Quiche

The good news for Baltimore chef Jill Snyder was that she had much more screen time on Episode 2 of this season's Top Chef. The bad news was that she was eliminated. The judges found fault with not only her ostrich-egg quiche (looked like "dog food," tasted like "glue"), but her half-hearted defense at the judges' table, too. An earlier Quickfire Challenge involving hot dogs didn't go so well for her either, when she appeared to take an easy way out with the assignment by not "making" her own hot dog. Snyder's next step is uncertain - she has left Red Maple, where she was executive chef.

Sutton Place is the gourmet cafe to end all gourmet cafes. It's also the gourmet deli to end all gourmet delis, the gourmet carry-out to end all gourmet carry-outs and, as a matter of fact, the gourmet supermarket to . . . well, you get the idea.My mother, that arbiter of good taste in both senses of the words, always insisted that if you didn't make your own mayonnaise, you bought Hellman's. The other brands had (gasp) sugar in them. So you can imagine how struck I was by the fact that under "Condiments Available" on the menu Sutton Place lists Hellman's mayonnaise by brand name.

Over the years, the French have gotten a pretty bad rap as an arrogant bunch. Think, for example, of the raspberry-spitting French knight who so cruelly dismissed King Arthur and his knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Well, as far as I'm concerned, any group that can turn out such fine food and wine can taunt me all they want, as long as the courses keep coming, the libations flow and the dessert cart moves toward my table as if it's rounding the bend at Le Mans. Bonaparte Breads does not have the wine, unfortunately.

QUICHE LORRAINE, Swedish meatballs, pierogies (dumplings), guacamole, Kasspatzle, French pickled vegetables and apple strudel were spread out on the buffet table.But the party was not in Europe or Central America. It was in Glenelg.Thirty au pairs living and working in Central Maryland gathered two weeks ago for a multicultural holiday pot-luck dinner. The young people came to the United States for a year to live with American families and care for their children.Shelly Altman, a coordinator for Au Pair USA, was the party's hostess.

I knew instantly that Kaidanoff's Broadway Delicatessen was my kind of place. The Rolling Stones were blaring on the sound system and there were Three Stooges photographs on the wall. In a corner stood a mannequin autographed by John Waters, Mink Stole and Patty Hearst. The deli occupies a small storefront surrounded on three sides by the U-shaped Bertha's in the heart of Fells Point. The menu features a few salads and a bunch of deli-style sandwiches, many of which are burdened with Baltimore-inspired names.

A very hip New Yorker I know recently found himself in Canton with a few hours to kill between appointments. As he approached the Can Company, he saw three reasons to stop: food, pool tables and books. Kiss Cafe and Book Market are the newest incarnations of what used to be Donna's restaurant and Bibelot bookstore. Both have a ways to go in fully replacing their predecessors, but better that they fill the cavernous spaces than offices or something else equally dull. The cafe's owner, Victor Ganderson, wants his place to be anything but boring.

Jareene Barkdoll of Baltimore was hoping we would be able to find the recipe for the Southwestern-style quiche served at the Severn Inn in Annapolis. A friend treated her to Sunday brunch at the inn for her birthday, and she so enjoyed the quiche that she wanted to re-create it at home. She said it was served with an avocado salsa and topped with black beans. Philip Sokolowski, executive chef at the Severn Inn, was kind enough to share his recipe for the quiche. What makes this quiche unusual, aside from the Southwestern seasoning, is that the typical pastry crust is replaced with tortillas.

Requests for crustless quiche recipes come in fairly frequently. Diana Hamilton of Catonsville and Nancy Reigle of Towson sent us this one. The recipe is for Doris Bower of Perry Hall.Impossible Quiche1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled1 cup shredded Swiss cheese1/2 cup chopped onion2 cups milk1 cup Bisquick4 eggs1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon pepperSpread crumbled, cooked bacon on the bottom of a lightly greased ten-inch pie plate. Sprinkle cheese on top, then the onion. Beat milk, Bisquick, eggs, salt and pepper together one minute with a hand mixer until smooth.

They're legends in the business, these folks whose names adorn some of the most beloved food products in markets and malls today: Mrs. Field, "Famous" Amos, Ben & Jerry, Paul Newman. In every case, the product began as a good idea in the kitchen and grew to a multimillion-dollar business. Cookies, ice cream, spaghetti sauce . . .It seems simple. You make something your friends adore and ask for; surely everyone else will want it too. You just whip up a batch and head to the nearest supermarket.

1999 "Hugel" Cuvee les Amours Pinot Blanc ($12). This vibrant young white wine from the French region of Alsace offers refreshing flavors of pear, lemon, coconut, minerals and sweet corn. Made in a popular style, it doesn't try to emulate the thickest, richest pinot blancs. It's more of a light, celebratory wine to serve with seafood, quiche or to be simply sipped by itself.