Quiche Lorraine

                                                                     Photography by Rachel Horesovsky

Has anybody seen a dog died dark green?

Not THAT Quiche Lorraine!  I'm talking French food here folks, not new wave bands from Georgia! ( But I DO love this song).

I have been making this for breakfast for about as long as I can remember.  It is perhaps one of the most satisfying things to have on a sleepy Sunday morning while sipping coffee and a Bloody Mary,  listening to Ella Fitzgerald and watching a gentle rain fall on the garden.

That's precisely what we did this past Sunday with my daughter Rachel and her boyfriend Sam.  We were enjoying the moment when it occurred to me that maybe I should blog this recipe.  I guess I never thought about it since Quiche Lorraine is such a basic dish.

In my humble opinion, Quiche Lorraine is all about the onions.  I have a technique that coaxes every sweet molecule of flavor out of them and makes for an incredible dish.  I cut a large onion in half, then slowly saute the thick halves, without breaking apart the rings, in bacon fat, flipping only once until they are caramelized on the cut ends and the interior has begun to become translucent.  The flavor is incomparable!

I also cheat and use a commercially prepared pie crust so I can throw this together in a matter of minutes.

Quiche Lorraine
serves 8

1 commercially prepared pie crust
6 slices bacon
1 large onion
8 oz sliced mushrooms
8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with pie crust.

In a large skillet fry bacon over medium high heat until crisp.  Drain bacon on paper toweling, reserving bacon fat.

Remove the skin from a large onion and remove both ends.  Cut in half so that you can see the rings of onion, but leave each half intact.  Place cut side down in hot bacon fat and reduce heat to medium.  Allow to saute for 10 minutes undisturbed.  Gently turn onion halves over and saute the other side for 10 additional minutes.  Transfer onion halves to cutting board and allow to cool slightly.

Add sliced mushrooms to bacon fat and saute until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop onions into large hunks, separating the layers.

In a large bowl combine chopped onions, mushrooms and crumbled bacon.  Place half of this mixture in the prepared pie shell and top with half of the Swiss cheese.  Add remaining onion mixture and top with remaining cheese.

In the same bowl, combine eggs, salt pepper and milk and whisk to combine.  Pour into prepared pie shell.

Bake 45 minutes.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing.