Menu Wednesday #11

Today's menu will be a big help to anyone looking for a quick and delicious meal for the hectic week before Christmas, an easy breakfast for holiday company, a perfect brunch for effortless entertaining, or a make ahead breakfast for Christmas morning. Both of these recipes are easy to make, store and reheat so they give a lot of flexibility during the busy holiday season. I like to make at least two quiches, one rather plain and one loaded up with vegetables and a little meat. Go ahead and freeze one or two after baking, then just thaw and reheat whenever you need something on the spur of the moment. The Hot Fruit Casserole makes a generous amount, so even if you need two quiches to serve more than six people, you'll probably only need one batch of fruit. Some muffins or rolls might be a nice addition to the menu, but I've left the decision to you about homemade or store bought completely to your discretion. I always think of this quiche and fruit menu for the Christmas holidays, and then wonder why I don't make it more often. Maybe I will now that it's in the Menu Wednesday archive!

QUICHE – recipe for one 9-inch
1 refrigerator pie crust round
1 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
OR any vegetable, meat or seafood
2 tbsp. butter
1 c. cubed Swiss cheese
1 1/2 c. half & half
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
3 eggs
1/4 c. white wine
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pie crust in a quiche pan or a pie plate. Poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork; bake for 5 minutes. Remove crust to cool. Sauté mushrooms (and optional vegetables and/or meats) in butter; spread over crust. Place cubed Swiss cheese over mushrooms. Scald half & half and cool slightly; add grated cheese. In a small bowl, beat eggs with a fork until blended. Add wine, salt, and nutmeg to eggs and blend. Add egg mixture slowly to half & half mixture and stir to mix. Place quiche pan on a baking sheet. Pour egg mixture into crust, taking care not to over fill. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and set in the middle. Remove and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers to reheat.

GAYLE WICKER’S HOT FRUIT CASSEROLE
1 can pear halves
1 can sliced peaches
1 can white or Queen Anne cherries
1 can pineapple chunks
1 can apricot halves
1 whole orange, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 c. golden raisins
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
3/4 c. fruit juice
1/2 c. sherry
1 tsp. curry powder - optional

Drain fruits and reserve juices. Mix pears, peaches, cherries, pineapple, apricots and oranges in a large bowl. Soak raisins in boiling water for about 10 minutes and drain; add to fruit. Add sugar, and salt to butter and flour and blend. Add fruit juice to sugar mixture and stir to blend. Cook over low heat to thicken. Cool and add 1/2 c. sherry. Pour over mixed fruit. Stir in curry powder, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Pour into casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Can be divided into two casserole dishes and frozen before baking. This is an excellent dish for brunches, holiday meals, or anytime. Feel free to use only fruits you like or have on hand.

SHOPPING LIST FOR Menu Wednesday #11
Quiche
Gayle Wicker's Hot Fruit Casserole
Muffins (or other breads or rolls) your choice

Produce
Fresh mushrooms – 1 c.
Vegetables for quiche – (optional) your choice (fresh, frozen, canned, leftover) – broccoli, spinach, onion, pepper, asparagus, etc.
Orange - 1

Pantry
Salt
Freshly ground nutmeg
Canned pear halves – 1
Canned sliced peaches – 1
Canned cherries, white or Queen Anne – 1
Canned pineapple chunks – 1
Canned apricot halves – 1
Golden raisins – 1/2 c.
Sugar 3/4 c.
Flour – 3 tbsp.
Curry powder – 1 tsp. (optional)

Meats
Meat for quiche – (optional) your choice of bacon, sausage, crab meat, ham, etc.

Dairy
1 unbaked rolled pie crust
butter – 1 stick
Swiss cheese – 16 oz.
Half & half – 1 1/2 c.
Eggs - 3

Miscellaneous
Dry white wine – 1/4 c.
Sherry (not cooking sherry!) – 1/2 c.

Bakery
Muffins, rolls, coffee cake, Danish, donuts of your choice

MENU OF THE WEEK #8

Menu #8 - When you come home at the end of a long, busy day and just want to put on your jammies and curl up on the couch, why not fix breakfast for dinner. This yummy French Toast is perfect comfort food and it's so easy to make, you'll wonder why you don't eat breakfast last more often.

I got the idea to make French Toast this way when I read about dipping the eggy bread in Cap'n Crunch cereal before frying it. I love Cap'n Crunch so much, that I don't even risk buying a whole box and having it around the house. Instead, I thought, how about a crunchy panko crust? I've never once been tempted to sit down and eat a whole box of panko! So I tried it with some Challah bread and I loved the result -- maybe more than Cap'n Crunch. Try it and see what you think. Feel free to leave a comment here if you like it, or especially if you have a French Toast recipe you like even better. I want to taste it if you do!

INSANELY DELICIOUS FRENCH TOAST
Eggs
Milk
Vanilla
Panko
Cinnamon
Challah
Crisco
Butter
Maple syrup
Fresh fruit puree – optional (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.)

Mix eggs, milk and a good splash of vanilla in a wide, flat bowl. Place Panko is another wide, flat bowl. Sprinkle Panko with cinnamon and mix together. Slice bread in 1-inch thick slices. Melt a little Crisco and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Soak bread slices in egg mixture and then coat with Panko. Fry in skillet until browned on both sides. Keep warm in 200-degree oven until serving with butter, syrup and/or pureed fruit.


SHOPPING LIST for MENU #8
Insanely Delicious French Toast
Bacon, Sausage or Ham
Fresh Fruit

PRODUCE
Fresh fruit - your choice
Melons, pineapple, berries, citrus, bananas, etc.

PANTRY
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Panko
Crisco
Maple Syrup
Challah Bread

MEAT
Bacon, sausage, ham, or Canadian bacon
DAIRY
Eggs
Milk
Butter