If you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday I hope that you and your loved ones had a fabulous time. (And if you didn’t celebrate this American holiday then I hope you had a fantastic day just the same!) We’re still recovering from all the feasting over here, but I nevertheless have a great recipe to share with you: caramelized onion quiche. I made this last week with our new breakfast cookbook, but I knew that I’d want to blog the day after Thanksgiving so I uploaded the photograph and recipe last Saturday.

Also, I’ve added a new page to Baking and Books. After reading Scott’s post about tracking everything he ate for one week I’ve decided to do the same thing for a three week period. I’ve been receiving many emails from people asking how I’m losing weight while eating everything I post on this site, and though I’ve answered them to the best of my ability, their questions have provoked a bout of self-reflection. Exactly what have I been doing? I have a general idea, but I think it’s time I took a closer look at myself. Who knows, maybe I can tweak my routine a bit and lose even more weight without giving up sweets or baked goods. (Because that is something I absolutely will not do. No.) It should be noted that this is not a diet - I don’t believe in those temporary ‘I will deprive myself’ bouts of insanity. Rather, this is a lifestyle observation. Sweets are good, baking is good, food is good! But as is so often misunderstood in our culture, moderation is key. (I just had to say that because really, it would kill me if you thought I was torturing myself with a diet.)

Caramelized Onion Quiche

Like many of the things we eat today quiche has been around in one form or another for quite some time. It evolved from the ancient Roman patinea (cheesecake) and Medieval European tarts. Quiche used to be made from bread dough, but now shortcrust of puff pastry is more commonly used with quiche lorraine being the most common variety. In addition to the egg and cream custard, quiche lorraine includes bacon and swiss cheese, though the latter was not included in the original recipe. And guess what: if you add an onion to the mix you’re actually making a quiche alsacienne. Who knew?

I was surprised to find such a savory recipe in a breakfast cookbook since, to my mind, it seemed a bit heavy for the early morning. But then I thought about the breakfasts I had as a child - carne asada, rice and refried beans - and suddenly it didn’t seem like so much. Out of curiosity, what was your favorite breakfast growing up? The earliest I’ve been willing to serve this dish is brunch, to which it makes an excellent addition. But even better, if you ask me, is serving it with dinner. Very good, very tasty - your taste buds definitely thank you. Cooking the onions until they are soft, tender and golden brown gives them a rich, caramel color and a surprisingly sweet flavor.

This post is taking part in the Onion Day event over at Kochtopf.

Caramelized Onion Quiche
Bakeware: pan for cooking the onions, medium bowl, baking sheet, aluminum foil

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups grated provolone cheese, divided use
• One 9-inch pie crust (I just bought one in the frozen food section of the supermarket.)

Items marked with an * have been modified

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring frequently, until golden and very soft (caramelized), about 15 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Whisk together the heavy cream, milk, eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir the reserved caramelized onions and 1 cup of the cheese into the egg mixture. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the pie crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top of the quiche.

* Tear off a large swath of aluminum foil, fold in half, fold in half again, then wrap around the quiche length-wise so that the edges of the pie crust are lightly covered. Make sure the foil is not touching or covering the custard. (You can also use a pie shield.) Set the quiche pan on a baking sheet and bake until a knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. During the last 15 minutes remove the aluminum foil if the pie crust has not browned enough.

Remove the quiche from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the quiche rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting in pieces. * To get a clean cut, after the quiche has cooled, place a large plate on top of it and invert, hence removing the quiche from the pan. While it is still upside down, cut into even slices with a sharp knife. Replace the pie pan on top, cover with another large plate, then invert again. Voila! A perfectly cut quiche in the pan.

This delicious recipe is from: Breakfasts & Brunches: Over 175 New Recipes from the World’s Premier Culinary College by The Culinary Institute of America

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