By Carrie and Marcus getting serious, quiet thoughtful man who builds things, Naomi sees Robert in the building. The week was the life. The life was the cooking. The cooking was the love. And the love was the week, and the week was one of the weeks that stack together to become the years, and the years become the life, and the life is the woman at the stove who cooks and writes and loves and does not stop.
I made she-crab soup on Sunday — the anchor, the constant, the practice. The soup was perfect. The perfection was the practice. And the practice continues, one Sunday at a time, one bowl at a time, one life at a time, the woman stirring, the roux thickening, the kitchen warm, the family fed, the love alive.
The soup was Sunday’s anchor, but the week asked for something that could carry the weight of all I was feeling — Carrie’s quiet happiness, Marcus’s steady hands, the way I kept seeing Robert in the set of his shoulders when he worked. A crustless crab quiche is that kind of dish: no fuss, no performance, just the deep, honest flavor of crab held in something warm and whole. It sits on the table the way a good man sits in a room — without needing to announce itself.
Crustless Crab Quiche
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 8 oz lump crab meat, drained and picked over
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch pie dish generously and set aside.
- Soften the onion. In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Whisk the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, milk, flour, Old Bay, dry mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth and fully combined.
- Layer the filling. Scatter the softened onion evenly across the bottom of the prepared pie dish. Distribute the crab meat over the onion, then top with the shredded Swiss and Parmesan cheeses.
- Pour and settle. Slowly pour the egg custard mixture over the layered filling, allowing it to settle evenly around the crab and cheese.
- Bake. Place the dish on the center rack and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is just set and the top is lightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Rest and serve. Let the quiche rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh chives and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 21g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 520mg