Here are all three recipes - all very good and, really, pretty easy to pull off in one morning.
First up was the Ham and Cheese Quiche. This is a recipe that I've posted it before and it is still one of all time favorites. It is so simple to make and so very tasty!!
Next up is the Easy Cheese Danish which I adapted from The Barefoot Contessa on Food Network.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
- 2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.
This are so yummy! I left the lemon zest out (we are not huge fans of the zest in things) I also made up a quick glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice to drizzle on top as well.
Finally, we had some Cheesy Hash browns. The recipe I used was adapted from a Racheal Ray recipe on Food Network.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cups shredded frozen hash brown potatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- 1 cup extra-sharp white Cheddar crumbles
Directions
Heat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and let soften 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown and crispy. Season with a little freshly grated nutmeg, to taste, and add cheese. Turn the potatoes and onions with cheese to melt the crumbles and crisp the cheese a bit, about 1 minute. Transfer to serving dish
This recipe worked perfectly. I just used shredded cheddar in place of the Cheddar crumbles and it worked out fine.
If you try any of these recipes please let me know if you like them (and don't tell me if you don't LOL)
