The Atlanta Lawn and Tennis Association is an extremely competitive tennis league, with more than 93,000 active members who compete in the regularly held sanctioned tournaments throughout metro Atlanta and surrounding counties. It provides excellent competition, builds strong team camaraderie, and compels one to succeed.
A friend of mine, Toi Hubbard, and I formed a new Sunday A-1 team. We drafted eighteen players for our team because each week we have to field 10 players. You never know how each player will perform so its a bit of a leap of faith. We were thrilled to win third place in our division! For a first time out, that exceeded our expectations.
Only 10 ladies were able to make our planned celebratory round robin and luncheon, but we had a great time. It was a gorgeous day for fun tennis and good eats! Nothing bonds a group of women like good food and drink, warm atmosphere at home, and great conversation.
We dined on quiche,salad, hummus, and key lime pie with a little chardonnay and iced peach jasmine tea as we relaxed in the solarium. Whiskey tried to hone in on the celebration.
Quiche: Step 1 Saute yellow onions, mushrooms and diced ham for 5 minutes. Layer at bottom of baked pie shell.
Quiche: Step 2
Make custard from 2 eggs and 1 1/4 cup cream or whole milk, salt and pepper. Top pie mixture with custard.
Quiche: Step 3:
Top with cheese, bake at 350 for 40 minutes, and enjoy!
This is not your mother’s quiche! When made right, it is light, fluffy, and falls apart easily. What is great about making quiche, is you can make it the night before, as I did here. You can also put any kind of vegetables you want in it and you can put ham in it or make it meat free. It is a flexible dish. You just have to get the basics down and then you can change it up to suit whatever you want.
The most important part I’ve found is to take the time to properly saute the vegetables. This is where the richness of the flavor comes out. I saute 3/4-1 cup yellow chopped sweet onions for 2 minutes in 2 Tbsp olive oil with sea salt and pepper, then add a small shallot, minced, if you have it, and 3/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped, 2 cups mushrooms. Those mushrooms have water in them and take a long time to break down to release their sugars. You can put a cover over the saute pan and let them simmer for 6-8 minutes. Check on them and stir often. Once the mushrooms are half their size and are brown, then you can add the cooked ham just for a minute or so to heat it up.
Meanwhile, you have taken your 9″ pie shell and baked it at 350 for 15 minutes. Layer the veggie mixture on the bottom of the pan.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs, then add 1 1/4 cup half and half cream or whole milk. Add sea salt and pepper. Don’t over beat but mix thoroughly. This makes the custard. Pour custard over veggie mixture in pie shell and bake in the preheated oven at 350 for 40 minutes. Let is sit for 5 minutes to set. It should be light, fluffy, fall apart easily, and taste great. You can bake the night before, then heat in the oven before serving. It’s great for brunch, lunch, or dinner with a salad. Make it and enjoy.
