Spinach and cottage cheese pie

Last night for dinner I made this kind of quiche which turned out pretty good. Following the recipe of my friend Sergio Ferna'ndez (http://www.rtve.es/resources/TE_SCOMCA/mp3/6/6/1298028695966.mp3) first I greased very well a cast iron pan with butter to place a crust pie mold. Once put inside the oven I heated it to about 200 degrees celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit) for just 5 minutes. Then I boiled a package of spinach and drained it, lightly fried some leeks, onion and then added the spinach to fry them a little more. Out of the fire I added 2 glasses of heavy whipping cream, salt and pepper, 4 beaten eggs, and put the mix in a blender, blended all the ingredientes and added to blend it a little more about 150 grams of cottage cheese (also called curd cheese). At the bottom of the pie I set some pieces of ham, which I couldn't find enough at the supermarket. Then I filled the pie with the mix and put it in the over for 30 minutes at 170 degrees celsius (about 335 degrees Fahrenheit). After it grew like a souffle, it was done, but for the presentation I made an ali-oli mayonnaise I made really quick blending a clove of garlic, salt, Sherry vinegar (from Jerez of course), an egg, and kept adding Spanish olive oil. The result was magnificent, maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but we liked it very much, the crust was baked to perfection, the mixture of spinach and curd cheese quite balanced and tasty and the ali-oli a little strong but yummy nonetheless. The filling of the pie maybe I made too much of it when I added too much spinach: now I can make at least one more pie with the other rolled crust I have at the refrigerator. The presentation is like a little pizza slice:

It's a good dish I believe for this I want to think is the beginning of the end of winter. The next time I will try to find more cured ham. I wish I were in Spain so I could get some sublime jamón ibérico de Jabugo, the Stradivarius of hams, which you can even hold like a violin when you cut and slice it ; ) It's the best nuanced simphony of flavours!

Ham and Cheddar crepes with onion white sauce

Tonight for dinner I had a quite remarkable success when I cooked for me and my dear wife this easy dish whose recipe I found on a podcast from the Spanish National Radio, at the Comer y cantar (Eating and singing) programme:
http://www.rtve.es/resources/TE_SCOMCA/mp3/1/9/1297514488191.mp3
Sergio Fernández is a great Spanish chef and recommends always very simple, easy to make dishes for beginners like me who don't have a perfect command of all techniques and skills.
This is how I made it following his steps:
I beat 6 eggs with salt, pepper and basil (I added parsley and oregano as well) until frothy. I poured the mix equally in 4 bowls. Then I started making (until bubbly) in a flat non stickable pan the 4 omelettes or crepes, 1 by 1 pouring each of the bowls mixes, with practically no olive oil, only in one I put a drop of it. I set apart 2 crepes (fried both sides) in each plate (it's for 2 eaters or even 4). I microwaved 4 slices of extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (from Kroger) and put them inside the 4 omelettes with a slice of brown sugar baked ham. I couldn't roll them like in the recipe but they were nice crepes or pancakes. For the bechamel sauce I poached a chopped onion with a little bit of butter, salt, pepper and then I added 2 glasses of milk. When it started boiling I stopped the fire (vitroceramic) and put all the content in a mixer. This bechamel sauce I poured carefully on top of the crepes. The result: simply irresistibly delicious.

I forgot to make the accompanying simple colored salad as a starter but I will do it next time and I will sautee too the basil in olive oil to adorn, making it crispy and crunchy after frying. You can always improve from experience but nothing matches the emotion of the first time you cook something for your chubby tummy and your beloved relatives and friends, it's really like a first kiss on a first date.
Another small step in the pursuit of yummy food ...

The Pursuit of Yummy Food (The Beginning)

Because all men were created equal and with certain inalienable rights like life, liberty and, what's more important, the pursuit of Yummy Food ...