Thanks to one of the snowiest winters in Boston's history, I am FLYING through my 15 recipes for 2015 list.

Here is another one I've been meaning to try for a long time. 

Check out the original recipe by the Pioneer Woman.

ADAPTED RECIPE - WHAT'S DIFFERENT?
I adapted this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. There are four small differences.

1. Quantity - The one thing you have to be careful of when making a Pioneer Woman recipe is the number of servings. She often cooks or bakes for large groups, which is why her recipes are great for parties, but they usually need some adjustment when I'm cooking for just me and Rob. This portion is 1/3rd of the original (*although more than 1/3rd portion of buttermilk is needed for it to come together. See my adapted recipe below). This made 6 biscuits, which is enough for two or three people. Or maybe 4-6 people, if you are serving other food as well.
2. Buttermilk - The biscuits call for buttermilk, but seriously, I'm not going to buy a whole thang of buttermilk for this little biscuit recipe. So, as Pioneer Woman, and many other bakers have suggested,  I used milk mixed with a little bit of vinegar in place of buttermilk.
3. Scoopin' - Ree portions out the drop biscuits with two spoons. I used my medium scoop to get 6 equal-ish sized biscuits. MUCH easier, since this batter is pretty sticky. They were still crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and had those nice dark golden-brown edges.
4. The Meat - Pioneer Woman uses ground breakfast sausage. I had links in my fridge, so I removed the skins from three of them, and cooked the meat inside. Use what you have, or buy whichever is the better deal. 

This was my first time making biscuits - I always thought they were complicated, but they were actually very easy. 

Next time, I will experiment with adding flavors to the batter - fresh ground pepper or roasted garlic or chives. They would all be delicious with the sausage gravy.

I served the gravy in a bowl next to the biscuits, but when it came time to eat 'em, I broke up the biscuits into pieces and poured the gravy over the top.

Rob used his butter knife to spread a little gravy on his biscuit before each bite, like an INSANE PERSON. 

How do you eat biscuits and gravy?

There's nothing I love more than getting a new kitchen toy. 

Most recently, I purchased this 11 x 7 inch, removable-bottom tart pan. When I get something new, I tend to go a little overboard at first - like make 3 quiches in 2 weeks. I bought this tart pan specifically for this quiche recipe - you can see they use a similar one in the original recipe. I have since found other uses for it as well - stay tuned for future posts featuring tart-shaped things! 

Everything looks more beautiful when it's done in a tart pan.

ADAPTED RECIPE - WHAT'S DIFFERENT?
I adapted the recipe below from Real Food by Dad. Two things are different.

1. The crust - the original recipe calls for a puff pastry crust, which I'm sure would be buttery, flaky, and delicious. I've been experimenting with pie crusts lately, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and turn this into a pie crust recipe. This does add the extra step of blind baking (or pre-baking) the crust, which adds about 20 minutes of cook time.
   
2. The asparagus - I used frozen asparagus spears. Why? Because my supermarket didn't have any fresh ones in the dead of winter. But as it turned out, there were lots of other benefits too - The frozen ones were cheaper, came as the perfect size, and were already blanched. If you use fresh spears, just make sure you blanch them for a few minutes in boiling water before adding them to the quiche.

MAKE IT AHEAD
You can make and prep the entire quiche ahead of time. Make the crust a few days in advance - just keep it wrapped tightly in the fridge, or put it in a freezer bag in the freezer.

Mix the quiche filling (at least everything except the pretty things you lay in last) a few hours, or up to a day before you are going to bake. Eggs, cream, cheese, broccoli, cooked sausage - just whisk it all together and keep it covered in the fridge until it's time to bake!

PRESENTATION
I like to leave it in one piece until it's time to eat. I haven't found a way to cut it as clean as they do in the original (see the nice, fancy triangle pieces?). So save yourself the trouble, and keep it all together so everyone has a chance to oo and aww at it before you cut 'er up.

The bright, fresh colors, the contrasting shapes, the golden, flaky pie crust...so pretty! 

If you try the recipe, let me know how it goes!

Check out the original recipe at Real Food by Dad

We celebrated the Superbowl the same way we do every year - food, puppies, friends.

This year, the Chili Masters were first-time contestants, Steve & Bridget.

Everyone is all smiles after the Patriots take home the trophy (or cup or whatever you win when you do football - this is why I'm in charge of the food.)

Can't wait until next year!!!