A Quiche Day

Look at the picture to the left (excuse the Winnie the Pooh eggs, we're trying to make Jr. think that eggs are cool).  Now, I give you three guesses about the subject of this post and the first two don't count! 

I'm a bit strange about rainy days.  Until having a rambunctious little boy, rainy days were my absolute favorite, especially if I didn't have to leave the house.  Jr. has inherited this homey attitude as well, but his idea of staying in usually involves climbing refrigerators, chasing the dogs with Thomas toys, and jumping on furniture.  Before Tropical Storm Jr. lovingly swooped into my life, though, rainy days were for reading, sipping hot tea, and cravings.  Yes, cravings.  Any time I have a relaxing day at home in the rain I start to crave some sort of food.  Today it's quiche.  Mr. M will be very happy to learn that when he gets home, especially since he is the reason I learned to make it.

Back when we were babies and I was on the verge of being a child bride (I had to insist that I be old enough to legally drink the Moët served at the reception before getting married), Mr. M spent a year in Bamberg, Germany studying the language and something business-y like economics or finance.  I flew over to spend the holidays with him, and became friends with a very nice French girl who was dating his roommate.  At the time, I didn't even know how to use a can opener.  Seriously.  My parents left town one weekend and I had to call a friend to come over so that I wouldn't starve to death.   Well, Mr. M's roommate's girlfriend had been making quiche for the two of them every week, and young Mr. M thought it would be just great if he could have it every now in then when he was stateside.  He threw us into a kitchen together and went off to drink beer with his buddies for the next 2 hours.  Thank God she and I actually liked each other or else that would have been a tad uncomfortable.

Anyhow quiche is now one of my favorite things to make on a lazy day, especially with the use of store bought pie crusts (Marie Callender's) and Caw Caw Creek bacon.  See recipe below:

Basic Quiche

1 frozen pie crust

4 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 slices bacon

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 large sweet onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese*

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook bacon in a skillet until just done, not too crispy.  Remove and set aside on a paper towel.  Drain grease from skillet and add butter.  Cook over medium heat until melted, then add onion.  Cook until translucent, then transfer onion to pie crust.  In a medium sized bowl, lightly whisk together eggs and cream.  Crumble the bacon and add to the egg mixture, then whisk some more.  Add the mixture to the pie crust and top with cheese, salt, and pepper.  Bake for 30 minutes.*

This dish is best served with a simple salad of mixed greens tossed in olive oil and lemon juice or tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

*Gruyère works better, but I usually make this dish on a whim when I don't have a chance to get down to The Gourmet Shop to get the right cheese.  It is also very good with sharp cheddar, though.

* I have a temperamental oven, so I usually stick a toothpick into the center of the quiche when I pull it out to make sure that the toothpick comes out clean.