Les Jones

Food & Drink > How Real Men Cook Quiche

My mother-outlaw wanted a quiche recipe to use leftover ham, so I thought I'd write it up for the blog, too. Quiche is one of the easiest things in the world to make. I saw quiche made once on the Food Network and couldn't believe that was all there was to it.

Ingredients
2 pieshells, preferably deep dish
2 eggs
1 cup half and half

1. Preheat oven to 350-375.
2. Use a fork to pierce holes in the bottoms and sides of pieshells. The holes prevent air bubbles from forming between the layers of the shell. Air bubbles tend to pull the shell away from the sides.
3. Bake shells by themselves for 5 minutes. That keeps the shells from being mushy.
4. Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 cup half and half (or cream if you're not worried about the calories) and any spices. Use an electric mixer for a fluffier quiche. If your ingredients aren't already salty, add a pinch of salt. If you want pepper, use white pepper instead of black paper so you don't have black flecks in the quiche.
5. Arrange ingredients on the bottom of pie shells. (See below for suggestions.)
6. Slowly add egg and cream mixture. Stop within half an inch of the top of the shell to allow for expansion as the mixture heats. Depending on the ingredients, sometimes I dust the top with paprika.
7. Bake roughly 20 minutes. Deep dish pie shells take longer. Use a toothpick to see if it's done.

You can use almost anything for the ingredients. I usually make quiche when I have leftover meat and vegetables to use up, so my ingredients are sort of pedestrian, but you can use more exotic stuff. (Maybe Triticale will pop in and suggest something yummy.)

Ham or chicken - Cut into small pieces. Crispy, crumbled bacon is good, too, and is one of the ingredients in Quiche Lorraine.

Frozen chopped spinach - Thaw, then press out excess liquid to keep your quiche from turning green. I usually whisk the spinach in with the egg and cream mixture.

Cheese - I like cheddar with ham, but you can use almost any good sliced or shredded cheese - just keep the Kraft Singles away from the quiche.

Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms - Dice and lightly saute.