Blue Cheese and Walnut Quiche

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 cups grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 Tablespoons minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Gently place pie crust into 9-inch round pie pan or quiche pan. Pinch the rim decoratively and prick crust with a fork. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Pull out to cool while you prepare the filling.
2. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend in the cream and then the milk.
3. In separate bowl, combine Swiss and blue cheeses and then sprinkle them into the prepared pastry shell. Sprinkle the red onion and walnuts over the cheese. Gently pour in egg mixture to fill the pastry shell.
4. Place the filled pan on a baking sheet and bake quiche for 35-40 minutes, or until custard is just set. Watch the edges of the crust and cover with foil or a pie-crust cover if it's browning too much. Let quiche rest 8-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Cupcake

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix

3/4 cup sugar, divided
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp + 4 tsp heavy whipping cream
2 egg white
spinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pecans, chopped
milk chocolate chips for melting and drizzling
course sea salt

Directions:
For the cupcakes:
Bake the cupcakes according to package directions and let them cool completely before frosting.

For Salted Caramel Buttercream:
Place 1/2 cup of sugar and water in saucepan over medium-high heat. Do not stir of you will get sugar crystals, only swirl the saucepan gently. It will bubble itself into a deep amber. Remove immediately from heat and add cream (careful – it will bubble up furiously).

Stir until smooth. Divide caramel into two separate and equal portions and set aside.Place the egg whites, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 140 degrees. Transfer to bowl of standing mixer. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.

Add butter a bit at a time, and continue beating on high. Reduce speed to low, add vanilla extract, and then one of your portions of caramel (you may need to gently rewarm the caramel in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it is workable but not burning hot). Beat on high for 4-5 minutes or until buttercream texture is reached.

Pipe buttercream frosting onto each cupcake then roll sides in chopped pecans. Drizzle top of cupcake with melted chocolate and then with second batch of caramel. Sprinkle ever so slightly with course sea salt.