Over the Christmas holiday I spent time with my family in both Ohio and Michigan. Those among you who are football fans will recognize the potential conflict of interest here. As a native Buckeye, I actually resent Ohio State’s ubiquity and typically root for Michigan. I may be tried for treason after making this information public. My sister, now a Michigan resident, maintains her Buckeye allegiance. Truth be told I really don’t care about either team; my preferences run toward basketball. But that is another topic.
For our Christmas celebration, my sister baked up a gaggle of quiches. Her three teenagers eat like there’s no tomorrow so she was prepared: two bacon/cheddar, one sausage/onion/cheddar. Her recipe is a king among quiches, lush and silky custard chock-full of tasty bits, in a crust that shatters delightfully when you bite it. The next time you need a decadent brunch dish, this is the way to go. I loved it so much I made three myself, using her recipe, for our annual New Year’s Day brunch. I am still dreaming of the one with goat cheese, red pepper and basil. Fillings can be as varied or classic as you like, but be sure to be generous with them.
(the crust is from a Mark Bittman recipe)
For one quiche:
1 1/8 c. all-purpose flour
4 oz unsalted butter (my sister uses Plugra, and it definitely makes a difference here)
1/2 tsp salt
(optional: 1/2 tsp sugar)
a few tablespoons water, combined with a few tablespoons vodka; combine them with an ice cube before adding
Chop the butter into 1/2″ cubes and cut into the dry ingredients, leaving some pea-sized chunks of butter. Using a light hand, drizzle in a little bit of the liquid, tossing gently with your other hand as you go. Keeping everything cool is of the utmost importance, so work quickly. (If your hands tend to be warm, it’s not a bad idea to cool them off with cold water before doing this step.) Add just enough liquid to moisten all the flour and form a loose mass — you may not need all of the liquid to do this. Press it together gently and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for half an hour or refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough can be made ahead; it will keep in fridge three days and the freezer for much longer. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge before using.) Once it is thoroughly chilled, roll the dough into a broad disk about 3/8″ thick and place in your pie tin. Trim any overhang to about an inch and then fold this under to make an edge. Crimp decoratively if you like or just press it with the tines of a fork. Ideally, wrap it up with saran and let freeze overnight to chill thoroughly.
In the meantime, prepare your fillings. Below are just a few ideas:
* Fry up some bacon, about 6 oz/quiche; chop coarsely.
* Saute some sliced mushrooms with plenty of garlic and shallots.
* Chop an onion and a red pepper; saute in a little oil with a minced clove of garlic.
* Crumble any fresh sausage you like in a pan (about 8 oz) and cook until browned; throw in some chopped onion if you want.
* Blanch smallish broccoli florets quickly in salted water.
* One of my favorites: saute an onion, then add a can of diced green chiles and a few minced cloves of garlic.
* Blanch 1 lb of spinach in salted water, then let cool before thoroughly wringing out excess water. Chop finely and combine with a generous tablespoon of chopped dill and a bunch of finely chopped scallions. (Combined with feta, this will make something resembling spanikopita in flavor.)
Each quiche will need about 3/4 c of grated cheese in addition to whatever toppings from above you choose. Don’t skimp here; use the most flavorful cheese you can: extra-sharp cheddar, gruyere, parmigiano-reggiano, chevre.
To finish the quiche:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the shell from the freezer and put whatever additions you are using in the shell. Easier transfer of the quiche to and from the oven can be done by placing the whole thing on a baking sheet before adding the custard. Combine 4 eggs, 2 c. cream and 1/2 tsp salt, whisking thoroughly (an immersion blender makes quick work of this, and will break up all the albumen nicely) and carefully pour it into the shell. Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake until the custard gives just the slightest jiggle when nudged, about an hour total. Let cool a little, maybe half an hour, before eating.
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