Hummus

For Jeramey's birthday party last night, we needed a fabulous appetizer to compliment the 8 layer cake, beef wellington, roasted vegetables, and potatoes au gratin.   Having recently purchased a jar of tahini as a birthday present (many thanks to Lydia!), we whipped up (rather, Jeramey whipped up, with some instruction) this fantastic batch of traditional chickpea hummus.

As many people know, chickpeas are an earthy, filling, protein-rich legume that goes great on salads and in sauces, or by themselves in a chickpea based dish.  When processed with olive oil, tahini, and garlic, you're guaranteed to have an appetizer that is a major crowd pleaser and clearly delicious!
 

Hummus
This recipe is a traditional garbanzo bean hummus recipe including tahini, garlic, parsley, and seasonings.  Use the below measurements for a large batch that is cheaper to make than a small 3 ounce container at any store.  For other hummus recipes, checkout Queen Blogtress, Elise Bauer's version here.

Ingredients:
* 2 cans garbanzo beans (15 ounces), drained
* 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 2/3 cup tahini (roasted)
* 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup water
* salt & pepper to taste
* 2-3 tablespoons parsley, chopped, to taste
* pine nuts, garnish

Special Equipment Needed:
* food processor

1.) In a food processor combine two cans of garbanzo beans, pressed, or minced garlic, olive oil, tahini, water, and seasonings.

2.) Process until smooth.

  

3.) Taste to balance the salt-pepper-parsley palette.

4.) Serve with pinenuts and parsley as a garnish and a dollop of olive oil.  Serve with pita, vegetables, or crackers.  Enjoy!

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Jeramey's Birthday Party!

March and April are two very busy months when it comes to birthday parties.  Everyone seems to be celebrating a birthday, and I find myself in a heightened demand for cooking. 

Saturday night, we held an early birthday party to celebrate a Mr. Jeramey Jones's 28th year.  Photos courtesy of Jeramey's fancy camera and recipes forthcoming!

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Asparagus & Prosciutto Quiche

My friend Lydia LOVES quiche.  If she could eat something everyday, I'm pretty sure it would be quiche.  Ham quiche.  Spinach Quiche.  Or this recipe, her new favorite, Prosciutto and Asparagus Quiche. 

This asparagus and ham quiche is as flavorful as it is attractive: sauteed mixed greens with thinly sliced quality ham makes for a satisfying veggie-ham crunch.  Stir in your favorite seasonings (pepper, thyme, etc.) and you've got a breakfast dish that is Clearly Delicious.

Asparagus and Ham Quiche
This recipe comes from Elise Bauer and can be found here. The original calls for regular ham over prosciutto, and suggests you use Elise's all butter crust recipe (you can find it here and on Elise's blog).  However, when in a hurry, feel free to buy one of those pre-made pie crusts and just prepare the filling.  It's kind of like cheating...kind of...but makes the below process so much faster!

Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 bunch asparagus (about 10 ounces), woody stems removed
* 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
* 1/2 pound ham, or prosciutto thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup cream
* 1/2 cup milk
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
* black pepper, freshly grated, to taste
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1 pie crust (premade, or all butter pie crust recipe here)

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Line pie dish with pastry dough and prepare ingredients (chop shallots, asparagus, and ham).  Don't forget to remove the asparagus's woody ends.

2.) Warm olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes and add asparagus, cooking for an additional 10 minutes, or until tender.

3.) Beat 3 eggs and combine with 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk.  Whisk together to fully integrate.

4.) Add asparagus, shallots, ham, and seasonings to egg/quiche mixture.  Once fully integrated, pour into your waiting pie crust dish.

5.) Put in oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean (just like when you're baking a cake).

6.) Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit for five minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

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