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Apples and October in Asheville, North Carolina

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Susan Murray

The Kitchen Whiteboard

It’s October in Asheville. The trees are brilliant with color, the skies are a clear, deep blue and the inns and hotels are fully booked. Which means that James and I have not had time to leave our Asheville Bed and Breakfast, The Carolina, to explore anything to share with you. Our lives have revolved fully around the coming and goings of our guests.

We have had any number of wonderful people pass through our doors: classmates and families, birthdays, anniversaries and engagements have all been celebrated. And while the people are one of the reasons we do this, at times our focus has narrowed down to the whiteboard in the kitchen with its instructions for the following morning. This is where I write the menu for the next two days every morning along with any special instructions for our guests.

Mike and Melissa showing off the ring

The Adabelles: Class of 1964

James helps out in the Kitchen

We couldn’t make all this happen with such seeming ease without help and James and I are extremely lucky in our staff. Sara, our Assistant Innkeeper, has been with us since we bought the inn. She has lived in Asheville for more than ten years and has a vast store of knowledge about the city and the surrounding environment. She has a gentle, calm manner about her which the guests love but she is a whirlwind of activity behind the kitchen door. She is joined by Alan, our housekeeper. Alan found us one day when he was going door to door looking for a job. He lives in a Christian Outreach Home for US Vets and has proved to be utterly reliable, honest and hardworking. I wanted to take a picture of the two of them for you but they wouldn’t let me. They have been unflappable this month as we have faced multiple days of complete check-out/check-ins, a broken dryer (which took over a week to get fixed!) and all of the complexities of our busiest month.

So, since I can’t share with you anything from outside the Carolina Bed & Breakfast, I would like to share with you something from inside. This is a variation of our breakfast quiche which makes good use of seasonal fruit (I think!)

Apple-Bacon Quiche

Ingredients

One pie crust

2 cups of peeled, chopped, apple

2 tbsp Maple Syrup

1 tbsp butter

10 slices of crispy bacon, chopped

1 cup grated cheese (any flavorful hard cheese will do)

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups Half & Half

Preheat oven to 375^

1) If you have a great pastry recipe, go ahead and prepare it and line a deep dish pie plate Otherwise you can use any commercially prepared deep dish frozen pie crust.

2) Saute apples in butter until they just begin to soften. Add Maple Syrup and let reduce down until sticky. You need to use apples which will hold their shape. I like to use Honey Crisps, a local apple with great flavour. Granny Smiths would be a good substitute.

3) While the apples are cooking, sprinkling three-quarters of the cheese in the pie shell. Top with the cooked apple mixture, chopped bacon and remaining cheese.

4) Mix together eggs and Half & Half and season to taste with salt and pepper but keep in mind that the bacon is already salty.

5) Pour egg mixture into prepared pie crust and bake at 375^ for 30-35 minutes until puffed and golden.

It is easiest to cut the quiche if you let it rest for about ten minutes after you take it out of the oven. The quiche will fall slightly but that’s ok.

Enjoy!