So, you know how I mentioned that I surrendered to the domestic gods during the holidays? Well, one of their tasks for me was baking. I’ve never considered myself much of a baker simply because you find so many desserts and pastries already made in the states. I finally decided to attempt some of my favorites – apple pies, tarts and alas, quiche. It wasn’t that difficult (it never is once you get used to it), but the dough gave me a run for my money. Lucky for me, I’d had enough experience with the pie crusts to know when it needed more butter and when it needed to be chilled. And, tah-daahhhh…

I know I didn’t do the step-by-step like a good blogger should, but I really didn’t think it was going to turn out this good.

Following exact recipes have never worked out for me and what I usually do is make tweaks every time I make a dish until it’s exactly how I like it.

Lesson learned from this attempt is to use more liquid (i.e. milk or cream). I like my quiches very moist. In any case, here’s the recipe I used which is an amalgam of different ones I found on the internet:

6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Ground pepper
1 broccoli head sautéed (frozen could be used)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

For the dough I used the following:

1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
125g unsalted butter, chilled, finely chopped
1 egg, chilled

Directions

Process flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and 1 tbs chilled water in a bowl until combined, then with food processor motor running, add to flour mixture. Process until mixture begins to form large clumps, stopping machine before mixture forms a ball. Turn pastry out on to a work surface and knead gently to bring together. Form into a disc for a round tart or into a log shape for a rectangular tart. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours. Roll out the dough and place in a springform pan or whatever pan you use to make pies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

We stayed at the Hotel Tibisay while in Mérida, and unfortunately it was a disappointment. Before I get to the problems, I want to say that it was a nice kept, clean hotel and the customer service was great. But, for a 4 star luxury hotel, I had the following issues:

- They had a group of marketers promoting their location on Margarita Island and they were aggressive. It was the type of marketing ploy where they simply want to “show you how the hotel works” and the whole family had to participate and after an hour you ended up in a room, sitting at a table with a bunch of paperwork in front of you.

- During our entire stay, the Wi-Fi on our floor wasn’t working. To the hotel’s credit, they came and installed a cable connection, but this did nothing for my iPad connection.

- The room – which I think was a double – was on the small side.

- Our last two mornings there, they were running low on hot water (there appeared to be an influx of guests).

With all that said, according to some Venezuelans that I spoke to this is the nicest place to stay in Mérida. So even though I wasn’t all that impressed, I would stay there again if I ever find myself back in Mérida.