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Make-ahead quiche Lorraine, step by step
Hello, friends. I’m going to reset my kitchen today. At least I’m telling myself (and you) that I will. I was visiting some friends last weekend, and when I opened their fridge, I actually gasped. Everything was sorted and stacked in clear containers; even the drinks were lined up. It was a thing of beauty and made anything feel possible. I guess this is why people like to meal prep. So! I’ve included meal prep ideas for this week below, and I’m starting with a quiche Lorraine. I’ve been in quiche mode all spring, and to make the baking process more relaxing, I get nearly every component ready long before guests arrive so I can assemble the quiche quickly and pull it out of the oven when they show up. For this Craig Claiborne classic, start by making his egg-yolk-enriched butter dough. (And save the egg white!) Instead of refrigerating the dough ball for hours or days, go ahead and roll it out after a brief chill. Once it’s in the pie plate, it can be covered and refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for a month. Of course, you can start with a store-bought frozen crust or ready-to-roll pie dough. What you can’t skip is blind-baking the rolled dough: Set a sheet of parchment paper over your dough-lined pie dish, fill it with dried beans and bake. Mr. Claiborne lets it go for 10 minutes to set the sides; I double that time so that even the bottom is completely dry because I really hate even the slightest uncooked bottom crust. If the pastry cracks with my long blind bake, I brush some of that reserved egg white in the crevices to seal them. While the crust bakes, you can prep the fillings. The cheeses, bacon-onion mixture and custard can be used right away or refrigerated in separate containers, and that blind-baked crust will keep at room temperature for a few days. An hour or so before you want to serve your warm quiche, fill the crust and slide it in the oven. Easy! Featured Recipe Quiche LorraineHere are more plan-ahead, springy recipes for the week: Sheet-pan scallion chicken with bok choy: Kay Chun opened my eyes to the glories of roasting bok choy with this easy meal. You can make the scallion mustard marinade ahead of time, or, for even more flavorful chicken, coat the meat with it for up to a day before roasting. Khoresh rivas (savory rhubarb and bean stew): Rhubarb’s high-pitched tartness and celery-like stalks are fantastic in savory dishes, and this one from Naz Deravian keeps its magenta hue and crisp bite intact. The whole stew base can be cooked a day in advance, and the rhubarb can be seared and then steamed over the stew just before serving. Bavette steak with tahini-vegetable salad: Rhubarb also goes savory in this spring salad, as do strawberries. Melissa Clark adapted this lovely steak dinner from Kate Kavanaugh of Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe in Denver. It stars flavorful and tender bavette steak, which is sometimes labeled flap or sirloin tip. The tahini-lime dressing can be chilled days ahead, and the fresh vegetables and herbs can be refrigerated in paper-towel-lined airtight containers overnight before you toss everything together. Spiced chickpea and lentil salad: My favorite kind of meal prep is completing a dish, and then eating it all week as its seasonings deepen and fuse together. That’s what happens with this salad from Hetty Lui McKinnon: The cumin and turmeric mellow into the roasted onion, celery and tomatoes. All tossed, this lemony blend will last the work week. Chocolate crunch cake: The crunch is key to this double chocolate dessert, which has been linked to Brown Bakery in Saudi Arabia or Fillin in Kuwait and was popularized through social media. In this version from Kayla Hoang, you can make the tender base cake a day ahead and the topping right before serving so the chocolate-coated cereal crackles with each bite. Have a great week! For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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