Caramelized Leek, Mushroom, and Roasted Heirloom Tomato Quiche with an Oat Flour Crust

If you undressed this quiche - peeled back its layer of golden cheese; unburdened it of its heaps of garlicky mushrooms, caramelized leeks, and oven-kissed tomatoes - you would be met with a simple, buttery crust that defies expectations. It's a new year, and I'm keen to experiment with new things, eat more vegetables, and see for myself what the rewards are in cutting out gluten from my diet for a month or so. This is by no means a permanent venture - I am too intimately tied to my dear Croissant, Baguette, and Freshly Baked Scone (and a variety of other glutinous lovers, many of them French). My intent is to welcome a few new lovers into my kitchen boudoir rotation who are a little gentler on the waistline. A surprising amount of my favourite baked goods are adaptable to gluten-free options - starting with the classic quiche, which, as this recipe affirms, 'by any other crust would be as sweet.'

Recipe Retrospective - 12 Recipes for 2012 & Sunshine Blogger Award

In this first week of 2013, I want to wish a sweet (and indulgently butter-filled) Happy New Year to all who came to visit The Kitchen Boudoir in its inaugural year. Save your appetites for more delicious recipes and intimate dishing in 2013! January 22nd marks the first anniversary of this blog, which will (obviously) be celebrated with multiple helpings of cake and a birthday blog post of its own. Below, you'll find a tasty selection of recipes from each month of this past year - Enjoy!

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Chestnut Crème Cakelets & Distillery District Christmas Market

"Please sir, do you know the Chestnut Man?" This was the question on my lips as I flitted from stall to stall at the Christmas Market in Toronto's rather Dickensian Distillery District. Some market vendors pointed me towards various cobblestoned laneways and courtyards, suggesting I follow my nose to his portable fire. Others talked about him mysteriously, as though he and his chestnuts only appeared when the wind was right. Despite my thorough combing of the entire market (with indulgent stops at the apple fritter hut and Balzac's coffee for 'sustenance'), the Chestnut Man proved elusive. I didn't mind so much, as I soaked up the festive atmosphere and happily clicked away with my camera. I was simply looking to confirm what I'd already discovered - that roasted chestnuts are delicious. This year, I decided that a roasted chestnut-inspired dessert would be my date to Christmas dinner: I wanted something naturally attractive, slightly nutty and subtly sensual. I invited some chestnuts into my kitchen boudoir and we experimented at length together. I had eyes for no other dessert until the chestnuts and I got everything just right. The result? Tender-crumbed cakelets my friends can't stop talking about - with a flavour the Chestnut Man would seek me out for.

'French Laundry' Apple Cake & Vanilla Cream Sauce

The dining room was quiet except for the staccato duet of fork on plate. My friend T. held up his well-scraped plate and broke the silence: "This is what 'I want more' looks like."

~ ~ ~

That evening's plate-scraping was due to this simple-but-soulful apple cake; the recipe borrowed and improvised from my prized copy of Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook. The recipe originates from Sally Schmitt, who owned and ran the kitchen at The French Laundry restaurant before chef Thomas Keller bought it in 1994 and brought it to its current re-known. The recipe pays homage to their relationship, which still continues to this day: Chef Keller gets his apples for The French Laundry from The Philo Apple Farm, where Sally and her husband, Don, have retired.

Vanilla Bean Latte Layer Cake

A homemade mocha torte introduced me to my first taste of coffee when I was still too young to drink it. Coffee and I continued our illicit affair in stolen bites of any dessert it graced - until we both felt we were ready and old enough to 'get serious'. With a lot of milk and sugar as a protective measure, I drank my first latte and never looked back. I still have a weakness for coffee-flavoured desserts and this triple-layer cake truly satisfies the craving: it takes all the flavours of a vanilla bean latte and translates them directly into dessert. Three, in this case, is not a crowd, but a definite crowd-pleaser: this cake, with its rich and flavourful three layers, made at least 20 people remember their 'first time'.

Spiced Pear Breakfast Bread & Pear Curd

Aside from my imaginary French Patisserie, I also run an imaginary Bed & Breakfast where I treat myself like a guest in my own home and let myself wake up to something indulgent. There is nothing quite as nurturing or sensual as taking the time to get up early and whipping together a spiced pear loaf, crawling back to bed while it bakes, and drifting awake to the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. This is a breakfast-in-bed treat for eating in your robe, where crumbs fall happily past the folds to encourage a loosening of ties and a stolen moment of warm sunlight on bare skin. Pears slightly past their prime are transformed into a spiced sauce that moistens the cake as well as a creamy, silky curd to spread on top (of the cake and whatever else you fancy).

Apple Flognarde

A flognarde by any other name would taste as sweet: a kissing cousin to the better-known clafoutis (which is made with cherries), this custardy-pancake dessert lets seasonal fruit shine atop a bed of pillowy batter. Flognarde comes from the Occitan words fleunhe and flaunhard, which mean 'soft' and 'downy', respectively. This apple flognarde certainly lives up to that sensual description: it has the body of a cake, the soft, inner creaminess of a custard or flan and a puffiness that holds the fruit of your choice like a sweet duvet. I chose to use apples for the fruit in this flognarde, who, nestled one atop the other, got downright delicious under the custardy covers.