Quiche!

So, I have an abnormal addiction to brunch food- especially when served for dinner! I love, love, LOVE quiche! Quiche is great because all you really need are eggs and a crust, and you can pretty much make whatever your heart desires with various combinations of meat (if you go for that), cheese, and most importantly, veggies.

One of my personal favorites is bacon and asparagus, with caramelized onions and gruyere. However, if you are pressed for cash, extra sharp white cheddar is a perfectly acceptable substitute as well.

Now, the most important part of a good quiche is a good crust. Quiche crusts differ from more traditional pie crusts in that they tend to be a little more crispy and do not have the added sugar. I've experimented around with several different recipes and so far my favorite omits the butter and uses olive oil instead!

Quiche Crust
 - Makes one 9" crust.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil (you may substitute canola oil but I've never tried it)
• 1/4 cup chilled filtered water

Preparation:

1. Mix dry ingredients in small bowl with fork.
2. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl with whisk, until combined.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together with fork.
4. Press into 9" pie crust.
5. Refrigerate until use.

Bacon and Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:

• One quiche crust (see above for recipe) 
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup half and half
• salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 6 stalks of asparagus, blanched, chilled, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 pieces of bacon 
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 small shallots, sliced 
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (You can also substitute extra sharp white cheddar or Swiss)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium high heat. When finished (should be cooked all the way through but not crispy), set bacon on paper towels to drain some grease off. Using the same skillet, caramelize shallots in the bacon drippings. When shallots are finished, set in a colander to drain off excess grease.
3. In a small bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in half and half, salt, and pepper. 
4. Toss bacon, shallots, and asparagus into bottom of chilled quiche shell. Sprinkle cheese evenly over. Pour egg mixture over all of the other ingredients. 
5. Place quiche in preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

I suggest to serve alongside a baby arugula salad tossed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.