Quickie Quiche-y

I hated eggs as a child. Hated, hated, hated them. Unfortunately they were a common enough staple of my mothers' cooking repetoire that I had to endure them repeatedly. There were many things I did not like about eggs, but the way my mother cooked them did not help. She seems to favor the "wave a match near the pan" methodology, which means they always tasted raw and wobbly to me. I always knew it was going to be a bad day if I woke up and there were poached eggs waiting for me for breakfast. In hindsight I can't understand why I wasn't allowed to have cereal instead of being forced to eat runny egg yolks that touch EVERYTHING whether you want them to or not. I think it may have been part of a general campaign to make me very, very excited to leave home the minute I turned 18. I believe there is a song from Bread and Jam for Francis about soft-boiled eggs that sums it up best:

"I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you lots of ways,
And I could do for many days
Without eggs."

Now that I am an adult (technically if not in actuality) I realize that eggs are an important source of protein and are better for you than bowls of Frosted Lucky Charms, even if they lack marshmallow surprises. When I lived in France during an exchange for business school, I was able to try a "real" quiche or two and was surprised to discover I actually liked them. Cooking the quiche all the way through seems to make a huge difference. After hauling out the Cuisine de l'etudiant booklet to scan in a photograph, I decided to try a few of the easy-peasy recipes after all. Last night was Spaghetti Bolognese, which was so good the dog stole half my dinner when I left it unguarded in the basement for a few minutes. Tonight is Quick Quiche. If it ends up reminding me of my childhood, this will be the last time I make it. Hopefully that won't be the case.

I looked at the French version, and found a similar recipe on Epicurious.com and arrived somewhere in the middle.
Link to Madame Quiche's basic recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/15850

Here's the cheater's version:
Pre-made crust + filling + eggs + heat = Quiche

Buy pre-made pie crust, either the frozen one or the refrigerator section one (look near the pre-made rolls). Pre-cook the crust according to the directions on the package after poking some fork holes in it. Don't do what I did, which is to follow pre-baking instructions for a real pate brisee and then the crust got over-browned. Leave aside to cool. Also I used a 9.5" tart pan with a removable bottom, but you can use a pie plate or whatever, but try to make sure it's relatively shallow. If it's too tall and deep, you end up with raw middles, the bane of my childhood.

Ham bits being cooked plus shallots and herbs minus bone which, yes, is still in the dog...

Fillings are as varied as your leftovers are. Just make sure that the meat is pre-cooked and in small pieces. I am not a huge fan of broccoli in quiches since it is too big, but if you like it, go for it. Basic rules are dice meat, stir over med-high heat in a frying pan, add onions or shallots and herbs until cooked through. Try stirring in some frozen vegetables for added nutrition. I am craving ham like crazy lately (thank you baby!) so that's what I was doing with a ham steak. I added some diced shallot, chopped parsley and minced thyme since I had that in the fridge. Once cooked through, put filling on the bottom of the pre-baked crust. I added canned marinated artichoke hearts too since who doesn't love artichokes and ham?

Quiche prior to being covered with egg filling

Egg mixture should follow the basic recipe of 3eggs + 1/2cup milk + 1/3cup cream or creme fraiche + 1/2cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese + salt & pepper. Beat with a fork to combine and pour over fillings. Try using Egg Beaters instead of real eggs, or fat-free half n' half instead of cream, or plain yogurt instead of cream. You could probably switch the cheeses out for something different but make sure it's a semi-hard cheese that melts well. Fontina? Raclette? Dunno. Just don't substitute Brie, because that would be a mess. You could probably also go with the pre-shredded variety in the bag near where you found the pie crusts and not suffer any major dilemmas. If you're using a larger pie plate, double the number of eggs and milke, etc.

Bake at 425 F for 30mins, less if you're using two smaller tart pans, more if you're using a larger pan. Quiche is done when it is nice and brown and golden on top, and it doesn't wobble when moved. Stick a knife in it to see if the center is cooked all the way through. Since I pretty much burnt the crust, I used pie shields while baking the quiche to keep them from burning for real, but feel free to skip this and/or use tin foil instead.

Le Quiche au Jambon est pret!