A little bit of this a little bit of that!!!

That is how most of my cooking starts, I usually open the fridge and see how long I have in time to get food on the table. Lol.

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Ingredients:

So let’s start by checking out the fridge

Fridge clean up is coming up!!!starting with:

• Literally a little bit bacon bits
• Spinach, a handful
• A bunch of diced sourdough bread that needs to go go. (about 1-heaping cup)
• Little bit of Mama Julita’s roasted chicken (1 large chicken thigh and 1 drumstick)
• A little bit mozzarella left in the bag (about 1/2 cup)
• Queso fresco (1/4 of a packet)
• Left over fire roasted red peppers (maybe 1/4-cup)
• 1/4 of a green pepper, sliced thin. (maybe 1/2 of one; i keep them frozen and sliced)
• Dice onions, about 1/4 of an onion

+ Some basic ingredients that are always at home

• Eggs
• Whole milk
• Heavy whipping cream
• Kosher salt and Freshly ground pepper. Also Nutmeg a small pinch

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Directions:

So for the directions, I went tru with the idea of a traditional Quiche Lorraine without the crust.

In a quiche we layer the ingredients and sprinkle the cheese over to then repeat the process, usually a couple of times.

Then we add a heavy custard made with whipping cream and eggs. Then we sprinkle a last little bit of cheese over, and then we bake it!.

Now, I have no crust, but I have cubed bread. And ingredients that are not much related. ” That can be a skillet” or some sort of stuffing.

I decide for sautéing all the ingredients including the bread, of course I chose to use a cast iron skillet that can later go into the oven. Left the spinach for last and almost did not wilted it.

1. Preheat a 10-inch cast iron skillet, over medium high heat. Also, preheat oven to 375 F
2. Add oil and a piece of butter. Allow butter to melt.
3. Incorporate the onions with a small pinch of salt. When onions are sizzling, incorporate the peppers and sprinkle with a little pinch of salt, sauté until the peppers turn into a bright color, this happens super quick.
4. Incorporate the bacon bits and chicken, sauté until chicken is warmed up and add the bread. Sautéing and turning constantly to warm up bread and allow bread to absorb the flavors. It might need more butter.
5. When the bread looks tasty, Add the spinach and turn off the heat.
6. Keep turning and helping spinach to slightly wilt.
7. Remove from pan and set aside. Keep the empty skillet, under very low heat.
8. For the quiche part:
   1. In a large liquid measuring cup add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream and 4 eggs.
   2. Mix well and season with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, a small pinch of nutmeg.
   3. Taste the balance of the custard liquid
9. Brush butter to the bottom of the skillets and sides. Remove from heat.
10. Layer part of the prepared bread mixture and sprinkle with small diced queso fresco and shredded mozzarella. Repeating until mixture is gone.
11. In a circular-spiral motion and from close to the pan, pour the custard into the skillet.
12. Place in oven and bake for an approximate time of 15-minutes. To check for doneness the custard should look a little golden and slightly puff like a soufflé; a cake tester should come out clean if the custard is pierced.
13. Cool, and serve.
14. Enjoy cooking! learn from the process and read the chef notes for a more through learning experience!

Chef Notes for the Pro-Chef Kitchen

• Custard
  • A custard is a liquid, usually a milk product, that sets with the help of eggs during the cooking process.
• Why the recipe works
  • Don’t look at a recipe of quiche, just observe the ratio. Since very young I learned about quiche and pasteles (something savory and delicious that is explained as a savory pie) and one thing that strike to me was that the same ingredients were always there, but in different amounts. Once I got to culinary school I read about ratios. So in reality I do not need a recipe, I nee the concept and I need to remember that 4 cups of milk will set with the presence of 8 large eggs.
  • More things are to considered, if making changes; like the type of milk, cream, if you are adding bread, if you are using only yolks, etc.
• Why the recipe sets
  • In the case of quiche it sets because of the eggs. When eggs cooked, they Coagulate. Coagulation is irreversible.
  • But do not think that eggs are the only thing that coagulates in a custard. Also the dairy. Milk contains protein and all proteins when cooked they coagulate. Flour also contains protein and it also coagulates,