Baked Doughnuts Recipe

Don't over bake these, if anything, under bake them a bit - they will continue baking outside the oven for a few minutes. You want an interior that is moist and tender - not dry. Also, be sure to cut big enough holes in the center of your doughnuts - too small and they will bake entirely shut. Remember they rise, and they rise even more when they are baking. These really need to be made-to-order, but you can make and shape the dough the night before if you want to serve them for brunch. Instructions: after shaping, place doughnuts on baking sheet, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Pull them out an hour before baking, and let rise in a warm place before baking.

My note: I would bake as many as you can eat right away, then do this refrigeration bit. They really only taste good hot hot hot!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001561.html

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour (alternately, white whole wheat might work - haven't tried it yet)
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments - if your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place (I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Most people (like myself) don't have a doughnut cutter, instead I use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat immediately if not sooner.

Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen medium doughnuts.

Bouchon Quiche Recipe

This is a superb quiche. It's the quiche from Bouchon, you know Thomas Keller? They have one in Vegas and if you get the chance, go get the quiche! If you like quiche, it's just amazing.

Below is my version of his recipe. More info on this quiche can be found at
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/12/sunday-brunch-thomas-kellers-quiche.html
This does take a while to make, so be prepared. So worth it. You can also use whatever fillings and cheese that you like. These are just the ones that I like. Probably not so good with cheddar or monterey jack, though. :)

Bouchon Quiche Recipe

Pie Crust (I use Trader Joes Pie Shells)
Preheat oven to 375.
Line the tart pan with parchment paper. I cut a long strip for the sides, and then cut a circle to just fit the bottom. Roll out piecrust to fit 9x2 removable bottom tart pan. Make sure there is enough to go fold over the top edge of pan. This will keep the crust from shrinking when baking. Line the bottom and sides with a sheet of parchment paper (yes, two layers of parchment total). Be careful getting the parchment in, you don't want to tear the pie crust. Trim pie crust if there is a lot of excess hanging down the sides. You still need some to go over the edge, but the excess can be used for repairs after the first 15 min. Use pie weights and strips of foil to cover the edges of the crust and hold them in place. Place on jellyroll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the weights, parchment and foil. Bake another 10 minutes. Also, make sure there are absolutely no holes or thin spots in the crust (can cause leaking batter – if batter leaks, that just means less fluffy filling)

Quiche Filling (I usually do this earlier in the day, like after lunch and a few hour later, I start the rest)
6 ounces each shredded Fontina and Gruyere cheeses ( I had extra leftover)
6 slices bacon, finely chopped
½ bag frozen chopped spinach
1 large onion, finely diced

On medium high, sauté the bacon to render the fat. Remove the bacon oil. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Defrost the spinach and squeeze out all the water. Separate. Scatter half the filling (bacon and onion, cheese and spinach) evenly into the hot quiche shell (still on the jelly roll pan)

Quiche Batter
2 cups milk + 2 tablespoons
2 cups heavy cream
6-7 large eggs
1-tablespoon kosher salt (maybe a little less if your filling has bacon)
¼ tsp ground white pepper (I used black pepper)
6 gratings fresh nutmeg

Combine the milk and cream in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until scalded (a skin begins to form on the surface). Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly 10-15 minutes. Put 3 eggs, half the milk and cream mixture, 1.5 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and 3 gratings of nutmeg in blender and blend on low for 5 seconds to mix, then increase to high for 30 seconds till light and foamy. This is the first layer of the quiche.

Blend the batter once more and pour enough of the batter to cover the filling and fill halfway. Top the batter with the remaining filling ingredients. Blend the remaining batter ingredients once more and fill the quiche shell all the way to the top. You may have some batter left over. Be careful when transferring to the oven, you might want to fill the very last drops when it’s in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes. The filling level will drop. Pour in the remaining batter to fill to the top. There may be leftover batter.

Bake 1 hour 15 minutes (maybe more) until the top of the quiche is browned and the custard is set with the pan is jiggled. Remove the quiche from the oven and let stand 15 min before serving, or cool, then refrigerate until chilled (up to 3 days). Once the quiche is chilled, using a metal bench scraper or sharp knife, scrape the excess crust from the top edge. Return to fridge until ready to serve. The quiche will slice cleaner if it is fully chilled first. So this is best made the day before you plan on eating it.

To serve, heat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with oiled parchment paper. Using a long serrated knife, and supporting the sides of the crust with our opposite hand, carefully cut thru the edge of the crust in a sawing motion. Switch to a long slicing knife and cut thru the custard and bottom curst. Repeat, cutting into 8-10 pcs. Place the pcs on the baking sheet and reheat for 15 minutes.

PS. the picture above is the quiche in the article, not the quiche for this recipe