Quiche

Quiche isn't my favorite brunch food (that would be home fries). It's not even in my top three favorite egg dishes (poached eggs, egg salad, egg sandwich). But it is a really handy recipe to have in the repertoire. 1) It's French, so you look fancy. 2) You can serve it for any meal. 3) You can empty the contents of your veggie drawer.

You can make a quiche in an hour, and most of that time the little egg pie is just hanging out in the oven. The hardest part is making your own crust, but as my mom says "Why would you make your own crust?" (I did this time, but I've bought them premade in the past.)



This recipe is infinitely adaptable, so I wrote a few of my favorite combinations below. This pretty little piece here is tomato, basil, mozzarella, which couldn't be more perfect at this time of year.

And even though quiche isn't my favorite, me and two friends managed to take down almost the whole thing for lunch yesterday. We left a little in the pan, for good measure.



Quiche, Several Ways
Serves 6...or 3 hungry

I use 2% milk most of the time in this recipe, and I think it gives the quiche a lighter texture. You can use whole milk or even cream if you prefer, for a richer more decadent quiche. I would not recommend skim milk. For the crust, I usually parbake my homemade crusts for 15 minutes on 350. With a store bought crust I usually don't.

Ingredients
one pie crust
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
vegetables and/or meat
1/2 cup cheese*

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450.
-Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
-Stir in the cheese.
-You can either stir the vegetables and/or meat into the egg mixture and pour the mixture into the pie crust, or you can layer them in the crust and pour the egg mixture over them. It all goes to the same place in the end.
-Bake on 450 for 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for about 30 minutes or until done. (The quiche will be set in the center and golden brown on the top.)
-Cool for 15 minutes and serve.
Variations:
-1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tbs. fresh basil, one medium tomato sliced or chopped.
-1/2 cup gruyere, 2 tsp. fresh thyme, 1 cup mushrooms lightly sauteed.
-1/2 cup sharp chedder, 4 pieces cooked bacon, 1/4 cup chopped green onion.
-1/2 cup feta, 1/2 to 1 cup lightly sauteed spinach, 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes (optional).

*This makes a lightly cheesey quiche. For more ooey gooey cheesiness, up the cheese to 3/4 cup or 1 cup, but be careful. I wouldn't recommend increasing the cheese for certain strong flavored types, like feta.

Eggplant Parmesan a la Poppop

This is one of my Poppop's specialities. It's not actually his recipe, but it's his basic technique. And it is hearty and delicious and vegetarian. I bought the eggplant at the farmer's market, which I walked to yesterday morning. So I ate low on the food chain today, bought local AND conserved gas. My middle class, urban guilt is somewhat assuaged.

I made this in two smaller casseroles so that I could save some for another meal, but you can put it all in one large baking dish. Once it is all assembled, you can store it in the freezer, probably for a month or so. Just defrost it in the refrigerator before baking.

Eggplant Parmesan a la Poppop

Ingredients:
1 super big eggplant, or 2 medium eggplants
3-4 cups seasoned breadcrumbs (breadcrumb+2 tbs. dried basil+2 tbs. dried parsley+ 1 tsp. salt)
2 cups grated parmesan or romano, divided
3-4 eggs
1 batch garlic sauce or your favorite sauce
4 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray.
-Wash eggplant and cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces. (I do circles.)
-Mix breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Scramble the eggs.
-Dredge the eggplant in eggs then breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet.
-Bake the eggplant for 35 minutes, flipping halfway through. Eggplant is done when it is golden brown, but soft in the center. Remove from oven.
-Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees.
-To assemble, start with a thin layer of sauce. Add a layer of eggplant, overlapping slightly on the edges. Then a layer of cheese (both mozzarella and parmesan). Then sauce. Repeat. For the last layer, stop at the cheese step. (There will be leftover sauce.)
-Cover with aluminum foil and place in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes covered. Uncover for last 15 minutes. (For my small casseroles, I do 30 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered.)
-Serve with leftover sauce.