Burger King vs. Quiche

You've probably seen the new Burger King commercial promoting the Texas Jalepeno Whopper or whatever its called. You know, the one where some guy is sitting in a snobby looking restaurant with his girlfriend when he is served a large plate with 3 or 4 small splotches of frou-frou looking food on it. He proceeds to break into a song about how this "chick food" is not sufficient to satisfy his man sized hunger. He leaves the restaurant where he's joined by a crowd of other men who share his frustration with such food and desire something more hearty, more flame broiled. Naturally they head to Burger King for a big ol' Texas Jalepeno Whopper. Over all it's a pretty normal commercial. But one thing about it has been making me angrier and angrier every time I see it. Just as the undernourished guy is joined by the chorus of other men as he's leaving the restaurant they sing "oh yes, I'm a guy. I'll admit I've been fed quiche." As if quiche was in some way unmanly. For anyone who might not know, quiche is basically egg pie with other stuff in it. One popular type is Quiche Lorraine which is filled with crumbled bacon, sauted onions and grated cheese. Does that sound in any way unmanly? That shit has like 300 calories per square inch. What this tells me is that Burger King's target demographic is not one which actually knows what quiche is. Kinda sad.

Crustless Zucchini Quiche

This recipe is based on the recipe from my Grandfather's self published cookbook which is in turn based on a recipe in a book called "Quick Meals" published by Sunset Books in 1963. It was a favorite of mine when I was living in the Evergreen State College dorms because I was often to lazy (read: stoned) to make a proper crust. Crusts are hard. Especially in a drastically limited kitchen.

Butter a 9 inch glass pie pan heavily. Add 1/4 cup wheat germ or matzo meal, tilting the pan so that the wheat germ or meal sticks evenly to all sides. Discard any excess.

Filling:
bottom layer: 1/2 cup shredded Swiss or Jack cheese
Next Layer: 1/4 cup chopped green onion
3rd layer: 2 small Zucchini, usually less. Don't try to pack it all in if it doesn't fit naturally.
4th layer: 1-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
top layer: 1 cup shredded Jack cheese

all this should fill the pan roughly to the top. If it's over the brim remove some of the cheese and zucchini. Whisk together:

7-9 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Pour egg mixture over filling. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before serving.

It should be obvious that you can put just about whatever you want in there. To make Quiche Lorraine simply substitute the things listed above for the filling. I would recommend either Swiss or cheddar for this variation. My grandpa also recommends adding a tablespoon of tomato paste to the eggs and filling it with cooked shrimp and sauted onions. Briefly cook the shrimp with the onions and a little white wine of dry vermouth.