Quiche And Make Up

I don't have alot of girlfriends and quite frankly, I find it hard to make friends within my own gender. Why is that, I wonder? Is it because we, as women, are happy with only having a few close girlfriends to share our secrets with and don't want to broaden the circle? Or maybe, we as {single} women, feel other women are competition within our pool of male friends? Or....dare I think it's because I'm really not a likable person? Surely not! Regardless of the reason, the few girlfriends whom I do have are near and dear to me because I realize how special the bond is.

My friend Angela is a lovely person, both inside and outside. She is of Greek decent and is blessed with beautiful olive skin and dark hair. She also has a baby-soft voice that makes me melt every time I hear it so I can't imagine what it does to the men! She's a thoughtful person - the kind who calls for no reason other than to just say hello. We met when we were both young(er), single and living the high life here in Charlotte. We partied. We shopped. We laughed. We took weekend trips to Hilton Head. It was during one of those trips that Angela and I found ourselves in a situation that would cause a rift in our friendship. That rift would go unaddressed for nearly 9 years while our lives took different directions and it was also something that forever troubled me. And even though that water had gone under the bridge so long ago and I felt the friendship was gone for good, when I relocated back to Charlotte Angela was the first person I called. She owns a staffing/recruiting agency and with her help I landed my current job which made my entire transition back to Charlotte so much easier.

A few weeks after my move, Angela and I met for dinner and drinks and we chatted about "safe" things like the weather, our love lives, our jobs, etc. And then THE DREADED SUBJECT came up. We didn't talk specifics or rehash the incident. Instead, we each apologized for letting something that now seems so trivial come between us and the air was cleared and our consciences were lightened!

Lovely Angela is coming to see my new house tonight and I'm serving a dinner of quiche, salad, and some delish chocolate chip cherry cookies that I made from Bon Appetit earlier in the week. We'll laugh. We'll gossip. We'll plan shopping trips and weekend getaways. It will be like old times only better because now we both know how special we truly are to each other!















Bacon, Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

Recipe By : Candy Wallace - APCA
Serving Size : 8
Categories : Quiche

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1/4 pound bacon -- cooked and crumbled
1 small onion -- cooked (I saute it in the rendered bacon fat!)
1 1/4 cups half and half or milk
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
dash cayenne pepper
dash nutmeg
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco sauce
2 ounces fresh mushroom -- sliced & sauteed just a bit
3/4 cups Swiss cheese -- diced (I used smoked Swiss)
1/2 cup frozen spinach -- thawed
1 9 inch pie crust -- defrosted

Beat eggs with seasonings and add half & half or milk. Layer bacon, onion and mushrooms, cheese, spinach. Pour in egg mixture. Bake in 375F oven for 40 minutes.

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Cherry and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe By : Bon Appetit Magazine, July 2008
Categories : Cookies, Desserts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup dried tart cherries
1/3 cup cherry liqueur (I used cherry brandy)
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Bring cherries, cherry liqueur, and water to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat and let soak for 15 minutes. Drain cherries; pat dry.

Preheat oven to 325. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs and both extracts and beat to blend. Add flour mixture and beat on low just to blend. Stir in cherries and all chocolate chips. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 1" apart.

Bake cookies until edges are light golden brown, about 11 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.