Back in college, when Matt was trying to a-woo me, he cooked me dinner. Gorgonzola chicken with Pasta, to be precise. A bold choice, since he had no idea what my thoughts on gorgonzola were. It's a polarizing cheese, and he uses A LOT of it. Fortunately for him, I loved it. We keep it as a special occasion meal, so that it doesn't become old-hat, and retains its sentimental value.
Whenever I eat gorgonzola, it reminds me of courtship and budding romance. By that, I don't mean that romance stinks. hehe. It's just where my mind zaps back to whenever I taste it. I was really excited to try this weeks French Fridays with Dorie recipe:
Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche (pg 157 of
Around My French Table).
I've used Dorie's tart dough recipe before, but I had an impossible time with it this go-round. It wouldn't roll out. It just kept crumbling like sand beneath my rolling pin. I finally got fed up and squished bits of it into the tart pan in a semi-even layer. This seemed like a good solution, until I pre-baked it, and giant cracks formed on the bottom. Wonderful. I didn't have time to start over, so I crossed my fingers and forged ahead.
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| That ain't right. |
Fortunately, this wasn't a very wet quiche. I jammed cooked onion and diced apple into the cracks as best I could, scattered cubes of gorgonzola dolce on top, and held my breath as I poured the custard in. It didn't leak! Huzzah! As a side note, I'd never heard of gorgonzola dolce before. We usually use straight-up gorgonzola. The dolce kind was wetter, creamier, and a bit milder. In other words: delicious.
You'd think we were starving hyenas (sorry, been watching a lot of Lion King lately) if you saw how we demolished this quiche. We ate the entire thing, except for one modest slice. I don't even think we spoke while we stuffed our faces. The sweet-tart bits of apple were the perfect contrast to the cheese and the buttery crust. I couldn't believe my eyes when I stopped floating near the ceiling, settled back in my seat, and realized the quiche was
gone.
Conclusion: We loved this one. I need to take a Saturday and devote myself to stockpiling tart crusts in the freezer. Dorie has taught me to love quiche, but I hate how time-consuming it is to deal with the crusts.
Awe, what a sweet story. That meal sounds like as good a reason as any to marry him!
ReplyDeleteWe loved this quiche too, so darn tasty. In my own ongoing struggle with tart dough I decided this week that it was time to move on and try a different recipe. If you own the Joy of Cooking, I would suggest taking a look at their chapter on pie dough. Whether you use their recipe or not, there is quite a bit of good information on how to deal with this tricky dough. I think my next step will be to look for a few YouTube videos so that I can see exactly what the dough is supposed to look like at each stage.
Awww :-) The Dude makes a seafood Newburgh that he "tries not to spoil me with" (i.e. it takes an act of God to get him to make it).
ReplyDeleteI added an extra half teaspoon of water and that seemed to whip this dough into submission.
I love gorgonzola as well, I am sure I would have inhaled this. I always take the easy road and make an olive oil tart crust ... so quick, I have no patience for the other kind anymore!!
ReplyDeleteAw! That's great that an otherwise "stinky" cheese evokes special, sweet memories for you and your husband. I've had trouble with Dorie's tart dough as well, and succumbed to hand pressing it into the pans as well. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI salute your perseverance in wrestling this tart into submission! It was really good - worthy of entree status.
ReplyDeleteGorgonzola and romance..interesting combo. I usually add 2 - 3 teaspoons more of water depending on the size of my egg. Here in Oklahoma the air is dry! There are so many variables in flour, egg size, and humidity that sometimes we have to make changes. We were pretty hyena-ish our selves:)
ReplyDeleteSometimes things just don't work out in the kitchen...sounds like your dough was just a little too dry. Nothing worse than trying to roll out or press together a too-dry crust. I think many crust recipes and food network bakers make us feel like adding a tiny bit more water will ruin our crust dough, but just the opposite is true. That said, your finished quiche looks great!
ReplyDeleteI love this quiche but I don't like struggling with pastry so I feel your frustration!
ReplyDeleteEven though I had trouble covering my tart pan, the good thing about dough is that you can always
ReplyDeletepatch it. I have done that dozens of times. The end result is always good, just as yours is. It looks
wonderful, and evidently tasted good too. Glad you both enjoyed it, cause Tricia and I did too.
This was a nice recipe, great flavour. I usually puzzle-piece my pie crusts together, no one can ever tell once it's filled with something good :)
ReplyDeleteLove that you floated to the ceiling while you ate. Such a great image.
ReplyDeleteI need to try the dolce!
Necessity is the mother of invention -- aka Peggy
You had a hit with this recipe. That's great that it was so popular with your family. It's always nice to find a new winning recipe.
ReplyDeleteLovely story and it sounds like a bit of a test too - will she eat it?!. Does she like me and my cheese? <3 . Beautiful looking tart. Folks have given good advice on the tart crust, but I can't resist adding my 2 cents. I never follow the exact recipe either - if you use butter, you'll often need less water, but its very dependent on your type of butter, how dry your flour is, the humidity that day...Krissy is right, dough is much more forgiving than most bakers let on. add water till it comes together. (Spoken by the baker that made a dozen crusts of all kinds every day for three years). Crust love to you.
ReplyDeleteI like your wooing story. I enjoyed this quiche way more than I expected. Glad it was a hit at your house.
ReplyDeleteNice! Great to see a recipe that's a slam dunk. It couldn't possible be because y'all have sentimental attachment to this glorious cheese ;) What a great story!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute post. I love that this took you back to your courtship days. :) I also used the docle which is now a favorite and I will probably sub it in a recipe that calls for gorgonzola for now on. Your quiche looks wonderful and I can see why you devoured it.
ReplyDeleteI love a good story about a man wooing a woman through food. I lived through that, and "our" special pasta is penne with vodka sauce and smoked salmon. I learned a great tip from the tart dough recipe I used - save a "raspberry sized" piece of dough to patch up any cracks that come after baking the tart crust. Glad to see you both enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteMy only suggestion regarding this tart dough is to "whirrrrrr" this dough in your Cuisinart. I like to make my dough "by hand", really, but the more I cook and bake, the more I realize that I must take some shortcuts, if they are good ones. Loved your early-Valentine story.
ReplyDeleteLove the story of your budding romance, and the stinky cheese connection. :) I am also happy that I am not the only one to have recipe issues some times. (Read my upcoming post on the Baking with Julia recipe for Chocolate Truffle Tarts-a similar situation with tart dough). For all of your trouble you ended up with a beautiful quiche. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific story! It is a beautiful looking quiche, and the taste is terrific as evidenced by the ending of your story!
ReplyDeleteYeah, my crust was the same way...I think it needed more liquid. I don't think I'll be using Dorie's recipe again! But the tart was good...and yours look wonderful! Loved the story of your first gorgonzola dinner together~
ReplyDeleteCrumbly tart dough aside, it looks like you wound up with a wonderful quiche! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet account of your courtship! I only wish my BF would cook me dinner eventually. But I'm afraid I can only hope for a protein shake (that's totally his thing. I fear protein supplements). Good call on patching the cracks with onions, apples, and cheese! Pastry can be finicky and even the most reliable recipe can behave differently depending on humidity. Glad to see that your quiche turned out so beautifully and enjoyed by all!
ReplyDeleteYour quiche looks wonderful! I smiled while reading through this post, what a sweet guy making that special dinner for you :) I could not find gorgonzola dolce and don't think I've ever really had it (unless, perhaps, at a restaurant, since if something has gorgonzola on the menu I usually order it) and will really keep my eyes open for it while shopping. I loved your description of it and it just makes me want to try it even more since I love the regular gorgonzola so much.
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