For breakfast tomorrow!

Since the quiche was such a huge success, I made another one today. I think it has become a tradition to make some extra mini quiches for the next morning!

Julia has recently decided to rate my food with a star system and after taking her first bite of today's quiche she exclaimed that it was worth 100 stars! Aww, sweet girl, she knows how to make mommy happy!

Spinach and bacon quiche

I am quite ashamed to say that I am French and I just now made my first quiche! Oh well, better late than never, right? For some reason, I always thought that quiches were difficult to make but I have been quite culinarily adventurous lately and as it turns out, it was very easy to make and oh so delicious! The only "difficult" part would be to make the pie crust but you can buy those already made so that's not a big deal at all. I had one in the freezer from last time I made some (I used this recipe.)

And ok, I just have to say that I know it doesn't look very well presented and you'd probably not guess by just looking at this picture but it was extremely delicious! All three of us absolutely loved it!

Ingredients:

- 6 large eggs, beaten

- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

- salt, to taste

- freshly ground coarse black pepper, to taste

- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped and packed

- 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

- 1 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese

- 1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I baked the pie crust first -with rice as I didn't have beans- and I forgot that it shrinks when it's baking. I will remember next time!

Combine the eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender.

Layer the spinach, bacon and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. I actually forgot this and mixed the cheese in the blender with everything else, that's why you can't see any cheese in the picture!

Pour the egg mixture on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the egg mixture is set. I think I baked mine about 5 minutes too many...

Cut into 8 wedges and serve. You can also eat it cold, it tastes very goo that way too!

I had a little extra egg mixture so I baked it in a ramekin and had it for breakfast the next day!

I used this recipe.

Chocolate Mousse

When I was a teenager, I used to make chocolate mousse very often. It had been at least 10 years since I had made some so I was a little nervous when I set off to make some a few weeks ago. I think the result was pretty good but in an effort not to "break" the eggs, I think I didn't incorporate the chocolate well enough witch resulted in some white lumps. Nothing dramatic, but it's definitely something I need to improve on next time I make it!

This recipe is from La Tartine Gourmande.

Ingredients:

- 150 g dark chocolate

- 1/2 cup (100 ml) cold heavy cream

- 10 g sugar

- 5 egg whites

Melt your chocolate using the bain-marie technique.

Heat the cream until boiling.

Add the cream to the melted chocolate and mix well. It should thicken.

Beat your egg whites firm.

Before they are fully firm, gradually add the sugar and continue to mix.

Then, very carefully, add the egg whites to the preparation, making sure not to "break" the eggs. Use a wooden spoon to describe large circular movements.

Place in individual cups or a large bowl.

Chill at least one hour before serving.

Pain d'epices.

Pain d'epices can be translated as "spice-bread". It is a traditional French bread full of flavors and its main ingredients are rye flour, honey and spices. It is very dense and flavorful so one usually eats it by the very thin slice. Some like it by itself while others enjoy it with a bit of butter or jam. I love it with apricot preserves! This bread can be kept (in a dry cool spot) for more than a week and it actually gets better with time, as the flavors meld together.

I followed David Lebovitz' recipe and it came out great!

Brioche.

Making Brioche has been my biggest baking endeavor to date. It is a very time consuming process but the result is oh so worth it! This sweet and buttery bread is to die for! Brioche is something that reminds me of my childhood. It is very common to have a brioche for breakfast in France, just like croissants and pains au chocolat (chocolate croissants). Brioche and cafe au lait (coffee and milk) go very well together. I love dipping my brioche in it!

I know there are going to be too many pictures but I don't want to leave anything out for those who are going to make this. I know that, for me, seeing lots of pictures along with a recipe helps me visualize the process better and makes it a lot easier!

The recipe is from Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan. The stand-mixer is courtesy of Maia!

The first step is to make the sponge. For this, you will need:
- 1/3 cup warm whole milk

- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all purpose flour

Put the milk, yeast, egg, and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Mix the ingredients together with a rubber spatula, mixing just until everything is blended.

Sprinkle over the remaining cup of flour to cover the sponge.

Set the sponge aside to rest uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. After this time, the flour coating will crack, your indication that everything is moving along properly.

The dough:

- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups (approximately) all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Add the sugar, salt, eggs, and 1 cup of the flour to the sponge.

Set the bowl into the mixer, attach the dough hook, and mix on low speed for a minute or two, just until the ingredients look as if they're about to come together.

Still mixing, sprinkle in 1/2 cup more flour. When the flour in incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat for about 15 minutes, stopping to scrape down the hook and bowl as needed.

During this mixing period, the dough should come together, wrap itself round the hook, and slap the sides of the bowl. If, after 7 to 10 minutes, you don't have a cohesive, slapping dough, add up to 3 Tbsp more flour. Continue to beat, giving the dough a full 15 minutes in the mixer.

In order to incorporate the butter into the dough, you must work the butter until it is the same consistency as the dough. I used the back of a large spoon. When it's ready, the butter will be smooth, soft, and still cool. Not oily or greasy.

With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter a few tbsp at a time. This is the point at which you'll think you made a huge mistake because the dough that you worked so hard to make smooth will fall apart. Carry on.

When all of the butter has been added, raise the mixer speed to medium-high for a minute, then reduce the speed to medim and beat the dough for 5 minutes or until you once again hear the dough slapping the sides of the bowl. Clean the sides of the bowl frequently as you work, if it looks as though the dough is not coming together after 2 to 3 minutes, add up to 1 Tbsp more flour.

First rise: Transfer the dough into a very large buttered bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Second Rise and Chilling: Deflate the dough by placing your fingers under it, lifting a section of dough, and then letting it fall back into the bowl. Work your way around the circumference of the dough, lifting and realeasing.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight or at least 4 to 6 hours.

This is what my dough looked like in the morning:

Your dough is now ready to be used in any brioche recipe. I decided to make into 2 braided loaves and I used the directions from the King Arthur baking blog. Scroll down to about the middle of the page for the braided loaf version and follow the directions. They omitted the oven temperature/time. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting with foil after 15 to 20 minutes.

This is how much my loaves rose after 2 hours 45 minutes. They could have used another half an hour or so, I am sure, but I was getting too impatient!