Fab Recipe: Hash Brown Quiche

Fab readers while our parents were in town visiting I decided to have a Saturday brunch at my place that included a fabulous recipe for a hash brown based quiche. I found the recipe while cruising on food network's website and I have to say that the dish was a HUGE hit!! Everyone loved it (including our father who hates eggs). The recipe was really simple and did not take long. I highly recommend this dish as it is a real crowd pleaser. If you want to try having your own simple brunch like I did just make this dish  (added spinach and used turkey ham) with fresh fruit, cheese danish and mimosas and you have a simple yet fab brunch :)

Try the recipe below

Ingredients

• 3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 cup diced green onions
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Skybar 4 Brunch

Hello fab readers! I was recently taken to brunch at The Skybar inside of The Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood. The brunch was nothing less that amazing! Hubby and I opted for the outdoor seating. With amazing views of the LA skyline, paired with bottomless drinks and tasty eats... We had the perfect afternoon date. I chose the Calamari Salad with Fresh Fruit White Wine Sangria.  We both enjoyed the delicious food, yummy desserts, and perfect drinks!

Fab Recipe: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Very few people know that we cook. Well I am more of a baker but my sister (Nikah) she is more of a cook. Since that is something else that we love to do we decided that we would start sharing a few of our fave recipes. For Easter I decided to test out a new recipe that I came across for red velvet cupcakes. I got the recipe for the cupcakes from food network, it was featured on the episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay vs the Cakeman (that episode always makes me think of making the band). I tried Bobby Flay's recipe and a cream cheese frosting that I found on allrecipes.com.

Overall the cupcakes turned out pretty good, it reminded me of more of a light red velvet, it was not as rich but still pretty tasty. The cupcakes got pretty good reviews from everyone that ate them, however I am still on the quest for the perfect Red Velvet recipe (I will probably try Paula Deen's next). I included the recipe below that I made the cupcakes with, let me know how they turn out or if you have a fave red velvet recipe in the comments ;-)

Cake:

• 3 3/4 cups AP Flour
• 3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar