Spinach Quiche

When I think of a brunch, I think of a few quintessential egg dishes: omelets, frittatas, and of course, quiches.  I had never made a quiche before, but decided Mother's Day brunch would be an excellent time to try.  I looked all over for a fun spring recipe, but everything looked so complicated and I really wanted to keep my first attempt somewhat simple.  As you may have guessed, I deferred to the kitchen bible, New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  I chose the "Spinach Quiche" recipe because of the veggie content and the great color that I thought it would lend to the brunch table.

I made my own pastry crust, recipe also found in this cookbook.  I think next time I'll either make it the night before or just *gasp* buy it from the store.  It turns out that making your own crust the morning of the brunch is too time consuming and also a huge pain in the butt.  To be honest, this recipe requires quite a bit of prep and may be best prepared in its separate components the night before to help the cook avoid a very special kind of kitchen meltdown...I'm better now :p



Fixins:

• Single pie crust
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices chopped bacon
• 8 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk (or half and half or light cream)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper (I used black)
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• 3 cups chopped spinach
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used asiago)
• Cherry tomatoes (I didn't use these)

Place the pie crust into the pie pan & pre-bake it a bit.  Cook onions and bacon together in pan until the onion is soft and the bacon is crispy, drain.  Combine eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Add spinach, onion mixture and cheeses.  Pour the egg mixture into the hot, baked pie crust then bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.  Mine took a bit longer - about an hour.  As with a pie, you may choose to place foil over the crust to keep it from burning.

Result:

Obviously, it was quickly devoured.  The spinach and onion gave the quiche greater substance, the cheese and egg melded seamlessly together, and the bacon added a mouthwatering salty crunch.  The crust was a bit dry, but I think that is because I rolled it too thin.  All in all, it was a substantial and tasty addition to the brunch table.

Repeat:
Perhaps.  I definitely like the addition of bacon to this quiche, but it was a lot of work and spinach isn't my favorite, so if I do make it again, it will be for a special occasion and I think I'll throw in some different veggies like asparagus or some herbs like fresh basil or parsley.

What is the best brunch item you've ever tasted?