Subject: Roquefort Quiche
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Mon Oct 22 2001 - 02:22:58 EDT
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F O O D F U N N Y
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Reader Pat Cahill writes, "Chef, my dear, I received the following in
an email today; I don't recall seeing it in the recipezine yet. If
you stand back and squint at it really hard, you could call it a "Food
Funny." A buddy of mine has already dubbed it a "groan-o-matic
extraordinaire!"
Cleaning out the aviary at a run-down zoo, the keeper finds two
finches that have died of old age. He picks them up and places them
in a sack. After cleaning the cage he puts the sack in his
wheelbarrow and moves on to the next cage. When he reaches the
primate cage he finds two chimps who have also died of natural causes.
"Waste not, want not," he says as puts them in the sack with the
finches.
Later at feeding time, he flips the dead animals from the sack, into
the lions' cage. "Darn!" roars the Lion, "Not finch and chimps
again!"
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T O D A Y ' S R E C I P E
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If we had to decide the turning point in American tastes in food, from
the standard "meat and potatoes" to more eclectic fare, my nomination
would be the publication of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in
1961. This is the book that launched the revolution in the way
Americans think about food, published in a time when things like
Roquefort cheese, Belgian endive, and cheese souffles were considered
exotic, and people thought that authentic French cooking was the
exclusive domain of master chefs in expensive restaurants. Ironically,
we will probably never fully appreciate the profound impact Julia Child
and her co-authors had on the way people eat in this country because
it all seems so natural today, so please remind yourself that if this
book had never been published, we might still be a nation subsisting
on nothing more exciting than mushy meatloaf and over-cooked
vegetables.
"Quiche" hadn't entered the American vocabulary when this book was
originally published, and most people thought that blue cheese was
good for salad dressing and not much else. Happily, we have come a
long way since then, and here is one of the classic recipes that
helped pave the way.
All recipes this week are adapted from "Mastering the Art of French
Cooking, Volume One"
by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck (Knopf, 2001, 40th
anniversary edition)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375413405/worldwiderecipes
Roquefort Quiche
1 pastry shell (8 inches, 20 cm)
4 oz (100 g) Roquefort or other good quality blue cheese
6 oz (150 g) cream cheese at room temperature
3 Tbs (45 ml) heavy cream
2 Tbs (30 ml) butter at room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
A grating of fresh nutmeg
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
2 tsp (10 ml) chopped fresh chives
Partially bake the pie shell in a preheated 375F (190C) for about 10
minutes, until it just begins to change color. Meanwhile, beat
together the Roquefort, cream cheese, cream, butter, eggs, salt,
pepper, nutmeg, and optional cayenne. Press the mixture through a
sieve to remove all lumps and stir in the chopped chives. Pour the
cheese mixture into the partially bake pie shell and bake for 25 to 30
minutes, until the filling has puffed and the top has browned. Serve
warm or at room temperature. Serves 4 to 6.
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