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Recipes: Then & Now - Magic Quiche - by Douglas Carpenter
posted: Jan. 12, 2007
Magic Quiche
image courtesy of Douglas Carpenter
Quiche has been called the number one fad food of the 1970's. I remember Mom making and serving it a few times, but 'the number one' spot I don't know. . .
Basically, quiche is a custard pie with additions of meats, vegetables and/or seasonings. It is of German origin and was made with bacon but no cheese. The cheese addition came later. We are most familiar with what the French created to make it their own, Quiche Lorraine.
This particular recipe is a conglomerate of several I found. I wanted something versatile and easy. All the recipes I read had the same basics with the difference only in the filling, cheese and seasonings. Using the same proportions as the many recipes I consulted, I think I have something anyone could use. I am looking forward to trying mushroom & Swiss cheese and asparagus & jack cheese.
Ingredients
image courtesy of Douglas Carpenter
Refrigerated pie crust for single crust pie
1 cup half & half
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheese
1 to 2 cups filling - any combination of the list below
Seasoning: Pepper, soy sauce, dry mustard, a small pinch of cayenne, herbs of your choice, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning. Cheeses: Swiss, Cheddar, Muenster, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Gruyere
Fillings: use one or two vegetables and one meat for best results
Asparagus, cooked and drained well; spinach, cooked and drained well; fresh mushrooms, sliced thin and sautéed; green onions, shallots or leeks, chopped finely and lightly sautéed; green pepper, minced and sautéed; broccoli, cooked and well drained; sausage cooked and diced small; turkey, cooked and diced small; bacon fried crisp and crumbled; ham, diced small; crab; shrimp
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pie crust according to package directions using 9" pie pan. Place your choice of filling into pie crust. In blender container, combine half & half, eggs, and seasoning choice; blend well. Pour egg mixture over filling. Place in oven and bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before serving. (I used frozen broccoli florets thawed and chopped to make 1 cup, ½ cup minced onion and cheddar cheese.)
image courtesy of Douglas Carpenter
Douglas Carpenter is an avid recipe and cookbook collector. He has over 400 cookbooks in his library and he has published two cookbooks of locally-collected recipes. He has won sweepstakes and blue ribbons in the Culinary Arts division of the Indiana State Fair. Email your cooking questions to
douglas@BroadRippleGazette.com
douglas@broadripplegazette.com