Pie-a-Day #7 Corn Quiche in Cornmeal Crust

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I was 17 when I really understood that eaters could slavishly be mine.  It was my mother’s birthday and we were celebrating with a grand bash at a friend’s house.  By then I had a reputation for cooking for celebrations so I made Julia Child’s Quiche Lorraine from Mastering the Art.  I followed the recipe to the letter and people went nuts.  NUTS.  I had been cooking on my own for years but at this party a light bulb went off in my brain.  I was to use food to lure beautiful men for years.  Now I just enjoy making people (ages 2 to 100) happy.

So tonight I just couldn’t face another sweet pie.  It’s the seventh day of this pie commitment so I thought, “Why not make Mom happy with a quiche for dinner?”  She is a corn aficionado so I put together a “pie” of sauteed fresh corn niblets, a bit of bacon, a couple of tablespoons of gruyere and Julia’s ratio of custard (1 egg in a measuring cup then cream to reach 1/2 cup).  I used half and half, (after all my mom is 89) and I poured it all into a cornmeal crust inspired by James’ McNair’s Pie Cookbook.

Mc Nair’s book has all these wonderful suggestions for decorating the edge of your pie.  I attempted the “Checkerboard”, forgetting that I had to blind bake the crust,  angling parchment paper and a pound of beans around the little pieces of dough edge facing the filling.  Oh well.  Next time it will be prettier.  I have to buy some different pie pans too.  Getting a little tired of the pyrex thing.  And oh, it was delicious.