I have made many quiche, but this one topped them all. I think it may have convinced me that the deeper the better. I have always used a pie plate to make my quiche, but every time I have been to a french bakery, and seen a beautiful deep dish quiche I have been intrigued. This was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
I expected the lack of real bacon to create problem for our quiche, but no way. The turkey bacon gave it wonderful flavor, I only wish we would have added more. This quiche does take a long time to bake. By the time you make the crust the day before, par bake it for an hour, then bake the quiche for an hour and a half, then cool it for two hours it is practically morning. We did not get the opportunity to cool it for more than 20 minutes which made for a messy time of getting it out of the pan, but had we had more time i think it would have been beautiful.
And the banana bread kicked ass. We have a couple no nut people in our family so I omitted them (begrudgingly). Even without the nuts the bread was wonderful, and completely gone before I turned my head. The recipe calls for extracting the juice of the banana (yes bananas have juice, go figure), reducing it, then mixing the juice, bananas and dry ingredients together. It made for a super moist delicious bread with a crusty yummy top. I could have easily added chocolate chops and walnuts for extra delight, but i was happy to be restrained. The bananas were the star of the show and had every opportunity to shine.
Ultimate Banana Bread
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Be sure to use very ripe, heavily speckled (or even black) bananas in this recipe. This recipe can be made using 5 thawed frozen bananas; since they release a lot of liquid naturally, they can bypass the microwaving in step 2 and go directly into the fine-mesh strainer. Do not use a thawed frozen banana in step 4; it will be too soft to slice. Instead, simply sprinkle the top of the loaf with sugar. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8½ by 4½ inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness five minutes earlier than advised in the recipe. The texture is best when the loaf is eaten fresh, but it can be stored (cool completely first), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled (see note)
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts , toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).
3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.
4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Quiche Lorraine
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Makes one 9-inch quiche serving 8 to 10.
To prevent the crust from sagging during blind baking, make sure it overhangs the pan’s edge and use plenty of pie weights (about 3 to 4 cups). The cooled quiche can be served warm or at room temperature, or refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated. To reheat the whole quiche, place it on a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack of a 325-degree oven for 20 minutes. Reheat slices at 375 for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen 10 minutes
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/4-1/3 cup ice water
- 1 large egg white , lightly beaten
- Custard Filling
- 8 ounces turkey bacon
- 2 medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 8 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 6 ounces Gruyère cheese , shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
Instructions
1. FOR THE DOUGH: Process flour and salt together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about ten 1-second pulses.
2. Mix sour cream and ¼ cup ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.
3. Turn dough out onto work surface and flatten into 6-inch disk; cover disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours, before rolling. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let thoroughly chilled dough stand at room temperature 15 minutes before rolling.)
4. Cut two 16-inch lengths of foil. Arrange foil pieces in round 9 by 2-inch cake pan so they are perpendicular, pushing them into corners and up sides of pan; press overhang against outside of pan. Spray foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Roll out disk of dough on generously floured work surface to 15-inch circle (about ¼ inch thick). Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into cake pan. Working around circumference, ease dough into pan by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into pan bottom with other. Trim any dough that extends more than 1 inch over edge of pan. Patch any cracks or holes with dough scraps as needed. Refrigerate any remaining dough scraps. Refrigerate dough-lined pan until firm, about 30 minutes, and then freeze for 20 minutes.
6. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line dough with parchment or foil and fill completely with pie weights or dried beans, gently pressing weights into corners of shell. Bake on rimmed baking sheet until exposed edges of dough are beginning to brown but bottom is still light in color, 30 to 40 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights. If any new holes or cracks have formed in dough, patch with reserved scraps. Return shell to oven and bake until bottom is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove shell from oven and brush interior with egg white. Set aside while preparing filling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
7. FOR THE CUSTARD: Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from skillet. Return to medium heat, add onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Set onions aside to cool slightly.
8. Place cornstarch in large bowl; add 3 tablespoons milk and whisk to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in remaining milk, eggs, yolk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne until mixture is smooth.
9. Scatter onions, bacon, and Gruyère evenly over crust. Gently pour custard mixture over filling. Using fork, push filling ingredients down into custard and drag gently through custard to dislodge air bubbles. Gently tap pan on countertop to dislodge any remaining air bubbles.
10. Bake until top of quiche is lightly browned, toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, and center registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Transfer to wire rack and let stand until cool to touch, about 2 hours.
11. When ready to serve, use sharp paring knife to remove any crust that extends beyond edge of pan. Lift foil overhang from sides of pan and remove quiche from pan; gently slide thin-bladed spatula between quiche and foil to loosen, then slide quiche onto serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.