Mother’s Day Crab and Asparagus Quiche

It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, and if you haven’t made your restaurant reservations yet, it’s not too late to do something thoughtful for Mom.  And what could be sweeter than baking up a delectable brunch dish yourself?  This elegant quiche is bursting with seasonal freshness (pick up some snappy, farmers market asparagus), and refined enough to stand up to the offerings at any New York eatery (who doesn’t love tender, jumbo lump crab)?  All you need to complete the picture is a pitcher full of mimosas, a sprightly spring greens salad, and a bouquet of her favorite flowers.  Oh, and if you can swing it, scheduling a relaxing spa trip afterwards sure wouldn’t hurt.

Crab and Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
8 large asparagus
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups of lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons of dry vermouth
4 eggs
2 cups of half-and-half
1 cup of heavy cream
4-ounces of gruyere cheese, grated
Freshly ground white pepper and salt to taste

Directions: Put a sheet pan in the oven to preheat.  Blanch the asparagus and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Saute the onion in half the butter until softened.  Add the rest of the butter to the same pan to quickly sauté the crabmeat.  Add the vermouth and cook until most of the liquid is gone.  Add the crabmeat mixture to the pie shell.  Sprinkle the grated gruyere over the crabmeat.

Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and cream.  Add white pepper and a pinch of salt.  Pour the custard mixture into the pie shell.

Bake the quiche on the preheated sheet pan for 15 minutes.  Lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 50-55 minutes.  The quiche is done when the custard is set around the edges (it can still be slightly jiggly in the center) and brown on top.