Pie and Pastry Bible (98 page)

Make the dough (page 32). Roll, shape, and prebake it (see page 251). While it is still warm, brush it with the egg white (see page 20).

Preheat the oven to 350°F at least 15 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating.

Cook the spinach according to the package directions. Set it aside, covered.

In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When bubbling, add the onion and sauté, stirring often, for about 3 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

In a large bowl, beat together the evaporated milk, eggs, celery salt, and pepper. Stir in the onion mixture, then the spinach and any liquid, and the cheese. (You
will have 2½ cups of filling [about 20 ounces/570 grams].) Spoon this mixture into the prepared tart shell.

Place the tart pan on the baking stone or sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the filling puffs slightly, the top is set to the touch, and a thin knife blade inserted near the center comes out clean.

If using the quail egg yolks, with the back of a wooden spoon, make 6 small depressions at even intervals about 1 inch from the outside edge of the quiche. Place a quail egg yolk in each. Continue baking for 5 minutes. Remove the quiche from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before unmolding. If using pine nuts, scatter them around the periphery of the quiche, about 1 inch from the outer edge.

Unmold the quiche (see page 251) and serve warm or at room temperature.

STORE

Refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days. To reheat, bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 350°F. oven.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Quail eggs are available in specialty food stores and Asian markets. If you have trouble finding them, ask your local Japanese restaurant where they get theirs; they are a popular ingredient for sushi.

If using a two-piece tart pan, place it on a baking sheet with low sides or a jelly-roll pan just in case the filling should leak.

To prevent curdling, bake only until the knife blade comes out clean.

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Use a white porcelain spoon or drop a small amount onto a white plate to check the color, as it will look darker in the pan.

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You may have to overlap sheets of plastic wrap to roll the dough large enough.

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A 9-inch parchment circle is the perfect size because the bottom of the tart pan is slightly smaller, so that the parchment goes a very little way up the sides, preventing any leaking.

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I like Betty Crocker packaged crust. Simply add the ¾ cup grated cheese to it and follow the package directions.

BISCUITS AND SCONES

I
n pastry terms, the only difference between biscuits and scones is shape. Biscuits are round, scones triangular. Biscuits and scones are actually the bridge between pastry and cake. They are prepared like a flaky pie dough but they contain the same basic ingredients as cake (flour, fat, liquid, sugar, and leavening)—only less liquid. If the butter or fat is kept cold and in large pieces, biscuits and scones will be a little flaky, though never as flaky as puff or flaky pastry.

Puff pastry consists of equal weights of flour and butter (e.g., 8 ounces each) and half the weight of water (4 ounces). Basic flaky pastry has the same proportion of butter to water (8 ounces to 4 ounces) and about one and a half times more flour than puff pastry, which makes it quite similar to puff pastry, depending on how it is made.

Cream scones and biscuits, on the other hand, have the same basic ratio of flour to butter as flaky pastry but twice as much liquid. (This is taking into consideration the 36 percent butterfat contained in the cream. If buttermilk is used, they have still more liquid and less fat.) They also contain sugar and baking powder and/or baking soda, which sweeten and tenderize the dough, making it more cake-like. No wonder biscuits and scones are so popular; they are like having your cake and eating pie crust too!

TOUCH-OF-GRACE BISCUITS

T
here are many people who consider Shirley Corriher to be the queen of Southern biscuits. This recipe for her biscuits has appeared in articles and cookbooks, including her own
CookWise.
The secret to her fluffy biscuits is using a lot more liquid (more than double the usual amount!). Another secret is the Southern tradition of the “rising oven.” This means that when the biscuits are set in the oven, the temperature is immediately turned up so that a burst of heat rises up, giving extra lift to the biscuits.

Heavy cream will make a more tender biscuit, while buttermilk will make a little lighter biscuit with a slight tang. Compared to Butter Biscuits (page 353), these biscuits have less fat and more sugar and liquid, making them very light. Because they are made with shortening, the biscuits have less flavor than biscuits made entirely with butter, but the trade-off is that they are whiter, lighter, and fluffier. Of course, they can be spread with butter after baking if you love the butter flavor. They are also tasty Southern-style, filled with ham and topped with pepper jelly.

EQUIPMENT

An 8-inch round cake pan (or 6-inch pan or skillet for half the recipe), lightly greased (biscuits must be snug in the pan, so make only half the recipe if you have the 6-inch pan); optional: a number 30 cookie scoop (2 tablespoon capacity)

Preheat the oven to 475°F. at least 20 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack at the middle level and place a bread pan half filled with very hot water on it before preheating.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the self-rising flour, sugar, and salt (and baking powder and extra salt if not using self-rising flour). Add the shortening in 1-teaspoon-size pieces and, with your fingertips, work the shortening into the flour until pea-size or smaller. Mix in the cream and/or buttermilk. (You can also use an electric mixer on low speed.) The mixture will be very soft, like mashed potatoes. Allow it to sit for 2 to 3 minutes; it will stiffen slightly.

Place the all-purpose flour in a small pan. Using a cookie scoop or a large spoon, scoop out a biscuit-size lump of wet dough (a heaping scoopful) and drop it onto the flour. Sprinkle the top lightly with some of the flour, then pick up the biscuit and shape it into a round, gently shaking off any excess flour. (Hold the biscuit in your left hand, with fingers partially closed so that thumb and index finger form the letter C; with your right hand, tamp down the top of the dough so that the biscuit is 1 inch high and 2 inches in diameter.) As soon as it is shaped, place the biscuit in the cake pan. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the biscuits snugly up against each other so that the soft dough rises up instead of spreading sideways.

Brush the biscuits with the optional melted butter and place them in the oven. Raise the heat to 500°F. and bake for 5 minutes. Lower the heat to 475°F. and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly brown. Allow the biscuits to cool in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes before unmolding them onto a plate. Split the biscuits in half, preferably using a three-tined fork.

STORE

Room temperature, airtight, up to 2 days; frozen, up to 3 months. To reheat frozen biscuits, sprinkle with water and bake in a preheated 300°F. oven for 15 minutes. A cake tester inserted in the center and removed will feel warm and the outside of the biscuits will be crunchy.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Any bleached all-purpose flour will be fine for these biscuits, but White Lily (see page 634) really makes the softest, lightest ones.