Sweet Sunday

I’d say brunch went well. Mini quiche and fruit kabobs with brown sugar dip aside, I got to share a few of my favorite books with the group (Straight Up and Dirty by Stephanie Klein, Heat by Bill Buford and My Life in France by her royal highness, Julia Child) talk about girl stuff for a few hours (you know…food!) and meet a new friend, Julia. Talk about inspiring! Check out her blog. Reading it’s got me running to my closest Nordstroms, for sure!
In case you’re wondering how I made the mini quiche, I’ll indulge you.
Broken down into 2 parts, you’ll need this basic shell recipe and my souped-up recipe for the eggs.
I made around 30 quiches…the shell recipe says it makes 24, but not quite. I thought it sounded small, so I doubled the recipe. Good thing I did! I used every bit of the dough. After you assemble the shells, roll the dough into a ball and stick it in the fridge for an hour or so.

To make the eggs, you’ll need:
4 eggs
2 cups half and half (never fear, fat free half and half works beautifully)
½ cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste

Wisk these ingredients together…do you have a bowl with a spout? I’d recommend using it. I found this really helpful when pouring the eggs into the tiny shells…speaking of, after the dough has chilled, take it out, roll it into tiny balls and press them into a mini muffin pan (I used one with 1.5 inch holes) I found the easiest way to get the cup shape I was looking for was by using my thumb the press the dough around the edges of the cup. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzarella in the bottom of each cup, and then pour the egg mixture over top, almost filling up the cups.

So here’s the fun part…what do you like in your quiche? I was banking on my quests digging mushrooms and bacon, so I sautéed up some each ahead of time. I took small pinches of the mushroom and sprinkled them over top half of the quiches. I sprinkled bacon on top of the other half. Putting these on top served two purposes: 1) yumminess, 2) I wanted my guests to be able to tell what they were eating (you non meat eaters know who you are.)

When you’re done assembly, bake the quiche at 350 degrees. A tray of 18 baked for around 30 minutes in my oven (the temperamental old lady that she is.) Cook until golden and puffy on the tops. Just touch lightly with your finger and if they spring back, you’re all set. Here’s hoping your quiches are lovely!