ham & fennel quiche

i heart quiche. and totally loving how easypeasy it is to make a homemade, crustless quiche. simple goodness.

so believe it or not, i still have some leftover ham in my freezer from the holidays! and as much as i love grilled ham & cheese sammies, they can get a little boring — and i can only eat so much bread in a week. the solution? crustless ham & fennel quiche. low-carb, simple goodness. :)

- preheat oven to 375F

the fennel:
- remove 1 fennel bulb from green stems & fronds
- slice bulb into quarters along the vertical and remove the inner core
- slice fennel into thin sticks

quiche batter:
whisk together the following ingredients in large prep bowl:
- fennel sticks
- 6 large eggs
- leftover honey ham (sliced into bite-sized chunks)
- 1.5 tsp herbes de provence (divided)
- 1/3 cup appenzeller cheese (grated)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns

bake it:
- pour quiche batter into a round, oven-safe baking dish
- bake quiche for 20-25min at 375F, or until golden brown
- allow to cool on rack before cutting quiche

food styling:
- cut quiche evenly into pie wedges
- serve quiche wedge w/ organic mixed greens & your fave (homemade!) salad dressing

honey ham & grilled cheese sammy

sandwiches don’t have to be boring. this honey ham & grilled cheese sammy just oozes with flavour and personality. the perfect (non-boring) companion for a tall glass of milk. yummers.

and what’s even better is that it’s a simple recipe for leftover redux. still not sure what to do that leftover ham from the holidays that’s still sitting in your freezer? check this out…

prep the ingredients:
- defrost slices of leftover honey ham
- cut a few slices of appenzeller cheese (gouda or gruyere would melt well, too.)
- cut thick slices of wholewheat sourdough bread

i love the locally-made, artisan sourdough from sidewalk citizen bakery. there’s something really comforting about aviv’s artisan bread — perfect for grilled cheese sammies!

grillin’ the sammy:
- melt 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter in pan on medium heat
- on the inside of the sourdough slices, spread horseradish dijon mustard on each slice
- place slices of appenzeller cheese on inside of each slice

- pile on the sliced honey ham on one of the sourdough slices
- lightly drizzle honey on the ham
- sandwich together the slices of sourdough
- press sandwiches firmly w/ kitchen spatula
- grill in pan on medium heat for 2-3min (flip sides) until toasted brown & cheese is melted
- remove from heat & set aside to cool slightly

spicy capocollo & fontina pizza

when it comes to pizza, sometimes it’s all about the meat. this recipe is definitely no exception. :)

i found some spicy capocollo in the deli at the grocery store the other day, and figured this was no ordinary ham. while the hawaiian pizza flavour combo of ham & pineapple is one of my faves, i knew that this capocollo was heading in another direction. alongside some fresh fontina cheese, hothouse tomato, zucchini squash — and, of course, garlic! — this spicy capocollo added some real pizzazz to this pizza. check it out…

- preheat oven to 400F

prep the toppings:
- 75g extra-lean spicy capocollo slices (cooked, torn into pieces)
- 75-100g fontina cheese (red peel removed, grated)
- 1 hothouse tomato (rough chop)
- 1/2 zucchini (sliced rounds)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled, diced)
- ground oregano
- lemon & herb seasoning

prep the dough:
- sprinkle some whole-wheat flour on a clean surface before rolling out the fresh pizza dough
- using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough into a thin, round pie
- sprinkle some more flour on the dough pie, flip over before applying the rolling pin again
- place the prepped dough pie on a pizza stone (at room temperature) or a lightly-greased, round baking pan