Recipes, WinterVanessa Gerbrandyplaydate platters, crustless quiche, cheese and apple toast, raw vegetables, orange blossom cakes, winterComment

Playdate Platters : Crustless Quiches and Cheese & Apple Toasts

Recipes, WinterVanessa Gerbrandyplaydate platters, crustless quiche, cheese and apple toast, raw vegetables, orange blossom cakes, winterComment
Playdate Platters : Crustless Quiches and Cheese & Apple Toasts

I love having friends over, especially during the holidays when playdates can last so much longer than just an hour after school. The girls prepare activities for their friends to do together and yesterday was so good when they all got outside to play in the sunshine. It was almost tropical here in Scotland!

I always enjoy preparing healthy snacks for the children. I find the children don't want to sit for long at the table at lunchtime as they'll lose precious playing time (!) so I prepare platters that they can dip in and out of. I also ensure the food on offer is loved by the parents too. Yesterday I made a platter of crustless quiches and cheese and apple toasts and added some cherry tomatoes and chanteral carrots to nibble on. The platters was finished in minutes and they were all satisfied to continue their playing. 

To make the Crustless Quiches :-

Ingredients (makes 16)

  • 155g smoked lardons (diced)
  • 200g chestnut mushrooms (chopped)
  • a little rapeseed oil for frying
  • 500ml milk (you could also add a little single cream to the milk)
  • 4 eggs
  • black pepper to season
  • a handful of curly parsley
  • grated cheddar cheese (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Pan fry the smoked lardons and mushrooms with a little rapeseed oil for ten minutes until soft and the juices from the lardons release. In a jug pour in the milk and crack the eggs mixing carefully with a whisk. Season with black pepper. Take a silicone cupcake tray (I find the silicone trays much easier to release the quiches when they are cooked) and add a heaped teaspoon of the lardon and mushroom mixture to each cupcake base. Sprinkle some chopped parsley over the mixture and then carefully pour the milky egg mixture over the mushrooms until the cupcake case is 3/4 full. Add a sprinkling of grated cheese to the mixture (optional). Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool and serve.

 

To make the Cheese and Apple Toast :-

Ingredients (Makes 7 large slices)

  • 200g grated Scottish cheddar (edam also works)
  • 4 small cox apples (grated)
  • sourdough bread

In a mixing bowl simply mix together the cheese and apple until it's combined together. Spread the mixture over each slice of sourdough bread. Toast under the grill until the mixture has melted and is deliciously bubbling. Cut the sourdough slice in half and serve immediately.

For a late afternoon treat the girls ate orange blossom cupcakes while I had a well-deserved pot of tea to comfort me from all the noise! As a little late afternoon treat I made some of our orange blossom cakes and served them with milk and pots of tea for the parents. Our recipe can be found here. They are so good any time of the year and a welcomed bonus before embarking on the tidying up! 

I'd love to know what your go-to recipes for playdates are. Please share!

Vanessa x