A great brunch, lunch,supper...whatever dish!

      I’ve been going through a stack of cooking magazines lately, trying to cull out the ones I want to keep and those that can be discarded. It’s a really big stack, and I keep getting distracted by recipes and articles I can’t wait to make.
      One that had lots of things I liked the looks and sound of was a two-year-old Cuisine et Vins de France. It had an article with lots of quiche and tart recipes. All sounded delicious but I had everything it took to make one of them…so I did.
      I made the crust from scratch, following their instructions to replace half the ice water with balsamic vinegar and it was delicious. But the filling was so tasty that you could easily use a pre-made crust from the supermarket dairy case, as I usually do. I had made too much filling for the tart pan I used, so I did just that and made another one to take to work the next day. It reheated well, and it disappeared in a hurry.
     It could be served in small servings as an appetizer, or in larger servings with a nice salad for a brunch or supper main course. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy this as much as everyone at work apparently did.

CARAMELIZED ONION QUICHE WITH GINGER

1 pie crust, either from your favorite recipe, or pre-made
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp sugar
½ cup dry red wine
5 eggs
½ cup half-and-half
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley, for garnish

      Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Fit the pie crust into a buttered tart pan*. Prick all over with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
      In a wide skillet, melt the butter over very low heat. Add the ginger and stir a couple of times. Add the onions, stir well and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir. Raise the heat to medium. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes.
     Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cream and the nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the onions over the bottom of the tart crust and pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown. Let set a few minutes before cutting.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

Makes 12 appetizer servings, or 4 to 6 main course servings.

*For the pan, I prefer one with a removable bottom but a 10-inch pie pan would work as well.