I read recently something or other that decried quiches as a tired trend of the 80s. How dare they! Also, aren’t the 80s supposed to be cool again?

My favorite thing about quiches is the way you can put whatever you want in them. My second favorite thing is that they are vehicles for eggs and cheese, two of my favorite foods. My third favorite thing is the way they pair with coffee, mimosas or both. I make a lot of them.

But I’ve always wished my quiches were a little more fancy looking – I dearly love my aluminum pie tins but they result in a quiche where the ratio of eggy goodness to pie crust is a little too close, in my opinion.

And then one day I realized that people were making them in a springform pan, so they were deep dish. Brilliant. Is there anything that is not improved by making it deep dish? (Yes, I include pizza in that. Absolutely.)

It accomplishes so many goals: More eggs. More cheese. A prettier serving. I might never make quiche the old way again.

This weekend we enjoyed our quiche on Sunday, just before riding our bikes to the farmers market, stopping by the neighborhood plant shop and heading home to putter in the garden all afternoon. We feasted on fried chicken for dinner, along with some great cocktails, of course! It’s going to be another busy week ahead for both Dave and I, so we figured we’d better end the weekend on a very delicious note.

And by the way, if you have any moms in your life, this quiche would be a great option for brunch next weekend. Just make sure mom has a coffee and/or a mimosa in hand, too!

Ingredients

• 6 oz flour
• 6 Tbsp butter, chilled
• 2 Tbsp shortening, child
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• 8 oz breakfast sausage
• 1 onion, julienned
• 7 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 tsp chives, chopped finely
• 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 oz asiago cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Pulse flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a food processor until the mixture starts to become uniform and crumbly form crumble.
2. Add 1 tbsp water and pulse 3 more times.
3. Put the mixture out onto a sheet of cling wrap. Knead briefly with your hands, until the mixture comes together into a flat disk. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Roll out to 1/8″ thickness, then transfer into a springform pan (if the dough tears, you can patch it with leftover pieces)
5. In a medium skillet, brown 8 oz breakfast sausage, crumbled, until cooked through to 165. Remove from pan, reserving fat. Set aside.
6. Add the onion and 1 Tbsp butter to the pan. Cook, stirring infrequently, until the sugars caramelize and the onions turn brown.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, chives, parsley, salt and pepper and cheese.
8. Pour the into the prepared crust.
9. Grate 1 oz of asiago onto the top
10. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the center is set. Broil for 5 minutes to brown the top.