Salmon Quiche

It is all in the pastry base. Really!!! What you want is something that is firm and interesting, and for this reason I added about 20 almonds that I had diced into small crumbs. They are surprises in the pastry. In addition I added half a teaspoon on rough crushed extra hot red chillies and half a cup of grated tangy Hergard cheese from Sweden. The other ingredients are 3 cups of flour and six table spoons of olive oil. Mix the whole lot in a bowl until it looks like a pastry dough. Squeeze it though your fingers untill all the crumbs are bonded together. Then place it in the centre of a big baking dish and press it out from the centre to the edges until it covers the dish. Put it in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 230 C



Now for the killer filling and I do mean killer filling since the amount of calories and fat and cholestorol is equivilent to a heart attack on a plate. Crack three eggs into a bowl and add 2 dl of sour cream and half a cup of grated strong mature black label Emental. Then add three large dollops of mayonase, and five finely cut mushrooms.
Beat the hell out of the mixture and when it looks thick and creamy pour it into the pie dish and then sprinkle some smoked salmon over the top and dust down with som Parmesan cheese. Pop it in the oven for 40 minutes at 200 C and sit back and enjoy the aroma that fills the kitchen.



Since you know just how much evil stuff you have added to this dish you can assuage your conscience by serving it with some Japanese Mizuna, and some cheap white wine. Be sure to eat it all before you wife returns from her weekend away.

Foccaccia

I like to make Foccacia bread. It is so simple and quick to prepare and it tastes wonderful. You can go to specialist bakeries and get artizan bread but they will cost you an arm and a leg, so it is so much easier to prepare it yourself with good ingredients that will give you a bread that is full of flavour and a joy to eat.














Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 bag of mozzarella pellets
Shredded fresh rosemary for topping.















DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and fresh shredded rosemary.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.