Caramelized Onion and Zucchini Quiche

I poured through this month’s Cooking Light Sunday afternoon while sitting by my parent’s pool yesterday and immediately changed my menu plan for the week when I saw this quiche recipe. I love recipes that you can mostly make ahead and then just have hands-off time the night you want to eat it. Of course, when I told Brian that we needed to buy 13 zucchinis (5 for this recipe, 8 for another later this week), he was a little scared. Given that we consumed about a dozen of these babies last week, I’d say his fear was pretty understandable.

Mini Apple Pies

Who doesn’t enjoy a mini pie? I whipped these up in about 20 minutes for a party and they were yummy! I of course used store bought crust because, let’s face it, I avoid baking at all costs and I certainly don’t do crust. As far as apple pie goes, this is a pretty standard variety — which was exactly what I was craving.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I just found these pictures on my computer and cannot believe I never posted this recipe! This is probably the best dessert I’ve ever made, and it couldn’t be easier! Picture a pecan pie combined with a chocolate chip cookie. Amazing.

Blueberry and Cream Pie

Happy 4th of July! I’m happy to be writing this from one of my favorite places in the world: Cape Cod. It’s the very best thing about Massachusetts, in my opinion. We drive 90 minutes from Boston, sit on a lovely private beach, swim in the sea, eat 1,000 clams from the bay per person, watch the zillions of little bunnies frolic in the street and yards, and soak in the salty air. And then eat pie. Fabulous.

Mushroom and Pancetta Tart

I had no intention of making this today, but I found myself with some extra time and extra ingredients and the desire to laze around the house and cook. I’m so glad I did. This is a bit of a quiche/tart/frittata idea, and it’s delicious. The pancetta definitely makes this dish, so don’t skip that. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the crust, so next time I’d try this one instead.

Chicken Torta with Pistachios and Capers

I’ve been looking forward to making this for a while now, but since it is a teensy bit labor-intensive (and the weather has been way too beautiful to sit inside and cook), it had to wait for this lazy, cool sunday afternoon. I think the best part of this recipe, for me, is that I again overcame my fear of dough and rolling pins. I intend on playing around with the filling (hello summer veggies!), but the crust was perfect, if I do say so myself.

**Update: I just ate this at room temp for lunch and I think I liked it even better this way. The lemon flavor really comes through and compliments the capers well. The pastry is still the bomb.

Shepherd’s Pie with Scallion Cheddar Crust

Ok, I may have outdone myself with this one. Totally comfort food, totally delicious. I’ve been looking for a good shepherd’s pie recipe for a while, and have tried a couple of RR’s recipes over the years…well, THIS is the only recipe you want for shepherd’s pie, legit.