Mom's Quiche Lorraine: The Recipe

MOM'S QUICHE LORRAINE

INGREDIENTS

Egg Mixture

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy whipping cream

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• ¼ tablespoon nutmeg

• 2 dashes of white pepper

Fillings

• 4 slices of Swiss cheese

• ¼ pound (4 slices) thick cut bacon

Pie Crust

• 1- 9" ready made deep dish pie shell

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

• Fry the bacon very lightly- just enough to render off the fat. The bacon should maintain a chewy (not crispy) consistency. I like to fry the bacon on an electric griddle at 250 degrees.

• Cool the bacon to room temperature. Tear the bacon by hand into pieces, roughly 1 inch long.

• Tear the swiss cheese slices by hand into pieces, roughly 1 inch long.

• Set aside the bacon and swiss cheese.

• Vigorously whisk the eggs, heavy whipping cream, nutmeg, and white pepper into a smooth mixture (about the consistency of thin pancake batter). Whisking is important to achieve a light, fluffy consistency when the quiche bakes.

• Next, it’s time to fill the pie shell. Note: Many quiche recipes recommend lining the bottom of the pie crust with all of the fillings, and then pour all of the egg mixture on top. I don’t recommend this because sometimes the fillings don’t rise with the egg mixture during baking. I prefer to add the ingredients to the pie crust more gradually.

• Evenly line the bottom of the pie shell with half of the bacon, then half of the swiss cheese.

• Pour half of the egg mixture into the pie shell.

• Evenly place the remaining bacon and swiss cheese into the pie shell.

• Pour the remaining egg mixture into the pie shell. The mixture will almost reach the top of the pie shell, so handle carefully.

• Note: My mother always uses Pillsbury Pet Ritz deep dish pie shells. Thaw the pie shell and poke it with a fork as instructed on the back of the package, but do not brown the pie shell in advance for this recipe. Browning the pie shell in advance will make the crust overly brown or burnt during baking.

• Gently place the quiche in the center of the bottom rack of the oven. This is important. If you place the quiche on a middle or high rack, the top of the quiche and the crust may burn. Baking on the bottom rack produces a light, fluffy pie with a golden brown color. Be careful to keep everything very still around the kitchen while the quiche is baking so that it rises properly.

• Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, checking about every 10 minutes with the oven light.

• Remove the quiche from the oven, and test for doneness with a toothpick. If no egg comes off, it’s ready.

• The quiche may be eaten right away, but I prefer to wait for an hour or two for maximum flavor.