Sometimes I wonder how our culture arbitrarily assigns gender stereotypes to food, of all things. Obviously I’m guilty of categorizing girly food and manly food too. But “real men eat quiche”? I really don’t see how quiche deserves this unjust stereotype implying it is not masculine enough. Is it because it’s fussy? It’s no more fussy than a wedge of pie which apparently is the way to capture a man’s heart. Is it because it’s French? Last time I checked, French food is very well-liked in North America. Is it because of its ingredients? Egg, cheese, and cream are hallmarks of hearty breakfasts. Seriously, unless you’re a fake man made of plastic and graces store windows as your reason of existence, you really ought to eat quiche.
After that little rant, you would think I devoured my Apple Goat Cheese Quiche with Leeks for this week’s French Fridays with Dorie. Actually, not a single bite. Who doesn’t eat quiche? Athlete with aspiration to go to World Masters Championship in exactly 100 days. Yes, an opportunity landed at my doorstep to represent Canada as a masters (35+) inline speed skater. Of course I want to do everything I can to prepare for the race and that includes getting back to my race season peak shape. A treat made of tender buttery pastry, rich custardy filling, savoury goat cheese, and tart apple dices has no place on my plate.
What made the cut to my plate is a Beet Salad with Walnut Sherry Vinaigrette that I packed with the quiches as an impromptu picnic. A nice bottle of iced apple cider came along in the hamper to complete the meal. Our recent warm spell had me dreaming of al fresco dining and awaken the picnic fanatic in me.
The individual 3” quiches were made not for the cute factor. Actually, I do not enjoy the tedious task of lining all seven tart tins with pastry dough at all. However, the buttery crust did provide protection to the custardy filling for ease of transportation. My choice of filling also departed from Greenspan’s recipe in Around My French Table. Gorgonzola dolce was replaced by the even milder young goat cheese. Onion was substituted by butter sautéed leeks for a more delicate allium hit.
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If you ask me, I would absolutely stick with the original recipe for the choice of cheese at least. I adore blue cheese. But since the quiches were not meant for me, I had to make more crowd-pleasing decisions. Blue cheese as an ingredient is just too polarizing. The quiches were quickly enjoyed by all so I can only assume that they were good.
The beet salad was right up my alley. Beets were scrubbed, boiled, and peeled. I tossed them with a vinaigrette made with walnut oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, and shallots. A few leaves of parsley added freshness and colour in that sea of red. Of course a pretty canning jar was just the right container since it is leak-proof.
If you would like to find out other blogger’s rendition of this week’s quiche, come check out French Fridays with Dorie!
