who's your daddy?! quiche a la torbakhopper
okay, all my sweet babies. so you want to unlock the mystery of a perfect quiche?
here you go, i give you my limited wisdom and experience along with my opinions and preferences. this is my recipe based off the ideas of other people and then radically cutting back on the overabundance of things like eggs and cream and cheese, thereby increasing all the joys of this dish while eliminating the traditionally over-rich ingredients -- compare 2 cups of heavy cream in favor of one cup of Half and Half, dropping 4 ounces on the cheese and getting rid of one of the eggs!!! yeehaw, that stuff is so unnecessary if you get the lab work and arrangement correct on this dish!!!!! so here we go:
QUICHE a la TORBAKHOPPER
preheat oven to 425F degrees
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
I 1/4 cup Half and Half (the quarter cup is in case your pie needs extra at the end, so just start with one cup for the first bit and later you will add the extra quarter cup if necessary)
2 oz shredded cheese (medium sharp works great. you can get all euro cheese if you want, too, but it's not necessary, this ingredient works alchemically to make the top skin perfect and it's not so much about taste)
3 slices center cut bacon
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1 diced white/yellow onion
1/4 cup diced ham (optional)
1/2 tomato thinly sliced
black pepper to season
nutmeg to season
salt to season
red pepper
1 deep dish pie crust
HOW TO BAKE YOUR QUICHE:
now, the important thing to remember is that anybody can bake a quiche. As far as that goes, all you need to do is make sure that the oven preheats to 425F. Then, put the quiche carefully in the oven -- don't spill and don't fill the pie too high!!!! trust me, it is better to have a low quiche than it is to clean up egg/cream residue off the counters, the floors and the oven :-)
after 15 minutes, against all odds and recommendations, quiche a la torbakhopper is made by reducing the oven heat to 375F degrees AND almost sacrilegiously, opening the oven and saying a brief two second blessing on your pie before closing it. this helps reduce the heat more quickly and will remind you not to overcook your delicious pie. for me, quiche is about this magical custard that you make when you slow bake eggs and cream together. i really can't stand fluffy/eggy quiche, so you should know that in advance. this is about the rich, delicious flavor and texture that comes when egg and cream become almost dessert-like.
after 30 minutes at 375F degrees, check in our your quiche. if it looks absolutely gorgeous like the shot above, pull it out of the oven and let it sit for at least twenty minutes. it is still doing its chemistry testing, so don't disturb it. give it a chance to do the unseen magic.
IF YOU ARE USING A DEEP DISH PIE CRUST, ALLOW FIVE OR TEN EXTRA MINUTES OF COOKING TIME.
finding a good pie crust that you can buy frozen is pretty key, too. i use pilsbury because they are dessert sweet compared to some of the cardboard tasting bland pie crusts. also, i wash my eggs before using them. why? because if you use/store some of the whites in the egg shells, you can literally pour the egg white onto your pie shell crust after/before you pour your quiche mixture into the pie. this way you'll end up with a nicely burnished crust that will make your mother proud to have given birth to you if she isn't already.
okay, so that's how you bake a quiche and if i can do it, you certainly can!!!!
now the real part of what makes quiche difficult. as i've stated, any monkey boy or girl can bake a quiche because it's all about how you construct your quiche that makes or breaks the universal gong.
HOW TO CONSTRUCT YOUR QUICHE A LA TORBAKHOPPER:
i love quiche and think it's one of the perfect foods. i generally make quiche when i wake up in the morning. i do my sporadic coffee ritual on quiche baking mornings. and i also make a separate breakfast at the same time (i don't usually eat my quiche at the same time i make it and this is a little bit key, cuz quiche taste really great AFTER it sets). i will usually make an egg and toast during the time i make the quiche. i can use the same dishes to make both and minimize cleaning.
oaky, so start by frying your bacon.
chop up your ham and onion and separate your broccoli florets into tiny little florets
crack your eggs (don't forget to save some whites for your crusts) and mix them into your Half and Half in a mixing glass (easy to pour). add pepper and red pepper. whip that egg mix good!!
add ham to the bacon when you've turned the bacon to get some cooking on it.
when bacon is finished, throw onion in same pan and saute/reduce onion.
let bacon resaturate and harden.
slice tomato while onion and broccoli cook down
broccoli goes on top of onions.
stir and reduce a bit.
crumble bacon and place on the ground floor of the crust
spread ham (optional ingredient) on top of bacon
when finished, put onion and broccoli contents on top of the bacon and ham layer, pushing any larger broccoli toward the corner baseline of the pie crust, away from the middle.
now pour the egg cream mixture into the center of the pie gently.
if you feel that your pie is too low, now you can add a 1/4 of Half and Half if need be. this will depend on the size of your onion and how much ham you add extra
pour half and half on top of the egg cream mix. it will create a wonderful marbling effect in your pie and be extra delicious, but it also adds calories.
now put the cheese layer on top of the new egg cream skin. imagine that you are a spider web designer and you are building a net that will hold up your tomatoes. and your tomatoes should be thinly sliced so that they will stay suspended above the egg custard.
they go on last and then i add black pepper, red pepper and nutmeg to the utmost top surface layer.
say one more blessing and give thanks for the abundance in the world that even allows for something as wickedly cool as quiche to exist -- energy, sources, blessings, bounty!!!!
place carefully into oven according to the instructions above.
enjoy!!!!