Deb says: “My extremely radical— although I’m not sure why it has to be— belief about being a person who cooks in a household full of people who are all picky but in different ways (this cook included) is that, as much as humanly (and humanely) possible, one should ignore the picky contingent and just make what you want. Wait, let me explain. I’ll start with the kids. I love them, but when they tell me they don’t like something, often what they mean is they just want something else for dinner (pizza, perhaps), or that they’re not hungry, which, of course, is not the same thing. Imagine missing out on a decade of something you loved to eat over such irrationalism! Now, let’s say it’s a spouse who decided they didn’t like, say, winter squash with coconut milk— but isn’t that just due to one bad cream- and- cinnamon squash soup years ago, a soup that tasted like pie? What I am trying to say is that I made this spiced soup one fall day because it was the only thing I was craving, despite worrying that everyone was going to hate it, but also knowing that, some days, the only things I can rally to cook are the things I want to eat the most. And everyone finished it. These stories do not always end so well— sometimes they end with hastily assembled peanut butter sandwiches— but I will absolutely take the risk, because when it works we can increase the number of dishes everyone agrees on by a single, solitary recipe. Thank you for coming to my Deb Talk.”

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small red onions
• Vegetable or another neutral oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Kosher salt
• 2 pounds (905g) peeled, seeded winter squash in 1-inch cubes
• One 13.5 ounce (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, well shaken
• 2 cups (475ml) vegetable broth, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup (15g) dried coconut flakes
• Lime juice, to taste
• Big handful of fresh coriander or flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Prep your onions: finely dice (into ¼-inch pieces) a total of ¼ cup onion and set it aside. thinly slice the rest. 

Prepare the soup: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat. add the thinly sliced onion, three of the garlic cloves, all of the ginger and cumin, ¼ teaspoon red- pepper flakes (or adjust to taste), and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the squash, and cook in the onion- spice mixture for 1 minute. add the coconut milk and broth, and scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. bring the soup to a simmer. reduce heat to keep it simmering, cover the pot, and cook until the squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender, or you can use an immersion blender to do it right in the pot. if the soup is very thick, you can thin it now with additional broth. season with more salt to taste.

Make the topping: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. add the reserved diced red onion, the coconut flakes, and two pinches of red- pepper flakes, and cook, stirring almost the whole time, until the onion and coconut are a shade darker, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, and continue to cook until garlic, onion, and coconut are golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes more. season with salt, and scrape the crisp into a bowl. Ladle the soup into bowls, and finish each with a squeeze of lime juice, a spoonful of the red- onion crisp, and some cilantro.

Deb says: “One of my favourite recipes I learned in my early blogging years is a wildly simple sauté of shredded Brussels sprouts with lemon juice and garlic from the Union Square Cafe. It includes poppy seeds, but I never added them. You’re supposed to cook the sprouts for just a few minutes, so they’re just tender, still green, and somewhat crisp. But let’s say, just for a random example, what if you’re an easily distracted cook? You might dis- cover that Brussels sprouts cooked to a light char— a poetic way of saying I burned them— crispy in some places, a little green in the others (the ones I had not yet burned), are fantastic. I meant to do that! (Hair flip, nail buff, etc.) And here, in this recipe, I really do. I take those Brussels sprouts and heap them on olive- oil- fried, garlic- rubbed toasts, add hazelnuts for crunch, ricotta for richness. Lemon juice goes on at the end, where it’s the brightest. Is this dinner? Do you eat it as a snack as you stand in the kitchen? That’s between you and your toasts, and I would never want to interfere.”

Makes 6 toasts

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 6 slices (½-inch, medium-sized) sourdough or country bread
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound (455g) Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved lengthwise, sliced ⅛ inch thick, or 12 ounces (340g) sliced brussels sprouts
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium lemon
• 1 cup (250g) whole-milk ricotta
• Red-pepper flakes, to taste
• ½ cup (80g) hazelnuts, toasted, loose skins removed, coarsely chopped

Method

Drizzle a large pan lightly with olive oil, and add as many bread slices as fit in one layer. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until golden brown and toasted underneath, about 4 minutes. Flip, and toast the second side, about 1 minute more, then set toast aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining bread, adding more oil as needed. remove from heat and rub toasts with the halves of the garlic clove, and sprinkle with salt.

Increase the heat to medium/medium-high, and add enough oil to recoat the pan well. Heat the oil until hot, and add the brussels sprouts. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and let them cook undisturbed until well browned underneath, 3 to 5 minutes. flip, and let the second side brown well underneath, 2 to 4 minutes more. Stir once or twice, and repeat this browning- and- flipping process until the brussels have charred spots all over. Remove from the heat, and squeeze the juice of half your lemon over the top. Taste, and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Spread each slice of bread thickly with ricotta. Heap the ricotta with the charred brussels sprouts. finish with another drizzle of oil, squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and red-pepper flakes, to taste. scatter with hazelnuts.

Deb says: “My cooking style when having people over is less “lots of little things”and more “a few epic things.” Since I’ll only find out whether this is due to space limitations or cooking style when some sort of windfall allows me to buy a sprawling New York City apartment big enough that I can even consider putting out a dozen dishes at once—i.e., hold that thought, maybe forever—I enjoy finding a solution when the things I want to cook don’t feed the number of people I want to pack around the table. Quiche, for example, has always posed a problem, which is a bummer, because I am always really excited when someone serves a quiche for brunch or lunch. In a pie or tart pan, it serves “eight”—sure, but those are slim little wedges that require a salad and sometimes another dish, and there’s little room for seconds. What’s a quiche lover to do? Well, I doorstopped it. Inspired by the towering version in Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, I love both the drama and the yield of springformed quiches. This one channels the broccoli-cheddar soup on my website that’s heavy on the broccoli— I like my quiches with as much vegetable as custard—but is still uncompromised in decadence. Whether we make it for ten people crammed around a table or a third as many, aspiring for leftovers, this recipe understands that the only thing better than an astoundingly delicious quiche is a quiche that nobody has to skimp on enjoying.”

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt
• 1 cup (225g, 8 ounces or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled
• ½ cup (120ml) very cold water

For the filling:

• 1¾ pounds (800g) broccoli
• 4 tablespoons (55g, or 2 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 large or 2 small white or yellow onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 teaspoons (8g) kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 6 large eggs
• 2¼ cups (535ml) milk (whole is ideal)
• ¾ cup (175ml) heavy cream
• 8 ounces (230g) sharp white cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 3 cups), divided
• 1 heaped tablespoon (15g) smooth Dijon mustard

Ingredients

Make the dough: place the flour and salt in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small cubes, and add them into the flour mixture. Toss them around so that they’re coated, and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse cornmeal. (You could also use a pastry blender, stand mixer, or food processor for this step.) Pour the water over the butter-flour mixture, and use a flexible silicone spatula or scraper to bring it all together into a dough that will seem too wet and sticky but will be just fine. Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic or parchment paper, pat into a flat packet shape, and wrap tightly. Chill for 2 hours, or until completely firm; it can stay chilled for up to 4 days.

Prepare the crust: lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with 3-inch sides with butter or nonstick spray. For added security against leaks, you can tightly seal a piece of foil around the outside bottom and sides of the pan. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet until needed.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to a 16-inch round. Gently fold the dough (don’t crease it) in quarters and transfer it to the prepared pan, then gently unfold it, allowing the slack of the dough to drape into and fill out the center. Press it against the sides, trim the overhang to 1 inch (see note), and use the scraps to patch any tears or holes; be as watchful as you can here, because tears or holes = leaks. Let the crust chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make the filling: prepare the broccoli by peeling the thickest stems (removing tough outer skin and knobs) and cutting them into a medium (½-inch) dice. Cut the florets into 1-inch pieces. You’ll have a total of about 8 cups chopped.

Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until they’re translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and cook with onion and garlic for 8 minutes, until the broccoli is slightly softened. It should be bright, tender-crisp, and a bit salty; adjust seasoning if it’s not. Transfer to a large plate or bowl, and cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add three-quarters of the grated cheese, and stir to combine. Remove the springform with the dough from the fridge, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush or spread the Dijon over the bottom of the crust. Add the broccoli-onion mixture to the crust. Pour the custard over the mixture, and finish with the remaining cheese.

Bake the quiche: This quiche needs a long baking time. Bake it for 1½ to 1¾ hours, until it’s nicely bronzed on top and the custard is just set. I insert a knife into the centre of the custard and turn it slightly; you should see no liquid custard pouring into the crevice created when it’s done. Let it cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve: when ready to serve, carefully cut away any part of the crust’s 1-inch border that has stuck to the outside of the springform ring, then loosen the clamp of the ring and remove it. Slide the quiche onto a serving plate, and serve in wedges with a green salad.