Le Quiche

The new kitchen has been officially christened. Christened with le quiche, finalmente (best if read with a hoity toity French accent). I finally get back to what I love. It may be boring and predictable, but give me time to cook after work, a short run and the television at least one night a week. I must have it, it's for my sanity. And it's best with bacon--fatty, greasy bacon--but throw in some tomatoes for good measure. Except I sat there eating, staring across the table at Megan. Both of us too stressed to cheer each other up. She about planning a wedding in the spring (!), and me about boys. I'm like what do I do, and she's like what do I do. And we're still both too tired and bogged down to cheer each other up. The house has this heaviness, I think because we're both scared. So we turn to Friends, real friends and Rachel-Joey-Chandler-etc. Friends. I watched all the seasons that Megan owns last summer, and we're going through them again. Last night was Thanksgiving Triffle--"custard good, jam good, meat good." And then Katy came over and did distract us. We downed a bottle of white wine between the three of us and chomped on quiche intermittently. And we laughed. And it'll get easier, one bottle of wine at a time, one episode at a time, one quiche at a time. BLT Quiche Pate Brisee Crust: from Martha Stewart Living 2 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup butter (very cold, straight from the fridge) 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water Le Quiche: 4 eggs 6 slices of bacon, already cooked 1 Roma tomato, chopped grated cheddar cheese milk salt pepper For the crust: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Then cut butter into 1/2-inches chunks and mix into flour with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup of cold water to mixture. Incorporate using your hands by kneading the dough. Add more water if it's still too crumbly. If you overdo it, you can always add a bit more flour. Once dough is solid and maleable, wrap in Siran and place in the freezer. Here's a good time for a run. Come back from your run, remove dough from freezer even though it's supposed to be frozen for an hour. This recipe will make two crusts for a pie, quiche or tart or one crust and top for a fancy pie. I sort of messed up here and, long story short, my crust was too thick so definitely follow these directions. Using your hands for this type of crust, place your dough in the middle of a tart pan. Spread out the dough with your fingers to an even thickness. Preheat oven to 425. On to the quiche part. In a small bowl, combine eggs, tomatoes, bacon, cheese, salt, pepper and milk. Whisk until eggs are beaten smooth. Pour egg mixture into crust. Pop it in the oven and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges of the crust are browned as is the top of the quiche.