The Lexingtonienne

December3rd

5 Comments

Woo hoo! It’s officially Christmas time!

Charlotte Christmas tree hat 2013

Now all you Scrooges can stop complaining about hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, we had a small and lovely family Thanksgiving. We were so laid back that I didn’t even take pictures. The only turkey I snapped was this one, who turned one-half on Thanksgiving Day. Talk about feeling thankful.

Charlotte 6 months old

Okay, friends, let’s talk about this QUICHE.

Quiche

A year ago (!), Eleanora & I went over to our buddy Hudson’s house for his 2nd birthday party. Hudson and Eleanora met at Toddle Tunes when they were just six months old and instantly bonded when they discovered they shared the same birthday.

Quiche

Incidentally, Hudson’s mama, Cristina, is a super talented party planner with a flare for both graphic design and inspiration in general. So of course she put together the cutest birthday party for her little man. (Check out her Etsy shop, Le Partie Sugar.)

Egg yolk

Egg yolk in pie crust

Egg yolk in pie crust

For Hudson’s party, Cristina presented a fabulous brunch buffet that included some of the most amazing quiche I have ever tasted. Apparently the other party guests agreed with me, because everyone was going around saying, “Have you tried this QUICHE?!”

Quiche

I mean really… have you ever been to an event where a quiche was the star? Me neither. But it was that good.

Quiche

Cristina had gotten the quiche from Thyme Cafe in Santa Monica, up the street from her house. Inspired, I thought I’d try making my own quiche at home.

Quiche

Quiche

For a long time I had this idea that quiche must be complicated to make. But it’s actually so un-complicated that I’m even putting it on the Easiest Dinners Ever page because, in my house, we often eat quiche — famously a brunch dish — for dinner. This recipe is simple simple simple, and really easy to adapt so that you can make whatever kind of quiche you like. I have done bacon & cheese (though according to the Joy of Cooking, Quiche Lorraine is just bacon — no cheese), ham & cheese, and spinach & caramelized onion.

Quiche

Quiche

My favorite is far and away the ham & cheese. It’s rich and lovely and creamy and flaky and golden-tasting. It’s so easy that you can throw it together for a weeknight dinner alongside something green, such as a salad with vinaigrette, haricots verts (pdf), or sugar snap peas, and a glass of chilled white wine.

Quiche

But special and decadent and rich enough for Christmas brunch. Just something to start thinking about… 🙂

HAM & GRUYERE QUICHE* (printable pdf)

Lightly adapted from the Joy of Cooking

  • 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked according to package directions**
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 Cup chopped ham
  • 1 Cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
  • 1 1/2 Cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375.

Brush the baked pie crust with the egg yolk. Spread the ham on the bottom of the pie crust, then top with the grated cheese.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the 3 whole eggs, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour on top of the ham and cheese.

Bake until the filling is golden brown and set. Joy of Cooking says this will take about 25-35 minutes, but my oven takes closer to 45 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

* For traditional Quiche Lorraine, omit the cheese. Substitute 4 slices of bacon (sliced into 1-inch pieces and then cooked) for the ham.

** You can bake the pie crust the day before in order to save time the day you are serving the quiche. Allow the baked pie crust to cool completely, then cover it with aluminum foil and store it at room temperature.

xoxo,

Hannah

5 Comments

  • Comment by Ellie — December 4, 2013 @ 5:54 pm

    I think I’ll add this to our Christmas brunch! Sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing.

  • Comment by lolly — December 5, 2013 @ 5:20 pm

    It is going to be dinner tonight! Thanks Hannah!

  • Pingback by Easy Sour Cream Coffeecake - The Lexingtonienne — December 21, 2013 @ 2:34 pm

    […] my family’s traditional Sausage Casserole (pdf), but it would also be awesome with the Ham & Gruyere Quiche (pdf) I posted recently. My assistant and I hope you enjoy it as much as we […]

  • Comment by Dinah — December 6, 2014 @ 10:44 am

    Used your recipe last night to make a quiche added bacon instead of the ham and it was so good thank you

  • Comment by Hannilou — December 8, 2014 @ 3:10 pm

    I’m so glad! Thanks for the feedback!

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