The Best Quiche Lorraine

New Year's Eve. 2025. The year after the wedding year — wait. No. The wedding is June 2024. This is the turn into 2024. This is the year. THIS YEAR. The year I get married. The year I become a husband. The year I stand in St. Josaphat and say the words and mean them more than I've ever meant anything.

Megan and I stayed home again. Champagne cocktails, cheese board, the countdown. At midnight I kissed her and said, "This is the year." She said, "The year." Not a question. A confirmation. A vow before the vow.

We talked about the future. Kids — she wants three. I want "however many you want." She wants a house with a yard. I want a kitchen bigger than a closet. She wants a dog. I want whatever she wants plus a smoker for the backyard. We have plans. The plans are vague and beautiful and real. The plans start with a wedding in June and extend into decades of dinners and holidays and Sundays and all the ordinary days between them.

New Year's Day: hangover breakfast. The third annual tradition. Eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, orange juice. We ate in bed because it was snowing outside and the apartment was warm and the bed was warm and there was nowhere to be. Nowhere to be on the first day of the most important year of our lives. Nowhere but here. Together. Ready.

Resolutions: Megan's — to stop stress-eating her students' snacks. Mine — to make the best wedding food anyone in Bay View has ever tasted. Only one of us will keep our resolution. It will be me.

The third annual hangover breakfast tradition deserved an upgrade this year — because this wasn’t just any New Year’s Day, this was the first morning of the year I become a husband. Scrambled eggs and toast in bed is a tradition I love, but Quiche Lorraine is that same comfort dialed all the way up: eggs, bacon, cream, and a golden crust that says this morning matters. If I’m serious about making the best wedding food Bay View has ever tasted, I might as well start practicing on January 1st, right there in the warm apartment, while Megan pretends her resolution is still intact.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 9-inch refrigerated or homemade pie crust, unbaked
6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chives, thinly sliced (for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat and blind-bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Press pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, crimping the edges. Line with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove weights and parchment and bake an additional 5 minutes until the crust is just set and lightly golden. Set aside.
Cook the bacon and onion. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crispy, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings, then sauté the diced onion in the remaining fat until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, and milk until smooth. Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Layer the filling. Sprinkle 1 cup of the Gruyère evenly over the bottom of the blind-baked crust. Scatter the bacon and sautéed onion over the cheese. Pour the egg custard slowly over the top, then sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Gruyère over the surface.
Bake until set. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake at 375°F for 30–35 minutes, until the custard is just set in the center with a very slight wobble and the top is lightly golden. If the crust edges brown too quickly, tent them with foil.
Rest and serve. Let the quiche rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh chives. Serve warm or at room temperature — excellent alongside orange juice and strong coffee.

Nutrition (per serving)

The Best Quiche Lorraine — The Breakfast That Belongs to the Year We Got Married