The Novel Bakery

‘Food isn’t about getting through the day, Sebastian.’ She waved her bread under his nose as if he didn’t already have his own piece just begging to be finished. ‘It’s about stopping and appreciating the moment. It’s about exploring new tastes and textures. It’s about giving yourself a little piece of comfort or joy and sharing that with others.’

The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine, 4/5 stars

Ari Glavan adjusts to her new role as princess while also investigating the mysterious trouble her brother, the newly crowned King, has gotten himself into. Her coping strategy: baking. This is definitely a princess I can get behind.

She’d baked obsessively–it was the only thing that kept her grounded in the chaotic upheaval of her new life…

The Wish Granter is Book 2 in C.J. Redwine’s Ravenspire series. Each book is a stand alone novel, so you’d be able to pick it up without first reading The Shadow Queen. I gave The Wish Granter an extra star than Book 1 for a few reasons. First, the story felt newer. A quarter way through the novel I actually wondered if The Wish Granter was a re-telling or its own original story. Second, I loved Ari. She was so sassy. There were a couple of times when she made me laugh out loud. Like this reprimand:

‘Seriously, what is the point of having all this butter if you aren’t going to use it?…Now, please tell me you have bacon or sausage.’

There was so much amazing food mentioned in this novel, I feel I could do a baking series on it!

There are peach tarts, biscuits with fig butter, and freshly squeezed juice set out in the dining hall. Feel free to help yourselves.

Yes, please!

I wanted a dish that would make Ari proud. It would require pastry dough. There was so much talk of pastries and cutting butter into flour, it had to include pastry. I opted for a pie crust.

Quickly cutting the butter into the flour with her fork until a pastry dough formed, Ari passed the bowl to one of the kitchen maids, who’d just finished whipping up a sauce to go with the basted lamb shanks, and turned to her best friend Cleo.

Meat – preferably sausage or bacon – was also a priority. And, thus, I settled on a creamy, bacon and herb infused quiche encased in a flaky pie crust. This recipe is flexible, depending on your preferences.

I love adding goat’s cheese or brie, but…pregnancy and soft cheeses don’t mix, so I opted for a hard cheese. You can also switch out (or nix!) the veggies. Just make sure you cook whatever veggies you use before adding them to your quiche. Moisture is your nemesis. And you have some freedom with the milk/cream. If I’m preparing the quiche for a party, I’ll throw in at least some cream. If it’s going to be my lunch for a week, I prefer to lighten it up with milk. For this recipe, I had some leftover cream in my fridge and so did a cream/milk mixture for each quiche.

Herb-y Bacon Mushroom Quiche 

Makes 1 quiche

Ingredients: 

Your favorite pie crust. I love Joy the Baker’s all-butter crust, found here. I left out the sugar and added 1 tablespoon of basil plus 1/2 tablespoon of oregano to my dry ingredients before I cut in the butter. 

For the mushrooms: 

1/2 tablespoon of butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 pound of mushrooms

For the broccoli: 

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

For the bacon: 

4 slices of bacon, prepared according to directions on the package (I like the oven method), and chopped into bite size pieces

For the filling:

3 eggs

2 cups of milk or cream (or a mixture of the two)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of basil

1/2 cup of swiss cheese, shredded

Directions: 

1. Wash your veggies and drain before laying them out to dry on paper towels. Allow to dry while you prepare your pie crust.
2. Place a 9-inch round pie dish in the refrigerator to chill. Prepare your pie crust and chill the crust according to your recipe’s directions. (See my notes above. I left out the sugar in my recipe and added herbs to the mixture).
3. The Mushrooms: While the crust is chilling, melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Once melted, add the minced garlic. Cook slowly for about 5 minutes so that the garlic does not burn. Once the garlic is aromatic, add the mushrooms, turning up the head to medium. Cook for about ten minutes. Once your mushrooms have expelled water into the pan, turn up the heat to medium high to help cook off all the moisture. Once you have cooked off the water, spread the mushrooms across a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to dry.
4. The Broccoli: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the broccoli in the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread across a cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, stirring the vegetables in the middle of the cooking time.
5. Roll out your pie crust to 13 inches on a lightly floured surface, working quickly so that your butter doesn’t start to melt. Center the dough in your chilled 9-inch pie dish, using kitchen scissors to cut off any excess edges. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling. Let the pie crust cool in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. The Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and then slowly whisk in the cream, salt, pepper, and basil. Stir in the cheese.
8. After the oven has preheated, remove the pie crust from the freezer. Layer the mushrooms, bacon, and broccoli along the bottom of the pie crust and then pour the filling across the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the center is set. It helps to test the center with a knife to make sure the filling isn’t still liquid-y.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Happy baking!