I suppose it was a little less of an experiment for me and more of an experiment for Tony. He had never had a quiche before, and they make such easy and affordable meals that they were always a go-to recipe for when we were growing up. In fact, I don't think that I ever truly appreciated my mother's Quiche Lorraine until I was an adult. Quiche is great because it's just an egg pie with various and sundry other ingredients. It's a great way to use up extra ingredients like ham from a major holiday--Easter ham, anyone?
The recipe I used was one I saw several years ago on NPR's website, found here. I'd made it before pretty much exactly as the recipe recommended with great success. Since Tony has some different tastes, I modified this just a little bit. I left out the cheese for obvious reasons and omitted the nutmeg because I didn't have any. I used a 10 ounce package of spinach instead of 16 ounces. I also added two extra pieces of bacon into the mix since there was no cheese and less spinach than the recipe called for. The lovely thing about quiche is that it gives you the leeway to make any modifications without ruining the general flavor that you're looking for.
I also made a quick saute of Brussels sprouts with balsamic and bacon. I only had frozen Brussels sprouts, but I wanted Tony to try them a different way because he told me that he doesn't like the way they taste. He had said that about asparagus, and I was able to change his mind about that. I wanted to be able to repeat that. Ideally, I'd have made this with fresh Brussels sprouts that I'd oven roasted before sauteing them with the balsamic and bacon, but it wasn't going to work out that way last night. And, to be honest, I just kind of wanted Brussels sprouts.
So I threw the bacon in the pan. I'd cut it into about one inch pieces with scissors, and just lightly sauteed it until it was done. It wasn't crispy. It was at that slightly rubbery stage. At that point, I added the steamed Brussels sprouts and the balsamic vinegar. I let that all cook together until the balsamic had been turned into a little bit of a glaze and had been absorbed. It had a lovely flavor, but the texture left a little to be desired because those frozen steamed Brussels sprouts can tend to be a little mushy. Tony liked the flavor, but he agreed that the texture wasn't great. It's good to know that he enjoyed the taste because now we can repeat it with fresh Brussels sprouts that we can buy from the farmer's market.
Between making bread and making dinner last night, I threw some cookies into the oven. They're just the usual Tollhouse recipe, but that's great for me--it's printed on the bag, so I'll never lose it. I made about half of the batch last night, and I froze the rest. I froze them in the appropriately sized scoops on a cookie sheet and then transferred them to a freezer bag. That way, when Tony and I decide we have a craving for something sweet, we can just make a few cookies rather than revisiting last night. (Last night, I made about a two dozen cookies, and we ate them all before the night was over.) Perhaps just making enough will help us practice moderation.
So last night, we had quiche, Brussels sprouts, homemade bread, and cookies for dessert. Tony really enjoyed the quiche. The only thing I might do differently is look for smaller pans so that we can make two. One for him and one for me with cheese since I did really miss the flavor that the cheese adds to the quiche. I think I'll be experimenting with making more quiche in the near future. It's pretty simple and fairly cheap to produce, and it makes a nice dinner. There are plenty of left-overs, which makes my life easier. I'd call yesterday's kitchen experiments a success, which makes up for the fact that dinner tonight will be leftovers since I have a horrible headache and a lack of motivation. I'll make up for it on Friday.
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