Ahhhh....BRUNCH!

Don'tcha just LOVE brunch? I sure do. And today, I decided that the best way to make use of some of the treasures in the CSA basket that my friend Jaymie shared with me was to make a quiche. I was inspired--dare I admit it--by the quiche that I saw Trisha Yearwood make on her new Food Network show. Below was the recipe from which I took my inspiration, but mine hardly resembled Trisha's quiche.
First of all, I halved the recipe and only made one quiche. Instead of sausage, I used smoky bacon ends from Oscar's Smokehouse (which always has chunks of ham in it as well) that I browned in advance and roughly chopped. I also sauteed half an onion, and three big stalks of rainbow chard (stems and leaves--chopped). Then for the cheese, I used mozzarella and smoked gouda (grated). Also, I pre-baked my pie shell (Marie Callender's), because I LOATHE a soggy crust! Finally, I added a couple of tablespoons of light cream to the egg mixture which, in my opinion, could have used at least one more egg to fill up the shell. It took 35 minutes to bake at 350 (covered with foil, since I pre-baked the crust). DELISH, especially if you let it sit for awhile and cool to warm or even room temperature before serving.

Trisha Yearwood's Country Quiche
(Source: Food Network)

1 pound ground pork sausage with sage
1 teaspoon baking powder
20 grape tomatoes, sliced in half and sprinkled with salt
6 large eggs
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
salt and pepper
two 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shells (set them out to thaw while preparing the other ingredients)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the baking powder, tomatoes and eggs together. Add the cooked sausage and the cheese to the egg mixture and stir together with a large spoon. Add salt and pepper and divide the mixture between both unbaked pie shells. Bake until the filling is set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cook's Notes: To lighten up this quiche, use turkey sausage and egg substitute.

I also blame Jaymie for the next bit of decadence as well. While the quiche was still baking, she posted a recipe for a "kick-ass" homemade Bloody Mary mix that I just had to try. After all, it ain't brunch without a Bloody Mary, right? I sorta followed the recipe, but I only made about a third of it, and I started with Spicy Hot V-8, so I didn't add the hot sauce. Also, I didn't have jarred olive brine or horseradish, so I substituted dill pickle juice and some grated garlic. Annnnd, I was also out of celery, so I threw in a few pickled green beans for stirrers and a couple of pickled carrots for color and to make it like a liquid salad experience. Tee hee. SO YUMMY!

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix
(Source: Former Chef)

3 tablespoons dijon mustard
3 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 tablespoon hot sauce (like Tabasco)
2.5 oz lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1.5 oz lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tablespoon olive brine
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
64 oz tomato vegetable juice

Mix all ingredients together and--preferably---refrigerate overnight. Add vodka and a celery stick stirrer for a Bloody Mary, tequila for a Bloody margarita, or just drink it straight up for a Virgin Mary. ;-)