I know that quiche is one of the easiest things to make, but I still have to write about this, because I do not like a wimpy quiche. What is a wimpy quiche? It’s a quiche that is not very tall, it’s a quiche with a flabby, thin crust, it’s a quiche that is too egg-y or watery, where the crust falls backwards onto the plate. I’m too upset about it to post a photo, but I think you get the picture.

[Imagine it here.]

I believe that quiche should be very tall and sturdy, chock full of wonderful ingredients. And the crust, well, the crust should be fantastic! Buttery, flaky, but sturdy enough to stand tall with the rest of the quiche.

Quiche is best served with mixed greens.

When I was in college I waited tables at Bernard’s, a lovely French bistro in St. Louis. They had the best quiche. Tall, firm, cheesy, but not too much so, and filled with the best ingredients. I am forever ruined because of it. I am disappointed when I order quiche at restaurants, and get a wimpy quiche. Or even worse, a microwaved wimpy quiche. How dare they. You would think it wouldn’t happen, but oddly, it is all too common.

Bernard’s is on the right.

So here I am to tell you about my favorite quiche recipe. It’s of course very simple, and the recipe comes from Ree Drummond, the fabulous Pioneer Woman. She uses a deep dish pie pan… I mean a really deep dish pie pan.

Most of the time, I use my trusty Emile Henry deep dish pie pan, and it works out just fine, but sometimes I go crazy and use the one that you see above. Also, Ree’s quiche recipe uses 8 eggs. Yep, 8. I recently called a local bakery and grilled the baker on her crust recipe; then we got to talking about quiche. Then she says, as if letting me in on a secret, “Oh, and add more eggs”. YES!!! She and I both agreed that nothing is worse than a wimpy quiche! So don’t be afraid of all the eggs in this recipe. You will love it, and you will impress your friends and family.

Ham and Broccoli Quiche

(Adapted from Ree Drummond’s recipe)

• 1 frozen deep dish unbaked pie crust (see note below)
• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
• Dash nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup steamed baby brocolli
• 1 cup chopped black forest ham
• 2 cups shredded gruyère cheese

1. Place a rimmed cookie sheet on the bottom rack of your oven, and preheat oven to 400°.
2. Whisk eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Add and mix in the cheese, ham, and broccoli (or any ingredients you like, as long as they are not watery).
4. Pour mixture into your frozen pie shell.
5. Place quiche on the cookie sheet, and place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the top of the quiche.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so. The center of the quiche should be set. It should not look liquidy. When in doubt, bake it a bit longer. Mine usually takes a total of 70 minutes, but every oven is different. After an hour start checking every 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour before serving. This quiche actually tastes better the next day, in my opinion. The custard sets nicely and the flavors mingle, and the crust gets extra crispy. To serve the next day, slice the quiche and heat individual pieces in a preheated 300° oven on a metal cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure there is room between the slices.

Note:  I like to prepare pie crusts and roll them out ahead of time, and wrap them well, pan and all, and keep them in the freezer so they will be ready at a moment’s notice when I feel like making quiche or pie. They are unbaked and frozen, in the pan, just like the ones you would get at the grocery store. But it’s really worth it to have homemade crust! Both my Emile Henry ceramic pie dishes and the metal ones can go right into a hot oven from frozen. Do it.

You can see how the crust is golden all the way along the bottom: not soggy!

Bon apétit!