Using Buttermilk In Quiche Food

QUICHE LORRAINE

Steps:

• Blind bake the crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. (If there are any cracks in the crust, see note below on how to patch them up.) Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Place the crust on a baking sheet to make it easy to move in and out of the oven. Bake on until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it; if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate. (If it cracks while baking, see note below for instructions on how to patch it up.) Set aside and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
• In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; whisk until evenly combined.
• Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all of the Gruyère, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.
• Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
• Note: Don't panic if your crust has cracks -- you can easily fix it. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then proceed with the recipe. If the crust cracks while blind baking, patch it afterwards and place it back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: This quiche can be fully prepared up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated. To reheat: Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and heat in a preheated 300°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked quiche can be frozen for up to 3 months. After baking and cooling the quiche, wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Remove the quiche from the freezer about 24 hours prior to eating. Remove the plastic wrap and reheat it, covered with foil, in a 300°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.

QUICHE RECIPE

Steps:

• I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin the quiche. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
• On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for another recipe). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. To make a lovely edge, I do not trim excess dough around the edges. Instead, fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. Chill the pie crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap if chilling for longer than 30 minutes.
• While the crust is chilling, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick holes all around the bottom crust with a fork. Return the pie crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom crust is just beginning to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (Crust can still be warm when you pour in the filling. You can partially pre-bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.)
• Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
• In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper together on high speed until completely combined, about 1 minute. Whisk in add-ins and then pour into crust.
• Bake the quiche until the center is just about set, about 45-55 minutes. Don't over-bake. Use a pie crust shield to prevent the pie crust edges from over-browning. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Top with optional toppings before slicing and serving, if desired. Or you can cool the quiche completely before serving- it's fantastic at room temperature!
• This quiche makes great leftovers! Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

MAGIC PANCAKE MIX QUICHE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate with nonstick spray.
• Meanwhile, cook half of the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate then carefully pour off the fat. Repeat with the remaining bacon. Let cool then chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Combine the eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add the pancake mix and whisk until smooth (some small lumps are OK). Add the heavy cream and whisk once more until incorporated, then stir in the Cheddar, onion and chopped bacon.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie plate. Bake until the top is golden brown and the center is set, about 40 minutes. The quiche will puff up in the oven but will deflate as it cools.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes then slice and serve.

BUTTERMILK QUICHE WITH HAM, CHEDDAR, AND CHIVES

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the shortening and butter and rub both into the flour using your hands until the mixture is coarse and sandy with some larger bits of butter. Place the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the ice water to the bowl by the teaspoon, mixing well between each addition with a fork. Once the dough can hold itself together in a rough ball when pressed with the fork, it's ready.
• Dust a work surface lightly with flour and turn out the dough. Lightly flour the top of the dough then gently roll it out with a rolling pin. Roll the dough slightly larger than the circumference of a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate.
• Once rolled, gently turn the pie plate upside down on top of the dough. Use a paring knife to trim around the pie plate, leaving a 1-inch (2 ½-cm) border around the edge of the dish. Starting at one edge of the dough, carefully roll it around the rolling pin all the way to the other side. Lift the rolling pin up and then over onto the pie plate. Unroll the dough so it drapes over the entire top of the plate. Carefully adjust the dough to center it in the pie plate if necessary.
• Use your hands to gently and quickly pat the dough down and into the bottom of the pie plate, as well as up and over the edges of the plate. Press your fork around the edges of dough around the entire plate to crimp. Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess dough, leaving a small perimeter of dough hanging over the plate to account for shrinkage in the oven. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough evenly all over with the fork to make steam vents.
• Place the pie plate in the preheated oven and par bake it for 18-20 minutes. While the dough is in the oven check it periodically for puffing. You may need to poke a few extra holes, or gently press down any puffed up air bubbles with the fork as it bakes.
• Once baked, remove the plate from the oven and set the crust on a wire rack to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper together until smooth.
• Scatter half of the cheddar over the the bottom of the pre-baked crust. The crust can be warm or cooled. Top the cheese with the ham, onion, and chives. Pour the egg custard over everything and finish the top with the remaining grated cheese.
• Dip a pastry brush into the egg filling and brush the outer crust edges around the entire pie plate. Carefully place the quiche in the oven and bake it for 30 to 33 minutes. Transfer the quiche to a wire rack and let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before slicing. Serve the quiche warm or at room temperature, alone or with a simple green salad.

EASY MINI QUICHES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 mini muffin pans. In a large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon and onion together for about 5 minutes, or until bacon is crisp. Drain and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the baking mix, parsley, shredded cheese, bacon and onion. Spoon into greased muffin cups.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops are lightly browned. Allow mini quiches to cool in the pan before carefully removing with a small knife or spatula.

LOWER-CAL BUTTERMILK BACON SPINACH QUICHE

Steps:

• Brush pie shell with egg yolk at 400 degrees.
• Weight the center of the pie shell down with pie weights (you can also use dried beans to do this).
• Fry and drain bacon on paper towel.
• Dice bacon.
• Mix together buttermilk, cream, eggs and Swiss cheese.
• Add drained spinach, bacon and cayenne pepper.
• Pour into pie shell (You can skip the pie shell and pour directly into a ungreased pan).
• Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until solid.
• The nutritional info does not take into account the pie shells which are optional.

THE BEST QUICHE LORRAINE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 14-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-in. springform pan; press firmly against bottom and sides. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Discard drippings, reserving 1 tablespoon in pan. Add onions to drippings; cook and stir over medium heat until caramelized, 20-25 minutes. Stir in thyme, pepper and nutmeg; remove from the heat. Cool slightly. Stir in cheeses and reserved bacon; spoon into crust. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and cream until blended; pour over top. Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet., Bake on a lower oven rack until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, 75-85 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife. Remove rim from pan.