Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A Recipe for Fancy Fun


I promised you something special this week, remember?

This past weekend was my daughter's Prom Weekend and it was spectacular. I've posted boatloads of pictures on Facebook, so please be sure to stop by and take a peek.

In the meantime, however, I want to share a little of the fun with you. Don't worry, I've included a recipe too. But, as always, there's a story behind it. And there's a blast from my own prom past at the very end...


First we start with Friday night. Pictures at our house. I didn't count the number of kids, but I heard we had 27 all together. Add in parents, sibs, grandparents, neighbors and friends, and there were a whole lotta people here!

At right: The group in rainbow order.

Fortunately, the rain held off and we were able to take a few shots outside. We probably should have tried to do rainbow order again, but it didn't matter. Aren't they all gorgeous?

The kids decided to forego the traditional limo (there were just too many of them and they didn't like the idea of splitting up) and decided to rent a trolley instead.




(That's my daughter, and her friend) The prom was held at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. What a wonderful place for a party. I wonder what the fish were thinking?



This is one of my favorite pictures:





The trolley dropped them all back off here at about 2:00 AM. Boys went home and the girls stayed here for a sleepover. The boys were supposed to rejoin them here for breakfast Saturday morning before the group took off for new activities, but we only got 2 takers. You think maybe the boys decided to sleep in?



Altogether we had about 14 kids for breakfast (see, you knew I would bring food into play in this post, right?). We served bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, fruit, bagels, pancakes, muffins, and toast. I had planned to serve the spinach quiche too (this prom is for my veggie daughter, after all) but we really had *so* much food, and we were getting a bit busy preparing it all that I decided to forego the quiche for one day. We had it for breakfast Sunday instead. Yum!!

This recipe is from Eggsecutive Orders and if you enjoy quiche, you'll be sure to like this one. Although not difficult to prepare, it is a bit time-consuming (another reason why we decided not to serve it Saturday), and I found that pouring the 4 egg mixture over the top was just too much. I think 2 eggs would have been enough. But maybe I just didn't buy a deep enough deep dish pie crust. As alway, YMMV (your mileage may vary).

In the spirit of fancy ... whether it be for prom or for any celebration that inspires you to create a fun and delicious breakfast, you'll want to keep this quiche recipe handy!


Spinach Quiche

½ cup butter

3 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely minced

1 small onion, trimmed, peeled, and finely chopped

1 pint fresh mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

1 (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

4 ounces herbed feta cheese, crumbled

8 ounces good-quality Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 deep dish pie crust, unbaked

4 eggs

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and onion. Stir gently and cook until onion is soft and slightly browned on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir until warmed through and reduced, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, feta cheese, and half of the Cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Place mixture into unbaked pie shell.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until blended, add milk, whisk to combine well. Pour into pie shell over vegetable mixture.

Place filled pie shell on cookie sheet to keep it from overflowing.

Place into preheated oven. Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes. Top quiche with remaining Cheddar cheese. Return to oven and bake for and additional 30 to 40 minutes. Quiche is done when the eggs are set and firm in the center.

Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve warm.


Now... just for giggles, I'm including a pic from my prom oh-so-many years ago. My date's name was Iver and we went to his prom at St. Ignatius College Prep and to my prom at Maria High School. That was about the extent of our "dating" but I have fond memories of both events. He was a very nice young man.

How proms have changed. Back then I curled my own hair, used a little bit more mascara, and wore a dress I purchased on sale at Wieboldts. (Are they even in business anymore?) These days, it's so much more of an event. To be honest, as much work as it was to get the house set up for all the people, and to make breakfast for a dozen-plus kids, I really enjoyed every minute of the weekend. But I have to admit, I really loved the quiet of Sunday. And having that quiche all to ourselves was a nice treat!

But now it's time for me to turn the tables on you. Did you go to prom? Jump into the comments and share your fun (or horror) stories!

Julie

PS - I'm running the May contest (below) - I hope you take a look and consider entering!

_________________________________________

Julie's May Contest!

Julie’s first book in the Manor of Murder Mystery series, Grace Under Pressure, debuts June 1st! To help launch the book and to celebrate its release, she's running a very special contest: Pre-order Grace Under Pressure any time before May 31, 2010, and you're eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Mystery Lovers Bookshop! (and if you've already pre-ordered, you just need to let Julie know!) No receipts required. Just email Julie at JulieHyzy@gmail.com with the date that you pre-ordered and the name of the bookstore you ordered it from, and your name goes in! (Please put "CONTEST" in the subject header. Thanks!)


Here are a few helpful links to get you started:Mystery Lovers Bookshop (free shipping on book orders over $10!) - Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore (my local bookstore - autographing available) - Barnes & Noble - Amazon.com

Speaking of contests... we have a winner for Riley's April contest! Congratulations to Stacy from Louisville! You've won the Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection. We hope you enjoy it and thanks so much for entering the contest. We'll be emailing you soon with more information. Thanks!

11 comments:

  1. What great photos! The trolley was inspired thinking. I know the kids (and their families) were delighted with all the arrangements. Your daughter is gorgeous.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Molly

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  2. This is so much fun! I love your prom picture and the ones from your daughter's prom. Everyone looks like they're having a GREAT time.

    14 kids for breakfast and the perfect thing to serve! I LOVE quiche!

    Riley/Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  3. Beautiful post! My son is 15 and prom time will be coming up in the next year or so... I would love to have them all here for breakfast - what a great idea!

    I especially loved all the colorful dresses! It seems the girls around here always go for the basic black or white.

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  4. Love the photos of both you and your daughter's prom. I can't image cooking for that any teenagers. WOW. The recipe looks great. Never been that fond of spinach, but this makes it look yummy.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  5. Hi Molly! So glad you stopped by to see the pics. (Aside: I was in NC with Molly, Hank, and Karen Olson when my daughter was officially "asked" to prom, so these ladies have been in on it from the very start!)

    Elizabeth - everyone really did have a great time. The kids were busy the entire weekend. It was almost like having a second spring break.

    Jeanne - having the kids for breakfast was great. We did this for my other two daughters as well. It's just a nice way to cap things off before the kids head out to their next adventure. Thanks!

    Mason - Thanks! And the quiche really doesn't taste too spinach-y, if that helps.

    Julie

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  6. What a fun post! And what wonderful pictures - (i'm so glad you included your prom picture too). I agree - renting the trolley was brilliant. The whole thing has me grinning from ear to ear.

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  7. Hi Kaye! Thanks - I think it's a fun post, too. It's nice to see the kids having fun, and these are all really good kids, too. That makes it even nicer. Thanks for your note!
    Julie

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  8. Beautiful pictures - and memories. You are one great mom, hosting that party. Kudos to you. Love your prom pic, too.

    Let me be the first to publicly admit that I was Geek Girl and did not go to my prom. But college changed everything for me, then my move to NYC, and I was (and am) having the time of my life. BTW - My return to high school for a class reunion was an amazing experience, too. The football star had gone bald and the "geeky" head of the AV crew had turned into a total hunk. Guess who got a date with the latter? Uh-hem, Yes - This was before I met Marc :-)

    Cheers, Julie, thanks for the memories and the great recipe, and the very best wishes to your lovely daughter and her spirited classmates,

    ~Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  9. Oh Cleo, you're talking to the queen of geeks here! Plus I went to an all-girl high school. If it weren't for a good friend setting me up with her friend who also happened to need a date for *his* prom, I wouldn't have gone either. These days proms are so much more about the fun, and so much less about the date. Lots of kids went stag and my daughter's date is one of her best friends, rather than a boyfriend. It's all so much cooler now, IMHO. Plus, the dresses are way cuter than what I wore! LOL

    Julie

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  10. Julie, your daughter will remember that wonderful weekend for the rest of her life. I love the colors! They really did have a rainbow of dresses. Isn't it great that such a huge variety of styles and colors are in fashion?

    What a fabulous mom you are!

    ~ Krista

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  11. Krista - you're so sweet! The truth is that my husband and I had so much fun doing this that it was a great weekend for us too!

    Julie

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