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Ham, apple, and a half-day quiche

The recipe for this ham & apple quiche from Food & Wine warns up front that it takes about 4 hours to come together, so I figure I should offer the same caution in starting this post. Granted, most of that time is passive, and none of it is all that taxing if you’re prepared. But this is not the dinner to start after work. 

This is a good dinner for snow days, holidays, or other days off from work. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

Ham and apple quiche ingredients.

Like with any good pie crust, this one should chill for about an hour in the fridge, and then another half-hour or so once it’s rolled out and put into the skillet. This one also calls for pre-baking the crust. 

Once that’s all done, the next step involves trying desperately to create these beautiful little florets of ham and apple that are kind of a pain but do look quite nice if you can pull it off. (If not, honestly, getting thin slices and then chopping them up small will perhaps work just as well, if not as pretty.) 

Then, finally comes the cheese, and then the egg and half and half mixture.

Oh, and then the baking. While it says to bake for 40 to 50 minutes, I found myself looking at upwards of an hour before the thing set, though I didn’t use the larger tart pan called for but rather my small skillet. The ingredients, with slightly fewer florets, otherwise worked in the differently sized equipment, but perhaps that was the reason for the time difference. 

Either way, I quite enjoyed this one, even with all the work. It had a nice presentation and a better flavor. 

Nom noms.

Here’s what I did, altering the Food & Wine recipe to fit 9-inch skillet: 

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 stick (½ c.) unsalted butter, cubed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Ice water, for crust 
  • 8 oz. thinly sliced Black Forest ham, cut into 1 ¼ in. strips
  • 1 medium Granny Smith apple, quartered, cored, and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 1 c. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 1 ¼ c. half and half
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 t. fresh thyme

Directions

Mix together the flour and a little salt and pepper. Add the cubed butter and mix in using a pastry blender until you have chickpea-sized pieces. Drizzle in ice water until dough comes together. Work until it comes together and pat into a disk. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes to an hour. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough into about an 11 in. round. Fit dough into a 9- to 10- in. skillet. Chill rolled out and placed dough for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees.

Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 40 minutes, and then remove weights and parchment and bake until golden and crisp, about another 10 minutes. Let cool. 

Place a strip of ham on a work surface. Arrange a row of slightly overlapping apple slices lengthwise on a ham strip; roll up loosely and place in the pie crust, spiral side up, and repeat as appropriate to fill up the pie shell. (I had to use other utensils to keep the florets from unraveling, but if you dear reader find a better way, please let me know!) Sprinkle cheese on top.

Whisk together the half and half, eggs, egg yolk, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in and around the apple and ham rolls. 

Bake at 375 degrees until the custard is set, about 50 minutes, loosely tenting with foil to prevent the crust from burning. Remove from heat, and let cool for about 15 minutes, and enjoy!

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But there’s time now … for caramelized onions

I still can’t get over the fact that since the caucuses have ended, my weekends seem freer. Sure, I’m doing my damnedest to fill them up still, but it’s nothing compared to the anxiety of door-knocking, waiting for door knocks, ignoring the multiple calls and texts a day, and all the ways that I worried about the results. (Going to resist a joke about being careful what I wish for here, but needless to say, it’s not like the weeks since have been any smoother for this recovering political reporter.)

So, with an entire extra day of my weekend to do nothing but clean, go to the library, and talk to my mom, I decided it was a good use of my time to once again try to caramelize onions. It has never once turned out the way it looks on TV and in magazines, but it has continued to taste pretty good. This time was no exception.

Surprise, caramelized onions ingredients include mostly onions.

Also, thanks to a picture-filled guide from Food & Wine, I had more guidance, and a good use for my finished product in a quiche.

That’s right. This is a two-fer.

Caramelized onion quiche ingredients.

However, I quickly disposed of the quiche recipe provided and substituted my own version that mirrored something my sweetie had made before. I learned the joys of adding walnuts to a pie crust, of the potentially overwhelming flavor of moldy cheese, and of the fact that a braiser is an amazing pie dish (As a long-time pie lady, I will remember that last one!).

Even if the onions overcooked, didn’t get as moist, and blackened the bottom of my pan, it really only sped up the process of cooking the onions (and reminding me again to adapt!), and they tasted fine. My only regret on the onions is halving the recipe that means we ended up with just enough left over after the cup that went into the quiche to add to the top of two veggie burgers.

For the quiche, I skipped the 1 c. of diced ham, and replaced it with walnuts and Gorgonzola, about a cup-ish of each. However, the 4 oz. of Gorgonzola was a tiny bit overwhelming for me, even as my sweetie adored its flavor. In addition, I added some parsley and some pepper, and tested adding about a half cup of ground walnuts into the pie crust for extra walnut flavor.

The crust was an extra joy, and I have plans for doing that again already. Everything else was also a joy, though YMMV with the Gorgonzola.

It actually couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate the day off than to spend it in the kitchen making something this special.

Couldn’t resist eating some before taking a picture. Oops.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients 

For the caramelized onions

  • 2 lb. yellow onions, halved and sliced vertically
  • 2 t. vegetable oil
  • 2 t. salt
  • ~¼ to ½ c. water

For the quiche

  • 1 pie crust (my typical is 1 ¼ c. flour, 8 T. butter, 1 t. salt, ice water to form; with this I used ¾ c. flour and added ½ c. ground walnuts… but any crust will due)
  • 1 c. caramelized onions
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • 2 to 4 oz. Gorgonzola (use according to your love of Gorgonzola; 4 oz. was a bit much for me)
  • 1 c. chopped walnuts
  • 2 T. chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

For the caramelized onions

Heat the oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet or braiser on the stove top over medium-high heat. Add half the onions, turning to coat them in oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, and then add the remaining onions by the handful, using tongs to continue to coat the onions. The pan will be kind of full, but the onions will reduce, and continue to reduce. Once the onions are added, continue to cook for about 3 more minutes, adding salt to draw more moisture out. Reduce heat to medium, cover the skillet (braiser), and cook about 10 more minutes, when hopefully a pool of liquid will have collected (it didn’t for me). Remove lid, and continue to cook the onions, folding them over each other and scraping the bottom of the pan as necessary. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 35 minutes. (If like me, there’s not much liquid, just keep stirring and cooking and gauge by color, not by time.) Scrape the bottom of the pan and shape the onions into a patty; add water as/if they stick to the pan, until the browned bits are loosened as much as possible. Keep cooking, stirring often, until the onions look the color of bourbon (that’s from the recipe but good advice!), up to another 35 to 45 minutes, as needed. Remove from heat and use/serve as desired.

For the quiche

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the pie dough to fit in a 9- to 10-inch braiser, or skillet. Lay the dough into the braiser/skillet, pressing around the edges, and shaping the ends as desired. Poke with a fork, layer with pie weights or aluminum foil and dried beans. Bake for about 15 minutes, until parboiled.

Meanwhile, in a large boil, mix together the eggs, cream, onions, gorgonzola, walnuts, parsley, and salt and pepper.

When the crust is ready, remove pie weights, and pour in the egg mixture.

Carefully place braiser/skillet back in the oven, and bake for about 35 minutes until the eggs have set and the top is browned, and enjoy!

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Quiche me like you mean it

After two weeks of traveling, I’m finding it nice to be home. And one of the surest signs that we’ve been on the road too much (and that I’m officially grown up) is that I got burnt out on fast food. Yes, I was craving salad and vegetables.

Of course, I do not need to be nudged too hard but the need for healthier fare hit like a craving. So, I was glad I had saved this quiche recipe for a post-travels dinner.

Sheet pan quiche ingredients.

It isn’t all healthy, what with an all-butter crust, cream cheese, and more cheese. But it was topped with my comfort food veggies, marinated artichokes and asparagus. And eggs, well, I think the jury is still out on whether they’re healthy or not. For the sake of this post, let’s say they’re a good source of protein.

Plus, I was happy to have another reason to make a pie crust in this year of sheet pan recipes.

The recipe was adapted from food blogging fave Smitten Kitchen. But I chose my favorite vegetables over spinach (which is a fine green!) and had to tweak to fit my size sheet pan (roughly 11×15 inch). All worked out perfectly and I found a relatively simple recipe I am sure I’ll be returning to again and again.

Look at those beautiful vegetables and that perfect crust.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

For crust:

  • 2 sticks butter
  • Scant 2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
  • 3 oz. ice water (I used a handy shot glass and shaker, don’t judge)
  • Salt, if desired

Or, feel free to roughly double your favorite pie crust.

For quiche filling:

  • 1 brick (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 c. half and half
  • 7 large eggs
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced white and light green parts
  • About ¾ bunch asparagus, ends removed and cut into about 1 ½ inch pieces
  • 1 (about 6 oz.) jar of marinated artichokes, drained
  • 1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Oil, for coating

Directions

Prepare crust. Use a food processor, pastry blender, or hands to mix together the butter and flour until well blended. Add water slowly until dough forms. Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about an hour. When ready, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick and slightly larger than the size of your sheet pan. Carefully place the dough in the sheet pan and trim the edges as necessary. Freeze for about 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Then, when ready, pierce the cold dough throughout with a fork. Cover dough with a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil. Add weights. (I forgot this step and all turned out fine.) Bake for about 20 minutes until partially done, and then remove foil (and any pie weights) and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes to lightly golden the crust.

Meanwhile, make the filling. I was lazy here and used my stand mixer, but do what works for you. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl. Carefully add the half and half. Whisk in eggs one at a time, until combined. Stir in the scallions, cheeses, and salt and pepper.

Once crust is ready, pour on the egg mixture. Do not overtop the crust (this amount of egg mixture worked perfect for my sheet pan, but amounts and sheet pans vary). If you have extra, consider you’ve got breakfast in the morning.

Top egg mixture with asparagus pieces and quartered artichoke hearts.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake the quiche until the crust is fully golden and the eggy filling is set, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes or until warmed to desired temperature, and enjoy!