Divisive Dishes - Quiche
Good heavens, I really love Quiche! My husband calls it “one of those divisive foods”. I guess that means it falls into the same category as sauerkraut, brussels sprouts, and bleu cheese… foods that wars are fought over. Some folks are ga-ga over it, others gag. Very few people fall into the middle ground on foods like these. It seems like a lot of men think quiche is “gay” and are afraid that eating it will severely lower their manliness. (Wow! I hope their manliness is not that fragile!) Ladies seem to often think that it is just the ideal thing when eating together, say, for tea — especially if the quiches are very tiny and you can pop them individually into your mouth. I have no idea why - maybe we think it increases our femininity.
I made quiche for dinner last night. Normal-sized, not mouth-pop-able. To be safe, I also made French Onion soup and garlic toast, hoping there would be something on the table to please everyone. It was the first time I made quiche without a recipe - just “winging it”. I do have an old favorite of crustless spinach quiche which I got from an ancient cookbook in the early years of my marriage, but it has never gone over really well and instead of trying to improve on it, I just made this up as I went along.
The quiche I made last night, thankfully, turned out yummier than I expected. I just enjoyed it again for lunch. It’s crustless, but with a crunchy crouton topping. Here’s the recipe:
Spinach Quiche
6 slices of bacon
1 bag fresh spinach leaves
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 T. olive oil5 eggs
3/4 c. milk or soymilk
1 1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
salt and peppercroutons, crushed
Start by frying up the bacon as you usually would. I like thick sliced bacon - it’s what I always use. If you are using the thin stuff, consider increasing the amount to 8 slices. Drain the bacon on a paper towel and set aside. Discard the bacon fat and clean your skillet or switch to a large, clean skillet.
Next, crush and dice the garlic and put it into a large skillet with your olive oil. Set the heat to medium, and while it warms up, chop the spinach up into bite-sized pieces. Often, frozen spinach is recommended for quiches and other spinach recipes, but I say “the fresher, the better!” Add the spinach to your now-hot oil and garlic. Stir and fry for a few moments until the spinach is wilted. That’s all it needs. Then remove from the heat and set aside. (You now have both the bacon and the garlic-spinach combo waiting on the sidelines.)
In a large bowl, break all five eggs and whip them up with the milk, salt, and pepper. Use a spatula to add the cheeses, then the spinach. Finally, cut up the bacon with your kitchen scissors and add that, too! Grease a regular 9 or 10 inch pie pan and pour your quiche mixture into it.
This needs to go into a 350 - 375 degree oven for 45-55 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, sprinkle the crushed croutons on top and return to the oven. You know it’s done when the middle doesn’t jiggle and you poke a knife into the center and can see cooked instead of runny eggs.
ENJOY!
I’ll be honest about the thumbs up count: There are 7 in our family. 1 was not home, 1 did not even eat the quiche, 2 (the little guys) were forced to eat the quiche. My husband ate a little but LOVES French Onion soup, so he focused on that. Really, only 2 of us dug into this quiche and really enjoyed it. Divisive foods. Ugh.
Signing off now–
the chow hall chef
Add comment September 4th, 2009