Every year I ask myself two questions: Why do I only make deviled eggs at Thanksgiving? and Why do I only make quiche at Christmas? You would think that after 30 years of serious kitchen time, I’d be able to answer myself. Both options are pretty inexpensive and are definitely tasty, but I’m a creature of habit and save both of them for special occasions.This year I made ham, green onion, and cheese quiche the weekend after Christmas. We were all wondering what to do with leftover Christmas ham, and after our second round of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, I knew it was time to break out the frozen pie shells and do it up.When I was a kid, I put quiche in the “fancy” category; it’s not something my parents ever served. I placed it somewhere near going out to Red Lobster as a family and putting a cloth napkin on my lap.
The first thing to be aware of when making quiche is that you basically need one cup of heavy cream, half and half, or in my case, whole milk for each quiche. You also need four eggs per quiche. From there, you can put virtually anything in it and it will taste great. This is how I do it:
Christmas Quiche
Serves 4
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 cup whole milk
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup chopped green onion
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Jarlsberg cheese
1 cup chopped ham
1 frozen deep-dish pie shell
Whisk the eggs until just blended, being mindful not to go overboard, add the milk or cream, salt and pepper, and whisk again until blended. Add cheeses, green onions, and ham. Stir together until well mixed.Spoon ingredients into a pie shell that’s placed on a cookie sheet.Bake quiche on the cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until set.
