real men DO eat quiche...........

I have been making quiche for as long as I can remember but it wasn't until last week that the "Boss" finely did a taste test....Yes, real men do eat quiche.....He had no choice....For years I've been seeing people win big bucks in the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest and this was going to be my year!!

I remember the year when the lady won $40,000.00 for making a zucchini something...

It was original.....it sounded inventive....Last year a lady won a million dollars with a peanut butter cookie....come on..... a peanut butter cookie?....a million dollars!

So I tweaked my recipe, made some adjustments, picked a name other then "quiche" and entered the contest........I do realize that I have a better chance of winning the Georgia Lottery then winning the Bake-Off.....but I thought I would give it a shot....Here is the recipe I entered.

We had it the other day for lunch and I made the Boss try it.....He was my taste tester....my main critic......He loved it! Of course who wouldn't love something filled with cheese and ham and pineapple and then covered with a cheese sauce....A real artery clogger but pure

comfort food....

Here it is.....my "Hawaiian 3-Cheese Quiche"

1 Pillsbury Pie crust......in the red box, not frozen.

8oz. white cheddar cheese, I use Cabot's Seriously Sharp Cheddar

8oz. Swiss Cheese

8oz. Asiago or Gouda cheese

8oz. of good quality deli ham either boiled or Tavern (baked) ham, thinly sliced then diced

8oz. can of pineapple tidbits...

1/2 cup good quality Mayo...like Hellman's

1/2 cup of heavy cream (you could also use whole milk)

4 sprigs of Thyme

a bit of Kosher salt and a twist or two of fresh ground pepper

4 large eggs

for the sauce

3 cups of cheese

1 1/2 cups of whole milk

2 tablespoons of butter

1 1/2 tablespoons of flour

salt and pepper to taste

Lets Build a Quiche

Preheat oven to 400 degrees..spray a 9" high side quiche pan with cooking spray. Unfold and place the pie crust into the pan fitting it into the folds on the sides. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with the mayo and the cream until smooth. Set aside......Grate the 3 cheeses, keeping them separate. Set aside 1 cup (loosely filled) of the Asiago and 2 cups (loosely filled) of the white cheddar, this will be used in the sauce....

Take the deli ham and dice it, then add to the cheese, blend well. Drain the pineapple and pat dry with a paper towel to remove all liquid....Add to the cheese and ham mixture. Add the Thyme, salt and pepper. Put mixture into the pie shell then slowly pour the egg mixture on top, making sure it's evenly poured over the whole quiche.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, rest for 25 to 30 minutes before cutting.

CHEESE SAUCE

2 Tablespoons of butter....1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour....1 1/2 cups of heated milk and the 3 cups of grated cheese. Melt butter and whisk in the flour...Heat the milk in the microwave then whisk into the flour/butter....keep whisking to avoid lumps....Add in the cheese and whisk until the cheese has melted. Add salt and pepper to taste....You can add more milk to thin out sauce if you prefer....any milk you add does not need to be heated....

Here is what I served with the quiche......Ina's fresh roasted beets with an orange vinaigrette.

I happen to love roasted beets.....I have to say the husband was not game to try these....

I do have to give a shout out to the son-in-law who turned us on to Hawaiian pizza...it turned out to be the inspiration for the recipe.....