The quiche, fresh out of the oven

Quiche is easy, delicious, and attractive. This recipe—our first stab at quiche, although we used to make a mean frittata—is both versatile and forgiving. Swap out the bacon and ’shrooms for broccoli. If you want to make your own crust, by all means, go for it. Forgo the half & half and just use milk if you want a lower-fat (and less tasty) quiche. And so on.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen 9-inch pie shell from Whole Foods
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6–8 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)
• 1 cup good swiss cheese, sliced or grated
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• Dash of cayenne and nutmeg
• s + p
• Herbs of your choosing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° and remove pie shell from freezer. By the time the quiche is ready to assemble, the shell will be thawed.
2. Fry bacon until crispy and drain on paper towels. Discard excess oil from pan and add butter, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. I also thew in some thyme. Saute over medium-high heat until moisture has cooked off—about 7–10 minutes (?). Season with a little s+p.
3. In mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half & half, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, and about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few hearty grinds of pepper.
4. Place bacon in pie shell, followed by half the cheese, the mushroom mixture, and the rest of the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the top.
5. Bake in 375° oven for 40–45 minutes (but check after 30) until lightly browned and eggs are set. After removing from oven, top with more herbs if you’d like—dill is unexpected and nice—and let cool for 15 mins or so before cutting into wedges.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 11:37 am and is filed under food, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.