The main dish was kind of a combination of different recipes I had read on MarthaStewart.com. I went looking for recipes Friday night so I knew what to get at the farmer's market on Saturday. It really just comes down to the fact that you can put pretty much anything in a quiche, you just have to keep the quantities correct so it'll bake well. I found sorrel, which I had heard of before but never seen, and leeks, which I thought would be a nice additive. I used farm eggs my mom had, and some old gruyere cheese, which can make practially anything taste good.
For the crust I used a recipe for pate brisee, I got it from my Baking Handbook by Martha Stewart, but it's a pretty common, basic pie dough recipe you can find a lot of places. And I think this is the best pie crust I've made in a long time. I have been trying to do it in a food processor, as Martha says is so easy, but the water doesn't mix into it well at all. I've gone back to cutting my butter in with a pastry blender, then I mix it with just my fingertips to make sure the butter is well incorperated and the dough is starting to stick together. Then I add cold water, usually more than the recipe calls for, and just make sure it's well distributed. Pat it out and let it sit in the fridge until you use it. People think making their own pie crust is hard and takes a lot of time, but it's only about ten minutes until it's ready to go. It really should sit for a while so the flour molecules can soak up the fat and water.
Dandelion salad I've heard of, but I've never seen them for sale anywhere. They were more bitter than I thought they'd be. I didn't tell my family what it was until they ate it, they have a tendency to not want to eat things that sound abnormal. But I was surprised when I told my mom and she supported me that it was actually something people eat. She claims she had it at a very fancy restaurant once. The dressing was good, a few tablespoons of lemon juice, a few dashes of white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and probably about a third cup olive oil. It was exactly what the salad needed.
The hash was much more basic than my mom thought it was. Potatoes, onions, and carrots thrown into a pot with oil and sauteed until they started getting soft. Then salt, pepper, and paprika was stirred in and I added the leftover ham scraps from Easter. It was delicious. I should make different kinds of hashes more often.
I think my family's favorite part of the meal was the brown sugar glazed bacon. They went on and on about it but it was the easiest part of the whole meal. I laid bacon on a baking sheet and sprinkled some brown sugar on it then baked it until it started to get crispy. That's it. No turning or anything and it was perfectly cooked.
After lunch my grandma came over for afternoon tea, which I also made from scratch, and again it was much easier than anyone thought it could be. I bought a mint plant at the farmers market yesterday and this morning I picked a few stems of it, put it in my french press, and added boiling water. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes and drink. It was delicious, fresh and refreshing without caffine or sugar. To go with it, and since it wasn't really the kind of tea my grandma's used to, I made earl grey tea cookies. They were like shortbread but softer because I used powdered sugar. And you just mix a couple bags of tea into the flour before adding it to everything else. They were delicate, not overpowering, and everyone liked them a lot more than they thought they would.
Overall it was a big morning of making things, all from scratch, as many local and fresh ingredients as I could get my hands on, and I tried several new foods today. Happy Mother's Day.
Great article! I had heard of Dandelion salad too and have always wanted to try it. Judging from the pic's everything turned out very nicely done. Brown sugar glazed bacon speaks for itself. I don't know one person who wouldn't like that... =]
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