le quiche du moi ooh la la

Pardon ma French, but I couldn't rehzeest..

I made this quiche two weeks ago, and am just posting the documentation of it now..

Elli and I took a lot of photos, and I was intimidated by the thought of having to organize them so it took this long... Anyways, here's what happened:

The crust:

I'd never made pastry dough before, so I thought I'd try it..

1st, the flour,

mix it with sliced, then chilled, butter until it's "grainy" (LOTS of butter):

Then take out some chilled vodka

and put in 2 tablespoons and then start mixing into the dough:

Then mix in a little water until it feels right, and mush it up with your hands.

It shouldn't be too sticky (too much water... mine had a little bit too much water, but it worked out okay.)

now listen to Sir Mixalot until you produce a nice pile of sweet buttery dough that scents the kitchen air.

Next, wrap it in cling-film/plastic wrap, place it on a plate, and make sure your wrap warps a little in the photo (I just got a new wide-angle lens for my camera that morning, maybe contributing to my obsessive pic-schtick)..

Stick the dough in a fridge for 30 mins (or, if you wanna use it much later, freeze it, then thaw it before using it).

Meanwhile, dust stuff with flour..

and roll!

I think the stickiness of my dough (excess water) combined with guessed thawing durations made it hard for the dough to be right in time for the photo shoot and rolling pin.

So I had to kind of club it with my rolling pin until it was flattish.

Then I used my fingers and patted it into the baking pan. The butter in the dough was a little melty by now, and the dough was heading towards being a paste.

The foil goes on, then usually pie weights, if you have that. I used my cast-iron pan. Then stick it in the oven (350F) for 12-15 mins to half-bake it.

At this moment in time, you have completed a major task, and may also half-bake yourself as a reward.

Now the filling:

This part is super easy after the last part cos now it feels like you'll be making an omelette without the completely making an omelette. They are in the same area of the spectrum of French cuisine.

So, start with five large eggs,

and for 5 eggs, you need 1 pint of half-and-half or cream/milk mix,

plus seasoning (white pepper, black pepper, salt, cayenne, etc.)

Mix it up well, and add whatever else you want to it. I put in little torn-up pieces of broccoli, mushrooms. I forgot to photograph that part, so you'll have to imagine it.

Before you get lost in your imaginations for too long, don't forget to take out the half-baked crust in time! You want it to look lightly toasted.

Pour your eggy mixture in to the crust, and top with a good sharp cheddar. Then in the oven it goes!

I had excess mixture. Eggstra. So I poured it in the little cast iron pan, added some onions, and designated it my scout.

Basically it was a tiny but creamy rich fritatta cooking alongside its quiche cousin.


Now smell the kitchen and wait...

Keep checking on it and keep an eye out for the color of the surface, the color of the crust, etc.. No burning allowed! Not after all this effort!

When you're feeling good about it, stick a toothpick in and see if it comes out dry.

Then take it out when it's done and let it cool for a good 10 mins.

Greed and gluttony overtook and all patience was lost for photos. So all we got are these two pics of the last remaining piece, the runt, that we took the next morning:

The dough could've been "better" (less personality?) but it was still a pretty damn good quiche.

Capiche?