Three Takes on One Quiche

I don't know if this is a girl thing, or because I like French food, but I absolutely love quiche. It can be made in a million and one ways, be heavy or light, and as long as it's done right it's always good. I think you can put just about anything in a quiche, and as you'll see from the next few recipes, one little change can make a huge and yummy difference.

My father hates goat cheese, and I know that there are some people who are staunchly against this mild yet tangy cheese. But, it is extremely versatile and can mesh well with so many foods. It is a perfect companion for quiche because unlike some other cheeses, it does not get oily when heated and doesn't blend so much that the taste gets hidden. Here are three different options to this quiche, each one more delicious than the next.

Basic Goat Cheese Quiche
Ingredients:
- 5-6 eggs
- 1 pie crust (I like Pillsbury the best)
- 1/4-1/3 cup of cream
- 1 small container of crumbled goat cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray some nonstick cooking spray on your baking dish. This is especially important on the bottom edges as your pie crust there will stick the most.
2. Whisk eggs and cream together. You can either do this with a hand mixer or by hand. Whisking adds air to the eggs, and the more you whisk, the fluffier the quiche will be. Just don't whisk so much that the cream whips.
3. Add in the whole container of goat cheese and your other ingredients. Mix a little bit, then dump into your pie dish. Make sure the ingredients are spread out evenly in the dish and bake until the top is just starting to brown.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche
-1 medium onion
-3 tbsp olive oil
-3 tbsp vinegar
-3 tbsp sugar

1. Slice up the onion real thin, then put in your pan with the other ingredients.
2. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions start to look a little cooked/opaque (stir often), then put the heat down to medium-low until the onions look like they are cooked
3. Then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and forget about them. They'll need to cook for about 30-45 minutes to get that nice dark brown color you see at the restaurants.
4. When adding to your quiche mixture, scoop out the onions with a slotted spoon. You don't need to add all those juices otherwise the vinegar and sugar are a little overpowering to the rest of the dish.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche
- 1 Small Red Pepper

1. To make a roasted red pepper you must be ok with getting your stove top dirty. Turn on your gas burner (I think you can probably do this on a grill as well if you don't have a gas burner).
2. Put the red pepper on the burner. Turn the pepper until it's all charred on the outside (make sure you watch it, the pepper will catch fire -which is ok- but you don't want it to get out of control and burn your house down.
3. When it's cool enough to handle take the burnt skin off with your hands.
4. Slice into bite sized pieces and add to your quiche mix.

Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Quiche
(this one's super simple)
- Smoked Salmon (I really like this from Trader Joe's. It is the freshest and least fishy smelling brand. I get the smaller sized pack.)

1. Slice up Smoked Salmon into bite sized pieces. And make sure you remove all the bones.
2. Add to the quiche mix.

I'm assuming you could add just about anything to the basic quiche and it would taste good (broccoli, peas and mushrooms, bacon, etc.). And the best part is that this dish can be great any time of day. On it's on for breakfast, with a salad for lunch, or as a side at dinner. I'd love to hear some ideas!