More Bell Pepper Bliss in French White - Quiche de Poivron (With the Help of a P-16-B)

Corning Ware's original Pyroceram French White dishes (1978) are a boon to the baker, but as wonderful as they are to bake in, sometimes it needs a little help from some Classic Cornflower pieces.

Thus it is with this quiche.. True, you could just as easily roast the Bell Peppers in a French White F-6-B or an F-4-B, but I was trying to use as few dishes as possible.  Since the leek needs to be sauteed on the stove, I simply used my Cornflower P-16-B for both roasting the Bell Peppers under the broiler and sauteing the Leek on the stove top.  Multipurpose cookery is what Classic Corning Ware does best.

Roasted Bell Pepper Quiche

(Quiche de Poivron)

3 Bell Peppers, in multiple colors
1 Leek, sliced
2 TB Olive Oil
6 large Eggs
12 oz Creme Fraiche
Salt & Pepper
4 oz Havarti Cheese, grated
Corning Ware 11 inch Skillet (P-16-B) with lid (P-12-C)

You will also need:

1 par-baked Pate Brisee pastry crust in a 10 inch F-3-B French White Quiche dish

I am not going to cover "Pate Brisee" crust for this quiche as I have already covered my favorite tart/quiche dough a couple of times already in Quiche Lorraine and Bacon and Clam Quiche.  Feel free to use any family recipe you have that will fit the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate or quiche/tart dish.  Leave out the sugar, if your recipe contains it, and use at least 3/4 tsp salt for a savory crust.

Place the Bell Peppers (stems intact) into a P-16-B Skillet.

Place 6 inches beneath the broiler of your oven, turning every 10 minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered.

Remove the P-16-B from the oven and cover the peppers with a P-12-C lid to allow the residual heat to "steam" the skins for easier removal.

Turn off the broiler and set the oven to 325F degrees.
Peel the softened skins from the peppers, then remove the stems and the seeds.

Julienne the Peppers.

Wash the P-16-B, then place over medium flame, adding 2 TB Olive oil.
When the oil is hot, add the sliced Leek and saute for a couple minutes, just until they soften.

Remove the P-16-B from the flame and allow to cool.

Crack open the eggs and place them in a medium sized bowl

Whisk to break them up before adding the Creme Fraiche, then whisk again until well combined.

Season with Salt, Pepper and a dash of Nutmeg, then stir in 2 oz of shredded Havarti cheese.

Place sauteed Leek and julienne Bell Peppers in the bottom of the par-baked quiche crust.

Pour the Egg/Creme Fraiche/Cheese mixture over the Belle Peppers and Leeks.

Sprinkle with the remaining Havarti cheese.

Place the quiche in the oven and bake until it begins to puff slightly...  approximately 35-40 minutes. (the center should still be slightly jiggly)

Remove from the oven and allow to rest and set for 10-15 minutes before attempting to cut.

Serve while still warm, or completely cooled to room temperature.

Where is your CorningWare??
~~

French Classics in French Bleu - Bacon & Clam Quiche alla Corningware

Ah, Quiche; how I do love thee.  I will say it again, like I always do...  There is nothing all that mysterious about quiche - it's really nothing more than a savory custard pie.  And lord knows that there ain't nothin' wrong with pie.  Sure, you add stuff to the custard, but most of the quiche adjuncts only make it more filling which in turn makes quiche more of a brunch/lunch or even a dinner affair.

You can't go wrong with pie for dinner.   That's all I gotta say.

This is a twist on the Clam Quiche my mom use to make when we were children.  Mom use to mix a can of Snow's Clam Chowder into the custard along with some Bacon.  I tried making it that way a while back and was astonished at the resulting saltiness.  I don't remember it being that salty when I was a kid.  Then again, a lot of things have changed with our prepared foods since I was a kid.  High Fructose Corn Syrup being one of them a long with miscellaneous fillers that also didn't exist in my youth.  So lord knows what they have done to the Clam Chowder since 1978.

Be that as it may, I decided that if I wanted to have Bacon & Clam Quiche, I was going to have to strip the recipe down to it's bare bones.  I am pleased with the results and was happy to find that I did not miss the wayward potatoes (from the Chowder) at all.  In fact, the lack there of made the quiche all that mush more delicious.  I did find it amusing, however, that the canned clams I grabbed in the grocery aisle were still canned by Snow's. 

For fun, I decided to use the one and only piece of the infamous French Bleu that I own... It just happens to be the 10 inch (24cm) Quiche dish (F-3-B).

Bacon & Clam Quiche

1 cup (4.5oz) (127g) AP Flour
1/2 cup (2.25oz) (62g) Spelt Flour
1/2 tsp Salt 
optional - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
8 TB unsalted Butter
1 TB Sour Cream or Crème Fraîche
1 TB Ice Water
4 oz (114g) Bacon, sliced into matchsticks
6 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups (350ml) Crème Fraîche
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
a couple gratings of fresh Nutmeg
6 1/2 oz can Minced Clams, drained
6 1/2 oz can Chopped Clams, drained
1 oz finely grated Fontina Cheese, divided

A 10-inch (24cm) French White/Bleu/Bisque, or Classic Black Quiche dish (F-3-B)

Always remember, the key to perfect pastry crust is cold ingredients and speed. (the refrigerator is your friend)
In a medium bowl, combine AP Flour, Spelt Flour, Salt and Black Pepper (if using) with a whisk.

Grate the Butter with a coarse cheese grater. (This makes incorporating the butter a little faster)

Work it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter until you have only pea sized lumps of butter.

In a small bowl, combine Ice Water and Sour Cream with a fork.

Add this to the Flour/Butter mixture and stir with a fork until a dough forms.

You may chill it at this point if you like, or roll out to a 13 inch circle.

Roll the pastry over your rolling pin to move to your 10-inch Quiche dish. (F-3-B)  Spelt makes it a little more tender and it will rip fairly easily if you try to fold it into quarters to move it

Unroll into your dish and gently coerce it down into the dish. (if you stretch the pastry, it will shrink more when baking)

Because I tend to think of quiche as a rustic dish, I usually just tear the extra pastry from the edge and leave it, but your can trim with a knife and crimp it if you like. (which I did this time)

Dock it (poke holes in it) with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

Line with foil and fill with beans, rice or pie weights.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let the pastry shell cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325F degrees.

Saute and drain the Bacon matchsticks.

Sprinkle the Bacon all over the bottom of the cooling pastry along with the drained chopped and minced Clams.

Sprinkle 1/2 oz of the Fontina cheese over the Clams and Bacon. (I know, I know... No cheese with fish or seafood; and normally I would never think of using cheese when using creme fraiche.  But mom use to throw Cheddar in the Clam Chowder version, so bear with me... It's only a little bit and it sort of ties everything together)

Now, in a bowl, place 6 Eggs and beat them lightly just until the white and yolk are combined.

Add the Crème Fraîche and stir well to combine (be careful not the beat it too much, you want to keep the bubbles to a minimum)

Season with a dash of Nutmeg, Salt and a sprinkle of White Pepper.

Pour the resulting custard into the awaiting pastry shell very slowly as to not dislodge the Bacon, Clams and Cheese from the bottom.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 oz of Fontina Cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the filling puffs up and the center is just barely set. (eggs continue to cook once they are removed from the oven - if it's done in the oven, it's overcooked at the table)

Let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes to allow it to finish cooking and to "set" before cutting into the deliciousness.

Where is your Corningware??
~~

Mom's Original Recipe........

9 inch Whole Wheat Pie Shell, Par-baked 10 minutes in a 400F degree oven
8 oz Bacon, cooked and crumbled
15oz can Snow's Clam Chowder
4 large Eggs
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 tsp Dried Parsley
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4 slices Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (or see Microwave directions at the bottom)
In a large bowl, combine cooked Bacon, Clam Chowder, Eggs, Sour Cream, Parsley and Pepper; mixing well.
Pour 2/3 of the mixture into the prepared Pie Shell.
Arrange the Cheese sliced on top.
Pour the remaining custard mixture on top.
Bake 50-55 minutes or until set.
Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:  (Mom had a HUGE Sharp Carousel Microwave from 1978, I think Simmer is about 30% power, but that is just a guess)

Microwave for 15 minutes on Simmer.
Cover and Microwave for 8 more minutes on Simmer.
Let stand 15 minutes before cutting

Sentimental Journey - Quiche Lorraine in French White

This is the first piece of CorningWare I ever purchased (it came with a 1 1/2qt Souffle Dish as a set) so it is sort of near and dear to my heart.  I got the set on sale at JC Penney back in the early 90's.  Which was a good thing, cause it was expensive stuff and I wasn't making much money at the time.  I lived in Clackamas, had roommates and coexisted with an evil cat that use to relieve himself in my bathtub all the time.  Man, those were the some interesting times. It's sometimes amazes me how many memories you can tie to something as simple as a baking dish.

Sort of fitting, since it IS French White, that the two piece set consisted of a Quiche Dish and a Souffle dish.  :) I love this piece (F-3-B) and I use it all the time.  Mainly because it is used for one of my favorite things. One of the first things I ever learned to bake as a matter of fact.  Quiche!

Oh yeah, the whole "Real men don't eat quiche" thing.  Poppycock!  I say.  Ain't ever been nothin' wrong with Eggs, Bacon and Toast for breakfast.

It's true.  Quiche, which is a French-ization of the German word Kuchen (meaning Cake), was originally made with bread as a crust.  So in essence, it kind of started out like a bread pudding (minus the sugar of course) Then, sometime along the way, down through the ages the toast was replaced with a pastry crust.

This, for me at least, is awesome, cause NOW it's pie.  And I love Pie.  I love pie almost as much as I love my CorningWare French White Quiche dish.  It must be noted, that this dish works equally well for tarts and other open pies.  There have even been times that I have baked Mac & Cheese in it, cause you get more crust.  :)

Quiche Lorraine, in particular, is one of my favorites.  How can you go wrong with Bacon and Egg Pie?  Please note, I left out the onions.  That is because there are no onions in Quiche Lorraine.  Bacon & Onion Quiche is called Quiche Alsacienne  (Let's give them credit)  There is no cheese either... That is an American thing.  The reason is simple.  In Lorraine, they use Crème Fraîche instead of Heavy Cream to make quiche.  Crème Fraîche is already flavorful enough, so no cheese is added.  Since it has been rarely available in the United States, up until recent years, cheese was sort of a necessary addition.  But now that it is available in most supermarkets (heck, it's even made domestically now) I think it's time to forgo the cheese and use Crème Fraîche for a more authentic flavor.

Quiche Lorraine

10-inch (24cm) French White Quiche dish
1 cup (4.5oz) (127g) AP Flour
1/2 cup (2.25oz) (62g) Spelt Flour
8 TB unsalted Butter
1 TB Sour Cream or Crème Fraîche
1 TB Ice Water
6-8 oz (170-226g) Bacon, cooked (about 12 regular slices or 6-7 thick cut)
6 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups (350ml) Crème Fraîche
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Dash of Nutmeg

Always remember, the key to perfect pastry crust is cold ingredients and speed. (the refrigerator is your friend)
In a medium bowl, combine AP Flour, Spelt Flour, Salt and Black Pepper (if using) with a whisk.

Add sliced butter and work it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter.

In a small bowl, combine Ice Water and Sour Cream with a fork.

Add this to the Flour/Butter mixture and stir with a fork until a dough forms.

You may chill it at this point if you like, or roll out to a 13 inch circle.

Roll the pastry over your rolling pin to move to your 10-inch Quiche dish. (F-3-B)  Spelt makes it a little more tender and it will rip fairly easily if you try to fold it into quarters to move it

Unroll into your dish and gently coerce it down into the dish.

Because of the rustic nature of quiche, I simply tear the extra pastry from the edge and leave it, but your can trim with a knife and crimp it if you like.

Dock it (poke holes in it) with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

Line with foil and fill with beans, rice or pie weights.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let the pastry shell cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325F degrees.

Cook the Bacon. (By whichever method you prefer)

Chop the Bacon.

Sprinkle the Bacon all over the bottom of the cooling pastry.

Now, in a bowl, place 6 Eggs and beat them lightly just until the white and yolk are combined.

Add the Crème Fraîche and stir well to combine (be careful not the beat it too much, you want to keep the bubbles to a minimum)

Season with a dash of Nutmeg, Salt and a sprinkle of White Pepper.

Pour into the awaiting pastry shell very slowly as to not dislodge the bacon from the bottom.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the center is just barely set.

Let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes to allow it to finish cooking and to "set".

Cut a slice and enjoy.

Creamy, smooth and silky; best Bacon and Eggs ever!

Where is your Corningware?
~~