Last Tuesday, boyfriend and I went hiking at Mohonk Mountain in New Paltz, New York. Isn't it gorgeous? Being there feels like taking a mini-vacation, away from Condé Nast and internships and the real world. I love to climb up the enormous rocks and soak up the sun before dipping my feet into a lake. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can pretend that I'm anywhere.
I love quiches more than anything - large quiches, mini quiches, quiches with things I usually don't like baked inside of them. Maybe it's the crust, or it might be the cheese. Do I care? No. Just hand me a quiche and there's a 100% chance that I'll eat it.The good thing: I have a repertoire of two incredible quiche recipes.
The bad thing: When I'm grocery shopping and don't have said recipes on hand, I mix up the ingredients.
The other good thing: Once, this resulted in a new and even more delicious quiche recipe.
By once, I mean Wednesday night. I accidentally combined the best components of both recipes and ended up with what I'd like to call a Quiche Lorraine, But Better. On account of just how good it is, here is the recipe. Try not to salivate on your keyboard.
Quiche Lorraine, But Better
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
5 or 6 strips bacon, depending on the size
1 cup Swiss Gruyère cheese
1 cup whole milk (you can also substitute 1-1/4 cups of half-and-half)
1 pre-made pie crust
- Pop the pie crust in the oven at 375-degrees for 8-10 minutes, until it's a pretty golden shade.
- Heat the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the onion and sauté until very fragrant, soft, and golden -- about 4-5 minutes. Let cool.
- Cook the bacon. I do this in the microwave because I can only stand to be burnt by oil drops for so long. Sandwich it between paper towels; tuck the top paper towel well, or else the bacon fat will spatter and require a half hour of clean-up. Give it 15 seconds for every strip of bacon. If not cooked, continue to heat for 15 second intervals until crispy-ish. Crumble and let cool.
- Beat the eggs and the yolks (to separate the yolks, I suggest cracking the eggs and transferring the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the broken shell, because you can then use the edges of the shell to cut the yolk from the white as you do it)(I don't suggest plopping the white in the sink, because it'll clog the drain)(my mother wasn't happy at all). To the eggs, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, whole milk, sautéed onions, and crumbled bacon. Whisk well.
- Add the cheese to the egg mixture, saving a handful. Pour cheesy egg mixture into the pie shell, spreading the onions and bacon. Top with the handful of cheese and bake at 375-degrees for 30-35. The end result should be wiggly but quite firm, and when you slice into it, it ought to be liquidy but still able to retain its shape. Let it cool for five minutes or else it will fall apart; try to resist inhaling it as soon it comes out of the oven. It's okay if you don't -- I wasn't able to either. Happy eating!