Mini Wonton Wrapper Quiche Recipe

These are just perfect as an appetizer, snack, or buffet breakfast / brunch.  My tennis team acknowledged Breast Cancer Awareness last week and this was one of the things we ate.  I baked them in the morning and brought them warm, still in the pan.





Here's what I did.  NOTE: This recipe makes 24 quiches. There are 48 Wontons Wrappers in a package so this can be doubled to make 48 quiches.  

To get a jump on it, the night before, cook 6 slices Thick Slab Smoked Bacon until crisp and grate 1 Cup Emmentaler Cheese.


The following morning, first take the wontons out of the refrigerator so they warm up and become pliable, otherwise they will crack.  Preheat oven to 350.  While oven is warming, do some prep.  Melt 1/2 Stick Butter.  Crumple the bacon.  Cut 12 Grape Tomatoes in half the long way.    Brush all the cups of a mini-muffin pan with the melted butter.  To a bowl, (I used a batter bowl for easy and quick pouring) add 5 Eggs, 1/2 Cup 1/2 & 1/2, 1 Tbl Flour, S&P to taste.

Keep the wontons in a stack and cut all 4 corners off.  Working 1 at a time, brush each wonton with butter and arrange it in each of the cups, butter side down. Fill each cup with Egg Mixture.  Add 1 tsp of Grated Cheese, crumpled Bacon (you have enough for 1 slice per 4 cups) and top with a Grape Tomato, cut side up.  Place in hot oven and bake for 18-20 minutes.  Serve at once straight out of the pan!

Frozen Chocolate Mousse with a Chocolate Cookie Crust

If you want to impress your friends, make this dessert.  It's a bit time consuming but it's all cleaned up by the time you entertain.  My inspiration came from a spring-form pan I found that is 3" tall and 6 1/2" in diameter.  I basically made my chocolate mousse recipe, with a few changes, and froze it.
For the Cookie Crust, in a food processor, add 12 Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Cookies.  Add 1 Tbl Sugar and 1 Tbl melted UnSalted Butter.  Grind until you have find crumbs.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap in the pan to ensure your mousse won't stick.  It should hang over the sides.  Add a generous layer of crumbs in the bottom of a spring-form pan and gently tap using a flat bottomed glass or a round meat tenderizer.  Place in freezer.
The mousse recipe is made in 3 basic steps.  Organize how you will use 2 pots and 3 bowls, as you need 2 double boilers.

To a bowl that will fit into a pot to create a double boiler, add 6 oz Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate, 6 oz UnSalted Butter and 1/4 Cup Water.  Fill pot with 2" water and heat over medium heat.  Place the bowl in the pot.   Melt the mixture while stirring until smooth.  Remove from heat and allow to return to room temperature.

Separate 4 Large Eggs, the whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a bowl that will fit over a pot of water.  In the second bowl, over 2 " simmering water, use a hand mixer to beat 4 Egg Yolks with 1/3 Cup + 2 Tbl Sugar and 4 Tbl Frangelico.  This will take about 15 minutes.  It should be fairly thick, almost like runny mayonnaise.  Remove from the heat and place the yolk mixture bowl in an ice bath in order to cool the bowl and therefore yolk mixture.  Continue beating the mixture until is is cool to the touch.  This may take about 15 minutes.

Fold the Chocolate Mixture into the Yolk Mixture.

Beat Egg Whites until frothy.  Continue beating until they begin to hold their shape. Add 1 Tbl Sugar and beat until shiny and add 1 tsp Vanilla.

Fold 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate mixture.  Do this 2 more times.  Add this on top of the cookie crust.  It should fill the pan to the top.  Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.  To serve, whip 1 Cup Heavy Cream with 1 Tbl Sugar until the peaks hold.
Remove the ring from the frozen dessert and discard the plastic wrap.  Cut the frozen dessert with a sharp knife and place on a plate.  Add a dollop of whipped cream.  Either sprinkle with leftover cookie crumbs or chocolate shavings and serve at once.

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is a wonderful autumn dish that can go with any number of meats (ham, pork, lamb, beef or poultry) or can be eaten as the entree.  This dish takes time to cook so you shouldn't plan on walking away while it is cooking as it needs periodic attention.
First, skin a Small Butternut Squash.  If you haven't worked with one, the neck is solid meal and the bulb is where the cavity.  Cut the squash in half where the two sections meet.  Place the cut side on a board and using a sharp knife, remove the skin using a top to bottom motion, turning as you go until all that is remaining is the meat.  For the neck, cut long slices about 1/4" thick.  Cut the slices into 1/4" strips and dice into 1/4' cubes.  For the bulb, cut in half and remove the seeds.  Place squash on a board so it represents a dome.  Cut 1/4" slices, cut the slices into 1/4" strips and the strips into 1/4" cubes.  Some of these pieces will be misshapen because of the curves but try to keep the general dice uniform so it cooks for the same length of time.  Dice a Small Vidalia Onion into 1/4" cubes.  Heat an empty sauce pan over medium heat.  Add 2 Tbl Olive Oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the vegetables and cook stirring often for about 6-8 minutes until the onion has sweated and the squash begins to become soft.  Do not brown the onion.  Add 1 Cup Arborio Rice.  Stir for about 1 minute.  Begin adding 32 oz of good quality Chicken Broth, 1/4 cup at a time.  (NOTE: If you are serving this to a vegetarian, use vegetable broth.)  Stir during and after each addition.  As the rice absorbs the broth, it's time to add more.  Continue adding broth until the rice is cooked but not mushy.  You may or may not use all of the broth.  Add Kosher Salt and White Pepper to taste.  Serve with Grated Parmesan Cheese.  Though I didn't add any herbs, after eating this I concluded that I would add finely minced Rosemary or Thyme.