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Parties and Entertaining

'Savory Baking': Erin Jeanne McDowell's 'Wee Quiches' are the savory party food we crave

Morgan Hines
USA TODAY
'Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between' by Erin Jeanne McDowell.

You might think of dessert when you think of baking. But there are so many ways to incorporate the food preparation method into your meal planning. And if you're in need of savory ideas, baker Erin Jeanne McDowell, who hosts Food52's "Bake It Up a Notch," has you covered.

McDowell's "Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between" hits shelves Tuesday. And her "Wee Quiches" look as cute as they sound — the perfect food to serve guests at a dinner party or gathering.

While McDowell is no newbie when it comes to cookbook writing (she's published two others: "The Book on Pie" and "The Fearless Baker"), her newest offers baking ideas for any time of day.

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The book is focused on savory dishes, but for readers and chefs who have an affinity for sugar there are "sweet tooth breaks" through the text. The book also aims to help home bakers with tips and basic technique lessons throughout.

Publisher Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, shared McDowell's recipe for "Wee Quiches" (plus the crust needed to make them) from the baker's latest with USA TODAY.

"Wee Quiches"

Excerpted from Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between © 2022 by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Photography © 2022 by Mark Weinberg. Reproduced by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Wee Quiches

Makes: 12 mini quiches

While the word mini can sometimes mean fussy, mini quiches are simple to make. Because they are small, you can get away without parbaking the crust, as I would for a full-size quiche. They are perfect party fare since they can be served warm or at room temperature. My all-purpose crowd- pleasing combination of tomato, scallion, and cheddar can be replaced with any combo of veg, meat, or cheese that you wish. When I’m serving a really big group, I bake up multiple trays, each with a different filling. Looking for an even smaller (two-bite) treat? Try the Extra-Wee Quiches below.

Ingredients:

  • 2 recipes Pâte Brisée, prepared as a double batch, formed into a 1-inch thick disk, wrapped, and chilled (Can be made ahead *see recipe for Pâte Brisée below)  
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 3/4 cups shredded firm cheese, such as cheddar, Asiago, or Gruyère

Instructions:

  1. Very lightly grease a 12-cavity muffin pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick; don’t worry about the exact dimensions of the dough, just try to keep it roughly rectangular in shape and focus more on the thickness. Use a 3 and 1/4-inch round cookie cutter to cut 12 rounds from the dough. (You can press the dough scraps together and re-roll to cut out more rounds if necessary.)
  2. Place one round of dough in each of the cavities of the prepared pan and press the dough firmly over the base and up the sides of the cups. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the center; place a Baking Steel or pizza stone on the rack, if you have one (this will ensure a crisper bottom crust when not parbaking).
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, milk, salt, and pepper together to combine well. If you have a large liquid measuring cup or similar vessel with a pour spout, transfer the custard to it.
  5. Remove the muffin pan from the fridge. Divide the scallions, tomatoes, and cheese evenly among the crusts. Carefully pour the custard over the vegetables/cheese, filling the crusts almost to the top.
  6. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the edges of the crusts are deeply golden brown and the custard is set, 30–35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then run a small offset spatula around the edges of each quiche and carefully remove them from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pâte Brisée

Makes: 1 nine-inch crust

Pâte brisée, a classic French pastry dough, is easy to make and reliably tender and flaky. I often recommend it as a great place to start for anyone who has struggled with pie dough in the past. While you can mix the dough by hand, the food processor makes quick work of it. This is the best crust when I want to get from zero to pie as quickly as possible. The result is versatile enough for many pie preparations, and it also works beautifully for décor work.

  • 1and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 3 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the water over the flour and pulse to incorporate, stopping before the dough comes together into a ball. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until it comes together.

2. Turn the dough out, form into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (and up to 2 days) before using.

3. This dough is best baked at 400°F. Parbake, blind-bake, or fill and bake as directed.

Make ahead and store:

The tightly wrapped disk of dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game: 

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