasoning as well. The bisque was gentle if that makes sense...light and quenching. The beet flavor stood out and while it wasn't powerful, it was hearty. The sour cream completely adds to it as well. Looking like a true bloody bisque, Talbot would have been proud! 

FYI: Be careful with the beets/bisque...parts of our kitchen looked like vampires tore thought it LOL!

On top of the bisque, I made hush-puppies! A Maryanne/Sam recipe. These little balls of dough were perfect and fun to dip! First you combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add in the cornmeal and stir to blend. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well with a wood spoon, until smooth.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix until absorbed. if the batter is too dense add in more buttermilk. I found that I needed to add a little bit more flour and cornmeal. Once the batter holds it's shape, add the green onions and garlic.

Heat up your vegetable oil in a pot, about 2 inches deep, until it reaches 360 degrees. Plop in rounded tablespoons of batter and watch them form. It's kind of interesting to see them take shape, no two the same. You can drop in about 4 to 5 at a time, it really depends on the size of pot and/or batter.

Turn the frying batter over in the oil to make sure all sides cook evenly. This should only be about 3 mins.

Once cooked, drain each one on a paper towel. You may dust them with more pepper or seasoning if you would like. Voila! perfect hush puppies! These tricked my brain, while I liked them I thought they were supposed to be sweet. They resembled beignets a bit ha ha! I wanted to cover them in powdered sugar! Instead I stuck to the bisque and Craig to his hot sauce...always with that hot sauce! 

Thanks for readin! -Bunny

Blue Apron Love

Happy Friday!

While I have taken a small break from cooking/baking, I have been receiving scrumptious meals from Blue Apron. Each week I opened my door Monday morning to find a huge Blue Apron box. Inside the items are kept in insulated wrapping and on top of two huge ice blocks. All meat items are kept closest to the ice. The box contained three recipes for the week (which you can pick/swap on their website) and each item needed to prepare the meal. We mainly did vegetarian options and two that included fish. Craig always adds some more meat to his portion if needed. It was fun to match all of the ingredients together with their respected receipt card and then pick which to try first. I was always excited about the ones with cheese! he he

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I was working late the day after our boxes arrival and came home to a rich and flavorful home. Either driven by hunger, curiosity or love, Craig surprised me with our first Blue Apron meal. It was the sweetest thing! The Indonesian-Spiced Salmon was delicious. It's something that honestly I would have never tried. I didn't know if my tummy or taste buds would be able to handle it but they did. The flavor was light but well seasoned. The freekeh paired well with the salmon and was indeed sweet, spicy and sour!

The Fettuccine with beet, goat cheese and poppy seeds quickly made it's way to the top of my love list. The noodles were so deliciously homemade and the added beets and chard turned them pink! The addition of the veggies and cheese took this seemingly simple meal to another level! I must recreate this he he!

The Za'atar-Roasted Broccoli Salad was another dish I would have strayed from but was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the Fregola Sada paired with the broccoli. Plus the egg brought in more flavor and the roasted almonds a bit of crunch! Good call Blue Apron! 

With our last dish done we felt so accomplished, so adult. We had put meals together before but none so simple yet intricate LOL!  I love that Blue Apron comes with everything you need, even if you still have to chop, slice and season yourself, it's fun and teaches you to try new things. I wasn't really sure how some of these would taste...I am always weary when it comes to spices but was pleasantly surprised. Each ingredient combination worked perfectly. 

Unfortunetly Blue Apron is a bit pricey, at least for us, but we still have a few recipes to try this week! I can't wait to share! 

They have shown us a peek into the amazing flavors the world offers. I would definitely recommend! 

https://www.blueapron.com/pages/sample-recipes

Thanks! 

-Bunny

Bunny Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Happy Friday!! 

To celebrate a bit of spring showing through all of the rain, I made bunny shaped vanilla sugar cookies. My sister-in-law gave me this little kit for Christmas! It came with mix, marshmallows and a cookie cutter. 

I simply added an egg and some butter, mixed until the it turned to dough. I covered it in saran-wrap and put the dough in the fridge for about an hour.

I preheated the oven to 350 and began rolling out my dough on a cookie sheet using plenty of flour. I cut out little bunnies and arranged them on the tray to bake for about 10 mins. *check on them to make sure they are a little brown on the edges but be careful not to leave them in for too long. A couple of my bunnies didn't make it...they were cut a bit too thin LOL!  For added awesomeness I sprinkled a few of the bunnies! I do love my sprinkles! 

After baked and still warm, add the marshmallows for little cute bunny tails. Voila! Vanilla Sugar Cookies ready to serve. Super adorable and tasty! 

 I thought that Craig might like them with some chocolate so I melted a half cup of dark chocolate chips and drizzled them on top. He was thrilled he he! Thank you Amy for this wonderful gift, perfect for a Cake Bunny!

Thanks for readin!! xoxo

Love, Bunny