Earlier this week, I set a French Provençal table for Cuisine Kathleen's Destination Table Challenge. You can see more pictures of the table in that post Here.
I wrote that, in keeping with the French theme, we had quiche for dinner.
It was a traditional Quiche Lorraine, which my husband and I love with a salad and good, crusty French bread. Most of you who cook at all probably have a recipe for Quiche Lorraine tucked into your recipe files. But just in case you don't, I thought I would share our recipe with you. Some years ago, I found a bit of interesting history about this quiche in my cookbook, "The Frugal Gourmet." You may remember him from old episodes on PBS and possibly Food Network.
The Frugal Gourmet (Jeff Smith) writes that the "egg pie" called a quiche is French. It actually comes from northeastern France in an area known as Alsace-Lorraine near the border with Germany, and once a part of the German Empire. The old classic, quiche Lorraine, is simply a bacon and egg pie. Often onions are included. According to Mr. Smith, "...the Germans have eaten egg and onion pies for years." Wikipedia says the French word quiche is derived from the German word kuchen. "Lorraine" indicates the region associated with the traditional Quiche Lorraine.
The recipe that I use came from my mom. The card, written in her hand, has been in my recipe box most of our married life.
Here's the typewritten version, as this handwritten copy might be hard to read.
- One 9" pie crust (I used Pillsbury dairy crust)
- 12 slices bacon, crisply fried and crumbled (I only use nine or ten slices)
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.)
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 3/4 teas. salt (I only use 1/4 teas.)
- 1/4 teas. sugar
- 1/8 teas. pepper
*One hint that I use from "The Frugal Gourmet" cookbook is to precook the pastry crust before adding the fillings to prevent a soggy crust. Also, you may want to lightly sauté your onions before adding them to the pastry.
Heat oven to 425°. Prepare pastry. Sprinkle bacon, cheese, and onion in precooked pastry. Beat eggs slightly and blend in remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into pie pan. Bake 15 minutes; then reduce temperature to 350° degrees and bake 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted one inch from edge comes out clean. Let pie stand ten minutes before serving.
I have to confess that I've never met a pie I didn't like, be it sweet or savory. :) This recipe makes for a fairly simple and inexpensive meal, and sometimes I find that those kind are the best. We think this smells wonderful when it's baking, and it re-heats so well in our counter top oven (not in the microwave).
**Note: I only use 1/4 teas. of salt, rather than the 3/4 teas. that the recipe calls for. I feel like the bacon and cheese have enough salt already, and when I used to add the full amount, the quiche tasted too salty. Also, I'm thinking of using Gruyère Cheese next time instead of Swiss; it's similar to Swiss, but tastier in my opinion.
If you've never made Quiche Lorraine before, I hope you'll try this recipe. And as always, thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comments. I'm linking to Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Seasonal Sundays, hosted by The Tablescaper, and On The Menu Monday, hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable.
**Note: I only use 1/4 teas. of salt, rather than the 3/4 teas. that the recipe calls for. I feel like the bacon and cheese have enough salt already, and when I used to add the full amount, the quiche tasted too salty. Also, I'm thinking of using Gruyère Cheese next time instead of Swiss; it's similar to Swiss, but tastier in my opinion.
If you've never made Quiche Lorraine before, I hope you'll try this recipe. And as always, thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comments. I'm linking to Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Seasonal Sundays, hosted by The Tablescaper, and On The Menu Monday, hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable.
Au Revoir,
Denise
