Recipe of the Week: Quiche Lorraine

So May 20th was National Quiche Lorraine Day...but who the the hell is Lorraine?  There are two stories, which are both somewhat believable and don't have anything to do with anyone named Lorraine.

The first states that although quiche is considered to be a classic French dish, quiche actually originated in Germany.  It started in the medieval Kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, which the French later named Lorraine.  The word quiche is from the German word kuchen, meaning cake.

The other theory is that quiche Lorraine is named after the Lorraine region of France.  Again, although considered to be French, using eggs and cream in pastry was practiced in English cuisine at least as early as the 14th century and in Italian cuisine as early as the 13th century.

This is a classic breakfast/brunch dish but pairs well with a salad for a light dinner.

Brian makes the absolute best quiche Lorraine; however, this is not his exact recipe.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 layer pastry dough

5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled into small pieces

4 fresh free range jumbo eggs

1 cup half and half

salt and white pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions:

Lightly grease deep-dish pie pan then roll out pastry dough to line the pan.  Place the pan into the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes (resting will ensure that the pastry will not shrink when cooked).

Preheat oven to 375F.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator and sprinkle bacon in the bottom of the pan.

Beat together the eggs, half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Place the pie dish in the center of the oven then pour the egg mixture over the bacon and sprinkle with cheese (this way you won't spill over the edge when trying to place to pan in the oven).

Bake the quiche for 45-50 minutes until eggs are set in the middle.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest and cool for at least 20 minutes (avoid serving hot as it will crumble).

* this recipe features bacon, but you could substitute with mushrooms for a vegetarian version