Saturday, July 10, 2010

Getting Over Brunch

I hate going out to brunch. It's sort of awful, because it seems once you are an adult, you are expected to do this type of thing in order to socialize. I realize many people did this in college, but everyone I knew in college understood that one does NOT eat in the morning after a long night of going out. Anyone civilized slept late and ate later. My main problem with brunch is public eggs. I feel ridiculous even typing it, but there it is. I can't eat public eggs. Eggs at home? Certainly. Eggs at a friend's house? Why not? Eggs out? No thank you. I have tried, but it makes me invariably queasy. So brunch invitations often fill me with dread (unless I'm with my closest friends who know I'll order a grilled cheese from any diner at any hour of the morning rather than eat eggs out). So why not pancakes, you ask, they make them with chocolate chips now...? Or caramelized french toast? Or waffles? Because these are not breakfast foods, not really. THEY ARE DESSERT, masquerading as breakfast. And I simply can't get down that much sugar in the morning. Blame my mother and her rule about no cereal with sugar higher than the third ingredient, but sweet and breakfast do not work for me. So there it is. Happy social gathering, fraught with anxiety. And of course, later, when I get home, there's always that feeling of having missed out on ordering something wonderful. So, after my latest brunch outing, I decided to cheer myself up with a homemade quiche. This one is quite filling (I did make it for dinner) and very delicious.

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN QUICHE
Better Homes and Gardens (I think?) by way of my friend Laurie

INGREDIENTS:
1 half recipe dough
1 1/2 C milk or cream (I used half milk and half cream - a do it yourself half and half)
4 eggs
1/4 C chopped onion (the onion cooks pretty well in the quiche, but if you are very sensitive to onion you may want to precook them)
3/4 C chopped cooked broccoli
3/4 C-1 C cooked chicken (you could chop it, I pulled mine apart into bite sized pieces)
1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
1 T flour

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Put the dough in a 9" pie plate. I used an 8.5" tart pan with removable ring. Such a HUGE error in judgment. It was not quite big enough, and the removable ring aspect meant that the eggy part leaked and seeped and went everywhere. Cover the the dough with foil and weigh it down with pie weights. Put it in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove the foil, prick the bottom and return to the oven for 4-5 more minutes until browned and dry. Lower the oven temp to 325 F.

Beat the 4 eggs and add the milk. Then add the broccoli, onion and chicken. Toss the cheddar with the flour, until the cheese is coated. This will keep it from sticking and clumping in your quiche. Add the cheese to the egg and filling mixture. Mix well. Pour into the cooked shell. Bake at 325 F for 40-45 minutes. (Mine definitely took on the longer side). A knife inserted near the middle will come out clean when it's done. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes before serving.

3 comments:

mom said...

Boy, your mother certainly has a lot to answer for.......

mom said...

I was just teasing! She was a bit over the top about the sugar and the salt and making the baby food from scratch, however. Remember the yogurt maker? I don't think you even had chocolate until you were three!

L + M said...

I totally laughed out loud at this.

Can you do institutional eggs from the carton?

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails