Portuguese Quiche Linguica Cheese Pie Food

CREMINI MUSHROOM, BACON, AND SHALLOT CRUSTLESS QUICHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet, over medium-high heat until just crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring over medium heat, until the mushroom juices evaporate, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the shallots and cook until tender and mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and parsley. Remove from heat, cool slightly.
• Brush a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan with the remaining butter and sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmesan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Scatter half the Gruyere into the pan and crumble the bacon on top. Add 3/4 of the mushrooms, then the remaining cheese.
• Whisk the half-and-half, eggs and yolks in large glass measuring cup. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Pour the custard over the fillings. Top with remaining mushroom mixture and sprinkle with chives.
• Bake until the quiche is just set in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before serving.

PORTUGUESE QUICHE (LINGUICA-CHEESE PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all the ingredients except the linguicia and fill the pastry shell with the mixture.
• Sprinkle the slices of linguica over the top.
• Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until center of quiche is firm.

LINGUICA (SMOKED PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE)

Steps:

• Rinse fatback thoroughly and soak in warm water for 30 minutes. Remove and chop into small pieces.
• Pour olive oil in a small pan and saute garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Remove from pan and put into a large bowl. Add fatback, pork butt, wine, paprika, milk, vinegar, salt, sugar, liquid smoke, marjoram, white pepper, black pepper, and red pepper and mix until everything is well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.
• Test the sausage flavor by frying a small bit of it in a pan and tasting it. Adjust spices if needed and place back in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 more hours.
• Run water through hog casings and rinse out as well as possible. Soak in warm water for 30 minutes.
• Set up sausage stuffing attachment on KitchenAid®. Squeeze out water from a length of casing. Tie one end in a knot, then roll onto sausage making fitting like a condom. Turn KitchenAid® onto medium speed. Feed cold sausage mixture a little at a time into the funnel. Use one hand to keep casing tight and one to feed meat mixture. Twist off links as you get to desired length. Repeat with remaining hog casings and sausage mixture.
• Add several handfuls of hot coal into a smoker to get a base temperature going, then let the temperature die down to about 140 degrees F 60 degrees C). You need a cold smoke to smoke the sausages so it doesn't cook and the skin doesn't get browned.
• When smoker has the right temperature, add hickory wood chunks. The temperature will spike again, so let it cool back down to 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).
• Using toothpicks, hang sausages in the smoker as far away from the direct heat source as possible. Maintain temperature at 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) as best as possible. It's difficult - don't sweat it if you get spikes. Just open the smoker door and let heat escape accordingly.
• Smoke until links are deep red and skin is starting to firm, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove from smoker and let rest for 30 minutes. Cook like any other sausage before, either pan-fry or grill, before serving.

MAUI QUICHE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
• Bake 10-inch pie crusts to directions. Place pie crusts on a wire rack to cool and reduce oven to 325°F.
• Heat a saute pan with olive oil. Add sausage, onion and serrano pepper. Season with 1/4-teaspoon sea salt and 1/4-teaspoon white pepper. Saute until sausage is brown. Remove sausage and place on a paper towel.
• Spread spicy brown mustard over bottom pie crust. Spread grated asiago cheese over mustard. Add sausage, onion, pepper over cheese and press sausage mixture lightly into the cheese.
• In a bowl wisk together eggs, salt and white pepper. In a saucepan add heavy cream, nutmeg, cream fraiche and whisk until cream is warm. Wisk warm cream and herbs into eggs.
• Pour egg mixture into pie crust and place on a sheet pan.
• Bake at 325 F 35-40 minutes or till a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Remove Quich and place on a rack to cool for 10-minutes before serving.
• Serve Maui Quiche warm or room temperature.