Rosie Makes Asparagus Quiche.

 

The other day,

I roasted a chicken for our lunch

and later made chicken pot pies for Middle Hawthorne.

I had some of the pastry dough left over,

so today I'm using that dough
and making Asparagus Quiche for lunch.

For the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

I mixed the flour, salt, and baking powder in the food processor,

then pulsed in the shortening and butter, until crumbly.

Add in the ice water and process until the dough forms a ball.

Remove from processor

and roll into a ball on a lightly floured surface.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll out and place in a 9-inch pie dish.

Trim and flute the edges.

Save the rest of the dough.

Heat oven to 400°.

I'm going to pre-bake the crust before filling.

I put a sheet of foil over the dough

and filled it with beans to weight it down.

Bake 10 minutes, remove foil and beans,

fork the crust, and bake 10 more minutes.

Rosie's Asparagus Quiche

6 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, and crumbled

1/2 cup skim milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 eggs, room temp

6 fresh asparagus from your garden, snapped into pieces

about 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup or so Swiss cheese cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

Heat oven to 400°.

Combine milk and cream.

Scald (Bring the milk and cream just to a boil.),
then let cool a bit.

Beat eggs, then beat in milk mixture.

Add in salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Crumble bacon in bottom of prepared pie crust.

Add in Swiss cheese and asparagus.

Pour in milk mixture.

Top with grated cheddar.
Bake 45 - 50 minutes, tenting, if necessary, near the end.

Before baking, I fashioned foil around the crust

to keep it from getting too dark.

Let rest 10-15 minutes before cutting.

I love quiche!

Rosie Wants Quiche.

Rosie's Asparagus Quiche

1 pie crust, partially baked

1/2 cup skim milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground

1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg, finely grated

1 cup chopped asparagus

1/2 cup diced ham

1 cup diced Swiss cheese

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400°.

As for the pie crust, if I don't have time to make the dough, I use the refrigerated rolled-up 9" pie doughs.

They come two to a box.  Much superior to the frozen doughs in aluminum pans.  The roll-ups are larger and freeze well, whereas I've been known to throw out a bunch of aluminum pie pans with shattered shards of frozen pie parts.

Partially bake the pie crust.  Place a piece of foil on top of the dough and pour in beans or rice as a weight.  I keep a jar of beans in my cabinet for this very purpose.  Bake, weighted with beans, about 10 minutes.  Remove foil and beans and prick the dough with a fork.  Bake about 10 more minutes, until lightly browned.

Measure the milk and cream into a small saucepan.  Scald and let cool a bit.

Whisk the eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Beat the milk and cream mixture into the eggs, gradually.

Scatter the ham, Swiss cheese, and asparagus in the bottom of the pie.  Pour egg mixture over top.

In my case, I gave myself more cheese and Mr. Hawthorne got more asparagus.  

Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over my half!

Bake at 400° for 45 - 55 minutes or until just set.

Let quiche sit for at least 20 minutes before slicing.  The texture becomes even better as it sits, when it's refrigerated.  I'll be enjoying this for breakfast tomorrow.

Oh, yes.

Here's a tip about those pesky pie crusts.

Carefully stretch the dough from the center out,

rotating the pie.

You want the dough up over the edge

of the pie rim.

When you pre-bake the pie dough
and if you haven't stretched the dough far enough over the edge.
the dough will shrink down the sides.

 When you pour in the liquid mixture
it will run down the back of the dough and get underneath.

Soggy Pie!

 Bad Pie!

Don't do this.

Use aluminum foil and beans to weigh the dough down.

Just-picked asparagus from my garden.

What?

Excuse me?

Did I say just-picked asparagus?

Yes, I did.

And silly you.

You thought asparagus was just a spring crop.

Well, not in Rosie's Garden.

I have two asparagus plants in the garden.

I don't have an asparagus bed, although I used to.

I have only the two plants.

I did not plant them.
Perhaps a little bird did.

But I welcome them.

One is about 20 years old and I discovered a little trick

that I do with this one plant.

In September, I cut the spidery, feathery foliage

down to the ground.

Within a few weeks,

the asparagus plant, thinking it's Spring,

rewards me with glorious stalks.

I pick and choose which stalks I harvest

and let the others go into full foliage.

That's another advantage of the climate I enjoy.

There's still time for this asparagus plant

to branch out in foliage and in roots
and strengthen itself for the spring harvest.

I have fresh asparagus, diced ham, and diced Swiss cheese.

Maybe 8 spears.

And a handful each of diced ham and Swiss.

Grated cheddar cheese.

Three large eggs, with 1/2 tsp sea salt, 

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper,

and a good dusting of freshly grated nutmeg.

   I whupped the eggs first,

then gradually beat the cream/milk mixture into the eggs.

Here's my partially baked crust.

See the importance of stretching the dough to get over the edge?

Upper right side has shrunk down.

Place diced ham, Swiss cheese, and asparagus spears

in bottom of pre-baked pie.

I put more Swiss cheese on my half,

since Mr. Hawthorne is stillonadietblahblahblah.

Pour the custard mixture in.

Grated cheddar on my half

and decorate with asparagus tips.

After 45 minutes.

This is beautiful.

Let it rest.

Please do not assault this with a fork and knife.

Let it sit.

Let it cool.

At least twenty minutes, before cutting.

I scissored some fresh basil, scallions, and tarragon

from my plants on the deck

over my little slice.

It pays to grow herbs near your kitchen

where they're easily accessible.

That way you're more apt to use them.

I'm just admiring the quiche.

 Quiche for breakfast.

Texture is perfect now.

Rosie Ushers In Spring With An Asparagus Quiche.

 

I herald Spring with a capital S

and offer you Asparagus Quiche,

from the very first asparagus (asparagi) from my garden.

Let's start with a pie dough,

which is not just any pie dough.

It supersedes all pie doughs you might have had.

I'm making the basic recipe for the dough

and please note:

You divide this into thirds.

You will be able to make three different things with this dough.

Today, I'm making the pie dough

and using 1/3 of the dough for my Asparagus Quiche.

If you don't want to make your own pie dough,
 then I recommend Pillsbury's.

Don't get the pie dough
already in the pan.
The pan isn't deep enough
and the dough has a tendency to crack.

 

Pie Dough Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3 sticks cold butter

1 large egg

4 TB ice water

Cut cold butter into small dices.

Add to flour mixture and mix with fingers, then pastry blender.

You want a composition of pea-sized pieces

down to coarse grain.

Mix egg and cold water and pour into flour mixture.

Work into a ball, adding extra flour as needed.

Divide into thirds.

Plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the step by steps:

Dice cold unsalted butter.

Add to flour and incorporate with fingers.

Keep working it.

This is after I used the pastry blender.

Add in egg and cold water.

Turn the mess onto a lightly floured surface.

And make a cohesive mass.

Roll out to about 1/8 inch thin.

I flour and flip several times during rolling.

Roll dough over rolling pin and ...

... unroll over your pie dish.

Cut excess off and crimp edges.

Now for the quiche:

 Asparagus Quiche
One basic pie dough.

4 large eggs + 1 yolk, room temperature

1 cup skim milk

1 cup heavy cream

(This is what I have on hand.

You could use whole milk.

The fat content is not that much of an issue.)
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

6 strips extra crispy bacon

8 oz. Swiss cheese, diced

4 oz. Brie, diced

 and ...

 

... asparagus spears from your garden.

Here are the first 8 spears from my 

one plant in the front rose bed.

 

Cheeses and bacon in the pie.

Beautiful, fresh-picked asparagus.

When picking at the store,

you want bright green stems

and close, tight heads.

You don't want any flowering.

Arrange asparagus spears in the quiche.

Whisk scalded, slightly cooled milk into eggs.

Pour in milk, cream, and egg mixture into pie.

Try to push the asparagus under the liquid.

Give it some cheddar love.

Don't forget the Parm.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Check at 35.

Tooth pick test.

Let 'er rest.

10 minutes.

Shhh.

Don't tell anybody,

but Mr. Hawthorne loved this

and, of course, he doesn't "like quiche."