Italian Beef. Trust me, it's worth the ten minutes it takes to make it.

Italian Beef. Need I say more? Well, I suppose I do if you want to be able to make it for yourself. Here goes...
I really cannot think of something more flavorful that requires so little effort. We'll start with the ingredients. Since this is a crock pot meal, you can get everything together, throw it in, and wait for the smell to make you salivate like a drive past Dunkin' Donuts in the morning.
The Meat.
This is also a great dish because you have the luxury of using whatever kind of roast you have, or whatever is on sale. I love things with that kind of flexibility! Whether its a Rump Roast, or Bottom Round Roast, you will still have great results.
The Peppers.The other ingredients are few and simple. A jar of Pepperoncino peppers... (yes, the kind that come with that Papa John's Pizza you shouldn't have had for dinner!:) They sell them where the pickles and olives are in the store, and you can either get a jar of them whole or already sliced. I use the sliced ones because the joy of this meal is compounded by its simplicity. Some people just dump the whole peppers into the crock pot, but then it makes it difficult to eat the sandwich unless the peppers aren't eaten. And that is a very sad thing.

So, we've got meat that has been seasoned well with salt and pepper (3-5 lbs is good, leftovers freeze well if you are lucky enough to have any), a jar of peppers, about 5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, (just smash them, peel them and throw them in) and a crock pot. I have thrown in a couple of sliced onions before and that is good as well. Use some beef stock for the cooking liquid and make sure you check it periodically to make sure it doesn't get dry. I usually use about 12-16oz. You can even add water if you need to so the meat can continue to cook in the liquid. Otherwise, this is all you really need. Time is the best ingredient for these sandwiches, so it is best on low for anywhere from 8-10 hours. If you are in a hurry, put it on high and it will take about 5-6 hours, although it is better if you can cook it low and slow.

The Bread. Don't forget the importance of the roll! The most important thing when choosing your bread is that it be freshly baked (pretty much every grocery store bakes fresh rolls every day for their in-house bakery) and that when they are heated in the oven the outside gets nice and crunchy and the inside stays soft. Heat them up whole for just a minute or two, slice the rolls open, spoon in some juice from the crock pot, then fill them with the tender meat that will have fallen apart on its own. Mozzarella cheese can be put on them and throw the sandwiches back in the oven to melt it. Honestly, its great either way. Just enough spice and so very delicious. Enjoy. :)

Let's Start Simple

Quiche. What could be better on a cool fall morning than a freshly baked quiche? Not much, that's for sure. Unless you say a freshly brewed cup of coffee, but that's a given.

I have come across a surprising amount of people who have either had a bad quiche
experience, or just are afraid to make it themselves. It is just not as difficult as it seems,
believe me. Not to mention how versatile they can be once you master the basic idea.
So my first tip is to not be afraid. Honestly, this is easier to make than trying to not break an over easy egg for most people.

When I taught Culinary School, one of the biggest habits I tried to impress on my students was to ALWAYS read through the recipe first. For some reason, they prefered to learn the hard way most of the time, rather than just listening to their super smart teacher. . . but I will tell you the same thing. Read the recipe all the way through before you do anything else. Well, you can have the coffee first, but nothing else!

It will probably force the habit on you to read all the way through since I don't generally stick to the typical recipe format. I feel like specific measurements can give the completely wrong impression that you are trying to completely recreate my dish, instead of making YOUR OWN dish. The goal here is just to be a guideline. I love to encourage people to make new things, and try to learn to get a feel for ingredients and food itself, not just recipes and measurements. Be patient with yourself, taste things, change things, try things, that is the fun part of cooking. This quiche is a great place to start.

Refrigerated Pie Crust. Yes, I think it's ok to use a store bought crust for this one. Besides, who wants to make pie dough in the morning? I know I certainly don't. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Place the pie dough in a pie plate (I know, complicated, right?!)
Make sure you stretch the dough up along the edges all the way, it shrinks when you bake it and you want it to be all the way up the side of the pie plate so the eggs don't run underneath the crust. The main enemy of quiche (and people who think they don't like quiche) is texture, so keep in mind that you want to do whatever you can to keep the crust crisp rather than soggy. Bake only the crust for about 5 minutes or until it starts to turn golden. This will help it stay crisp after you fill it and bake it completely.

While the oven heats and the crust pre-bakes, get started on the filling. What do you like? Put that in as the filling! Seriously, though you can be pretty creative with the flavor combinations in your quiche. In the one pictured above I put sauteed mushrooms, red peppers, spinach and bacon with some monterey jack cheese. But you really can put whatever you like. Ham and swiss is a popular quiche filling, or any vegetables you like. Just be sure you cook the vegetables first, if you put them in raw, the water in the veggies will cook out and give you a soggy runny quiche. Also be careful with your seasonings, most cheeses are pretty salty, so go easier on that and pepper and herbs are a nice addition.

On the partially cooked crust, place your filling (i.e. ham, veggies, bacon, sausage, etc.) top that with shredded cheese of your choice and you are practically done! Whisk up some eggs (usually about 5-6 for a 9" pie crust) and add in some cream. Again, measurements aren't exact here, but use your judgment. If you want the quiche to be firmer or more dense, you will want to use less cream than if you want it to be light and creamier. I usually use about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cream. salt and pepper the egg mixture and pour it over the filling. If you are shy of filling up the pie plate, just whisk another egg and pour it in. Make sure you haven't filled it so much you can't get it to the oven without spilling eggs all over the floor. Although, I guess you are the one who will have to clean it up, so go for it!

Bake it until you can shake it and the center is set. (doesn't jiggle) Usually about 25-35 min. depending on your oven and size of the quiche. You will be amazed at how simple and delicious this thing is when you take it out. Let it rest a few minutes so it doesn't fall apart when you cut into it.


** You can also roll out two pie crusts together and use a 13" by 9" pan if you are serving more people. Just up the amount of veggies, meats, and egg and cream mixture. It is so simple. You can even cook the filling the day before so that in the morning all you have to do is throw it together. It will be our little secret.

Let me know how it turns out! :)

~Chef Becki