Ham and Eggnog Quiche

What do you get with you put together quite a bit of leftover holiday ham, quite a bit of leftover holiday eggnog, and quite a bit of holiday vacation time? A Ham and Eggnog Quiche experiment that could turn out to be either brilliant or vile. Fortunately this turned out on the brilliant side of things.

It’s probably because we’re still relative newly-weds that every time I do something around the holidays it gets vetted to become a potential new holiday tradition. I roasted a chicken on Christmas Eve three years ago and now it’s not Christmas Eve without a roasted chicken. Not all would-be traditions work though. My husband wasn’t super-much into the idea of saving the chicken giblets for a Christmas Morning Chicken Giblet omelet. Can’t imagine why. Maybe this one will come back next year when we find ourselves once again with lots of leftover ham and eggnog.

Eggs and equal part milk dilute the eggnog’s sweetness. The Pecorino Romano cheese and ham counter the sweetness with a good amount of hearty saltiness. A modest amount of diced pineapple complement the duo of salty and sweet with a fruity tang. All told, the combination makes for a quiche that’s nicely balanced between sweet and savory with an aroma reminiscent of a cheese croissant.

Ham and Eggnog Quiche – serves 8

Pastry:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 t salt
1/4 – 1/3 cup ice cold water

Filling:
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup 2% or whole milk
3/4 cup eggnog
1/2 t salt
1/2 slice pineapple, about 1/4 cup diced
1 1/2 cup diced ham

Measure the flour out into a large bowl. Add the salt and cubes of butter. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs. Gradually stir in the water using a floured wooden spoon. Form into a ball.

Turn the ball out onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough and spread in a 9 inch pie plate. Form the edges in any pretty little way you’d like.

Line the inside of the pie crust with foil (this will stop it from shrinking). Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes. Meanwhile set the oven to 350 degrees and allow it to get to temp while the pastry chills.

Remove the shell from the fridge and bake for 8-9 minutes. Remove the foil and set it back in the oven for another 5 minutes until lightly browned. If it puffs up at any point just poke it with a fork to deflate.

While all this is going on, beat the eggs with a whisk in a large bowl. Add eggnog, milk and cheese. Whisk together until combined. Stir in the ham and pineapple.

Pour filling into the pie crust.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 180 degrees. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.