French Fridays Midnight Dinner with Dorie: Gorgonzola Apple Walnut Quiche

I wasn't able to muster up enough excitement to make last week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe - Broth Braised Potatoes, but this week's Gorgonzola Apple Quiche did appeal to my taste buds. With the classic pairing of Gorgonzola, apples, and walnuts, and cream and eggs, all baked in a buttery tart shell...what's not to like?

The fact that it took me three days to prepare.

Failing to read the recipe ahead of time was my first mistake, which led to my second mistake in attempting to prepare this recipe after work on Tuesday. Had I read the recipe, I would have known the following:

• Dough needs to chill in the refrigerator before rolling it out - at least 3 hours;
• After rolling the dough and placing in the buttered tart pan, it then needs to chill or freeze for another hour before baking;
• The crust partially bakes for about 20 minutes, and then needs to cool before filling;
• Once filled, the quiche bakes about 30 minutes;
• Add the time to make and roll the dough, saute the onions, and prepare the filling, we were looking at a midnight dinner;
• Change that to 1:00 a.m. to allow for photos.

So, I allowed the dough to rest overnight in the refrigerator. The next evening, I rolled the dough, placed it in the tart pans, put the pans back in the refrigerator, and then baked the crust. I prepared the filling and baked the quiche the next morning, and we finally had dinner that night!

Partially baked and cooled tart shells

Sauteed onions

Sauteed onions and Gorgonzola sprinkled over the bottom of the shell 

A sprinkling of walnuts, the egg and cream mixture, and sliced apples on top

Add a green salad, and dinner is served!

Newfy Notes:  Read the recipe ahead of time! Start this recipe on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  Dorie instructs to peel and dice the apples, and scatter over the bottom of the crust with the onion and cheese (before adding the eggs and cream).  I thinly sliced the apple and arranged the slices on top of the egg and cream before baking.  Also, walnuts are optional, but I really liked the flavor and crunch. The Flavor Bible supports the classic pairing of Gorgonzola with apples, but especially with PEARS and WALNUTS.  John thought the onions were a bit overpowering and, in fact, they are not listed as a pairing with this cheese.

Mom's Tasting Notes: "Yummy! Really liked the quiche. Beautifully browned crust. Perhaps you could photograph it on glass from the underside to show the great color. The pear* and cheese are a gorgeous combination - and don't know what it was, but the little 'tidbits' of something* in the filling were a very nice touch . It's a winner! Don't know if size* matters in this case, but thought yours was perfect for lunch. Probably too small for dinner and too large for an appetizer. Minis would be great appetizers and perhaps whole pie size slices just right for dinner with a salad. Thanks for letting me be your tester." 

*I used apples, but pears would also be lovely; the tidbits were walnuts; and size matters, in all cases ;-)

Here's a few other recipes with this flavor profile:

Gorgonzola Walnut Crostini with Pear Salad (NY Times)

Pear Gorgonzola Tart (Giada De Laurentiis)

No Knead Pizza Dough: Pear and Gorgonzola Flatbread (Steamy Kitchen)

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French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s newest book Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!