Quiche

Real men don’t eat Quiche…HA! Not from what I have seen.  The real men in my life all snarf down Quiche like there is no tomorrow.  My Boys at work LOVE bacon and onion Quiche, The Husband does not care what I put in it as long as he gets a huge wedge.  I learned to love Quiche while living in Germany where you could find it in the little Mom & Pop Bakeri that could be found on almost every corner.  Baking there was truly an art form that you almost hated to eat due to its beauty.

I wonder why more people here in the States don’t make this lovely creamy savory pie.  It’s not hard, comes together quickly for the most part and has few ingredients and you can put just about anything in the filling, what’s not to like about that??  The longest part of assembly in  the whole process is making the pie crust.  A good Quiche will have a just firm creamy center with the consistency of moist soft scrambled eggs.  It should not be dry or rubbery from over cooking.  Quiche should for the most part have a very slight browning around the edges but on the whole have a pale top. Wither its eaten hot or cold there should always be time for Quiche in your day.

While this is a Pepper Jack Quiche it is not overly spicy, it has enough zip to keep things interesting but not overwhelm you with spicy heat.

Pepper Jack Quiche

2c Half & Half (or 1 c each heavy cream and milk)

4 eggs

3  Jalapeno peppers (finely diced)

1 Med onion (finely diced)

1 ts Garlic

1/2 ts Fresh ground Pepper

1/2 ts Kosher Salt

1TB AP Flour

1TB oil

8oz Pepper Jack cheese (shredded)

1 uncooked Pie Crust

In a pan heat oil and add peppers and onions sweating them down till the onions are translucent, turn off heat and allow to cool while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

There should be no color on either the peppers or onions.

Combine the half & half, eggs and spices along with the flour. Be sure the egg  is completely incorporated into the dairy.

Line your pie pan with your crust and DO NOT dock the dough.  Bake blind in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

I add fresh ground pepper to my savory pie crusts as it adds a burst of flavor to a great crust.

Remove crust and spread the onions and peppers on the bottom of the pie crust.  Cover onions with shredded cheese and move pie pan to a cookie sheet onto the oven rack.

The cheese and onion mixture loosely filled the crust by about half.

Pour the egg mixture over the cheese slowly, it may not all fit depending on the depth of your pie pan. By pouring the egg mixture into the pie crust while on the cookies sheet in the oven you reduce the risk of spilling the pie as you place it in the oven (…not that *I* would know anything about spilling).

Bake your Quiche in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  You will want to keep an eye on it starting at about 30 minutes, give the cookie sheet a bit of a jiggle to see how set the center is.  If it is still rather soup-y set your timer for 10 minutes and come back and try again.  The Quiche is done if you  can insert a toothpick into the center and there is a small amount of filling stuck to the toothpick then pull it out of the oven.  The carry over heat will continue to cook the pie as it starts to cool.  By doing this your Quiche will finish off at the perfect point where the filling is still moist and not rubbery or dry.  The center when cut should have the consistency of soft scrambled eggs.

There is a small crack on the upper right side where the filling expanded to quickly it combat this just lower the temp to about 325 if a crack starts to appear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can change out the cheese, peppers and onions to just about anything as long as it is not a watery item.  If you are wanting to use spinach be sure to remove as much of the liquid as possible.

To make this “Quiche Lorraine” substitute 8 slices of bacon and 1 1/2 c shredded Swiss Cheese for the peppers and Pepper jack cheese. Cook the bacon and crumble it into the pie crust topped by the onions and Swiss cheese.  You will want to omit the garlic and use 1/2 ts fresh ground Nutmeg (there is a HUGE difference in taste between freshly ground Nutmeg and the stuff in a can) in its place.

Now go play with your food.

WikiJan