Just this early fall I threw a baby shower for my beautiful friend, Deandra. It was a perfect day, rare for us in early fall. It's usually the hottest time of year for us in Los Angeles, with scorching temperatures lasting all day and night. But this Sunday the weather was on our side. The Baby shower was easy and casual, as requested by mama to be. Along with paying tribute to our guest of honor there was lots of catching up and mingling, great music, henna tattooing and fantastic food!

A few of us brought different dishes made with lots of love and you could tell!..salads, quiches, frittatas, bread puddings and cakes..what a spread! I got to do one of my favorite things- displaying the divine dishes on our serving pieces. Just gorgeous! 

I'd like to share with you a favorite pick of the mama to be that I made for the shower...Bacon Zucchini Quiche..to be enjoyed by yourself or with loved ones anytime of the day..quiche is a lovely meal, especially with a salad..And a Quiche on our Quartet board is a thing of beauty.

Bacon and Zucchini Quiche

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/2 recipe Flaky Tart Dough (follows)
• 10 large eggs
• 2 cups creme fraiche
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 5 slices center-cut bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, peeled lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick ribbons
• 1/2 cup gruyere

Directions

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into a 16-inch round. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off any excess flour; fit dough into a 2-inch deep-dish tart pan with a removable bottom, gently pressing it into the sides. Using a sharp knife, trim the dough evenly with the edge of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; chill tart shell until firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Line the tart dough with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Transfer to oven and bake until light brown, about 25 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper and continue baking until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together 1 egg and flour on high speed until smooth. Add the remaining 9 eggs and continue mixing until well blended.
5. Place creme fraiche in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth; add milk and continue whisking until well combined. Add to mixer along with salt, pepper, and thyme; mix until well combined. Strain mixture into a large bowl through a fine mesh sieve.
6. Place bacon, zucchini ribbons, and cheese in prepared tart shell. Pour over egg mixture until tart shell is full (you may not need to use all of the egg mixture). Bake 20 minutes; reduce temperature to 325 degrees, and continue baking until filling is slightly firm, rather than liquid, and crust is a deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer quiche to a wire rack to cool until set, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. To reheat, cover quiche with aluminum foil and bake in an oven heated to 325 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Flaky Tart Dough

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup ice water
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 5 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt and water. Keep very cold until ready to use.
2. Place flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly until mixture forms large crumbs. Add the salt water mixture and continue pulsing until a dough has just formed but is not smooth.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, evenly divide dough. Form each piece of dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours and up to overnight.