Sunday, July 31, 2011

What do you do with 42 eggs? Add a pound of bacon!

Dear Kristin,

You ask what to do with 42 eggs, and quiche is definitely a worthy use of these little orbs of delight. When I discovered quiche back in the 70's, there used to be a saying that "Real men don't eat quiche." Well on a recent hectic weeknight, I enlisted your father's help in the kitchen. The result? Not homicide, not divorce, not even a heated discussion over whether to beat eggs with a whisk or a fork. No, we came up with a quiche that no man would be too proud to eat.

As I prepared the pie crust, whisked the eggs and shredded the cheese, your father cooked the bacon and onions. He asked if he should cook the whole pound of bacon, and not knowing exactly how much I would use, I said - "sure, cook the whole pound - whatever we don't use we'll just keep for another day." When the bacon was done, I asked him to put it into the crust. Well, being a guy who always follows my directions to a letter (yeah, right), he put the whole pound in the crust. Not wanting to hurt his feelings and risk future kitchen cooperation, I just swallowed hard and proceeded to assemble the quiche as if a pound of bacon was totally within the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines.

Well, let me tell you. This quiche turned out to be one of our best kitchen successes. Surprisingly, the bacon was not all that overwhelming. The smoked gouda chunks sort of melt into smokey little pockets of goodness that meld nicely with the bacon and cheddar. The gruyere on top? It adds a nice thin crispy top to the quiche that browns beautifully.

Well, I'll close now - I'm off to the store to buy more bacon!




Man Quiche

1 9" pie shell
6 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (non-fat is ok, but heck, with a pound of bacon, who cares?)
1 lb. bacon
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup smoked gouda cheese, cut into 1/4" cubes
1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Whisk eggs and yogurt together until smooth.

Cut bacon into 1" pieces and cook until slightly crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels  Leave about 2 tblsp. drippings in pan. Sautee onion in the drippings until it just begins to get tender.

Sprinkle bacon and onion over the bottom of the pie crust.

Sprinkle first the cheddar, and then the smoked gouda over bacon and onions.

Pour egg mixture over cheese and bacon-onion mixture.

Top with thin layer of shredded gruyere.

Bake at 400 F. for 40 minutes, or until knife inserted half way between edge and center of pie comes out clean. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

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