The French invented me and the ’70s made me popular. What am I?

Oh, quiche. I don’t know what it was that flew up the butt of the 1970’s in America and made quiche all the rage. I suspect Julia Child had something to do with it. Then everybody got quiched out for a decade or two until Costco comes up with these pre-frozen mini quiches that now grace most events with “shower” in the title. Suddenly everybody loves quiche again. Probably because it’s just so damned easy to make and delicious to eat. And, it’s one of the few breakfast foods that actually goes really well with wine (white or rosé, anyway).

It’s a little weird when you think about it. If you ask anyone if they want some savory egg pie, the answer would probably be, “Huh?” However, call it by its French name and everybody wants a piece. I don’t know why I don’t make the rules.

It may take 40 minutes in the oven, but if you have a pre-frozen pie crust in the freezer it comes together lickety split. You literally beat 6 eggs, add cheese, meat, veggies, or whatever, pour into the pie crust and bake. That’s. It. Making 2 at once is almost no extra work. They also freeze well. And, it’s actually somewhat reasonably healthy, as long as you’re of the nouveau mindset that fat is healthy. Another thing I love about quiche is the versatility in mealtime. It can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, or breakfast for dinner.

For my venison quiche, I went a little fancy and used steak, caramelized onions and brie. How can you go wrong with steak and brie? Steak and blue cheese would also be a valiant choice. It’s pretty simple: line the bottom of the pie crust with your fixin’s, pour the eggs over and make a pretty design with more fixin’s on the top. Bake for 40 minutes. Done – and – done.

Steak and Brie Quiche

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 4-6oz venison steak
• 4oz brie
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pie crust (frozen or homemade)

Directions

Step 1

Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the onion with a little salt, stir to combine, and cover until caramelized (about 20-30 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 425. Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and spray with pan spray. Sear the steak on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Finish in the oven for about 5-10 minutes. It can be pink in the middle, as it will continue to cook inside the quiche. Once the onions are caramelized, remove most of them but leave a few in the pan and put in the oven with the steak until they crisp up, about 5-10 minutes.

Step 3

Once the steak and onions are done, remove from the oven. Let the steak rest for five minutes. Then slice into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a few tablespoons of water (or cream or milk if you have it on hand).

Step 4

Turn the oven down to 350. Slice the white rind off the brie if desired. Slice brie into pieces and put in the bottom of the pie crust with the caramelized onions and steak, leaving the crispy onions aside for topping. Add the egg and bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.

Non-venison substitution: Any steak, preferably a filet.

Vegetarian substitution: Leave the steak out and you’ve got a still-scrumptious caramelized onion and brie quiche.