Eggs Benedict Quiche

There are a lot of utensils and cooking techniques that have disappeared from the American kitchen over the last few decades.

When was the last time you actually used a metal sifter to sift flour for a cake?

Or used a double broiler to melt chocolate?

Have you ever even used a manual masher to mash potatoes, or just used an electric hand mixer? How about poaching chicken or fish? Do you even own a spring form pan?

Sometimes these old school techniques and instruments pop up in recipes that I want to try. Whatever am I to do? The best thing, of course, is a new utensil every homecook should have in their back pocket these days: Google.

I wanted to make a quiche this weekend because I have all of these leftover pie crusts in my freezer (why do they have to sell them in two packs?!). I decided on making a quiche in the style of my favorite breakfast dish, eggs Benedict. However, hollandaise sauce was a mystery to me.

To be completely honest, before making this, I didn’t even know what was in hollandaise sauce. The answer? Egg yolks, a massive amount of butter, and lemon juice. The technique to making it is a lot harder than the ingredient list, though. There’s a lot of stirring, the use of a double broiler (why God, why?), and a lot of stirring.

Using my handy-dandy powers of surfing through Google, I found a way to make the sauce without the use of pretty much any of those ancient tools/hand cramping. All you need is a blender! Almost everyone has a blender, right?

I also stumbled upon a microwave version of hollandaise sauce, just in case you don’t own a blender. You can find that recipe here.

Now onto the quiche part. I was really swinging for the fences with this recipe; I’ve never made a classic quiche before either. First time hollandaise sauce maker, and first time quiche baker right here. I learned you really need to measure out your eggs, milk and cream. A recipe I found in a cookbook said to make sure it all comes out to 2 1/2 cups.

Next, make sure the egg mixture is frothy. You’ve got to give it a good whip with an electric hand mixer. Also, since the eggs are so wet, you really need to blind bake your pie crust. That’s baking the crust first, alone, with pie weights (I used dried beans) until lightly golden brown. An extra step, I know, but you have to do it so your pie crust doesn’t get soggy underneath all of that liquid.

Nobody like a soggy bottom pie!

So put that double broiler away, open up my blog, and make this quiche for breakfast. It’s a great one to impress any guests that may be staying at your house over the holiday break.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Blind bake the pie crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out thawed crust to fit a 9 inch round baking dish. Flute edges of the crust. Put parchment paper in crust and fill with pie weights/dried beans, making sure to push them up against the edges.

Bake crust for 20 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Let crust cool for at least 10 minutes.

Make the quiche: In a large measuring cup, pour eggs and cream. Add enough milk to reach the 2 1/2 cup mark (I needed to use about 1/2 a cup). Whisk together and then transfer to a large bowl.

Using an electric hand mixer beat egg mixture until light and frothy. Add salt and pepper to mixture.

Place diced Canadian bacon in bottom of baked pie crust.

Top with cheese. Pour in egg mixture. Bake quiche for 40-50 minutes (center will still be wobbly). Let cool.

Make hollandaise sauce: Melt butter over medium heat until just bubbly. Add egg yolks, lemon, salt, pepper and cayenne to a blender. Pulse for 15-20 seconds. Slowly drizzle in butter and continue pulsing for another 15-20 seconds or until thickened.

Drizzle hollandaise over quiche and serve.