Mom's Birthday Quiche Lorraine

My cousin, Koryn, made an amazing pork dish for Christmas and when I asked her where she got the recipe she bore testimony of America's Test Kitchen and the books that have come of that PBS show. The next time I was in a book store, a magazine size version of ATK caught my eye. Then, through some ridiculous twists and turns, I ended up needing a recipe for quiche for Mom's birthday party last week. What says happy birthday better than quiche?! Seriously, though, quiche is romantic because it's French and it has stinky cheese in it. Make it for someone you love for Valentine's Day!

Crust:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened

Custard and Topping:
5 slices bacon, chopped fine
3/4 c. half-and-half
3/4 c. sour cream
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 c. Gruyere, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the crust, whisk flour, Parmesan and salt together in a bowl. In a large, separate bowl beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix the dough until the dough forms large clumps. Flatten the dough into a 6-inch disk and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate.

Press the dough evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes, then transfer it to the freezer until it's firm (about 10 minutes). (Once the dough is pressed into the pie pan, it can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

Spray two 12-inch square pieces of foil lightly with cooking spray and place them greased-side down on the chilled pie shell. Fill with pie weights and fold the excess foil over the edges of the dough. Bake until the surface of the dough no longer looks wet, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights and continue to bake for about 5 more minutes - until the crust is brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for about 15 minutes.

For the custard and topping, cook bacon until crisp and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. (We did this step the day before and it saved us a lot of grief on the day of the party.) Whisk the half-and-half, sour cream, eggs, yolk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, Gruyere, and three-quarters of the bacon together in a large bowl.

Pour the custard mixture into the warm pie shell and bake until the crust is golden and the custard is set around the edges, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining bacon over the surface of the quich and continue baking until the center of the quiche is barely set, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The quiche can be refrigerated in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for up to 3 days. We served this cold at Mom's party and everyone seemed to enjoy it. David thought it was too salty, but that would be an easy thing to control. :)