Qwiki Qwiki Spinach and Havarti Quiche (not really)

Quiches are easy, but they take time.  This one is about two hours start-to-finish, leaving you plenty of time to try and figure out logical impossibilities – like how to play Canasta – in between the cooking parts.  This one’s admittedly on the simple side, but I’d never made one before.  I like to try and figure out what I’m doing before I go all crazy (heh).  From here one could easily add ham, chicken, (in my case) bacon…the possibilities are numerous.

Havarti-Spinach Quiche

Shopping list:

• 1/2 cup Butter (plus a little for greasing the pan)
• 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 6 Eggs
• 8 oz Havarti, Swiss, or some similar cheese (estimated)
• 2 cups baby spinach or defrost frozen
• 1 medium onion
• 10 strips Bacon
• 1/2 cups Half-and-half

So, the first order of business is the crust.  Easy as pie- actually, easier since we’re not making pie.  This recipe is for 4 people, so we’re going to go with a 9″ square pan. Pretty much double everything for a 9×13.

To start: combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cups butter, and 2 tbsp of hot water in a bowl.  Start working the ingredients together and slowly add in 1/4 cup of additional flour until the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl – note: you may not need all that extra flour.  Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it with cellophane and leave it in the fridge for an hour.

At this time it’s probably also a good idea to make bacon.  You’ll want about ten fairly crispy strips.

Set the oven for 425, and go off to look up Canasta on the internent.  You should be able to kill at least a half hour comparing the warring factions over what the rules are. Consider sticking your head in the oven, but then realize you haven’t owned a deck of cards since 1994 so it’s probably all moot.

Now it’s time to get the filling ready.  Finely chop 2 cups spinach and 1/2 a medium onion.  Beat 6 eggs in another bowl, and add in the spinach, onions, 1 cup of half-and-half, and about 1/3rd of bacon (after you’ve crumbled it). Save some of the bacon for later.

To finish up – coat your pan with butter, then roll out the dough into roughly a 12×12″ square and call it crust.  Line the pan with the crust and cover the bottom with a layer of havarti – deli slice is fine, but if you have a block, grate enough to leave thick (1/8″) layer. Cover that with bacon, and add the filling.  Cover with foil and put in the oven for 40 minutes.

Resist the urge to find a flash-based canasta game online, and go find videos on the Food network to yell at instead.  It’s much more cathartic.

When the 40 minutes are up, remove the pan from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.