Bad Baby Smoked Salmon and Brie Pie

Updated 10.22.2017.

Shh! I’m inventing a new pie in my head. Tomorrow’s blue plate special. I’m calling it: I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie.

I don’t think we can write that on the menu board, hon.

Then I’ll just call it Bad Baby Pie.

What’s in it, honey?

It’s a Quiche of egg and Brie cheese with a smoked ham center.

Sounds good, baby.

I ain’t never gonna get away from Earl now.

Waitress, the movie, AKA the reason I began baking pies in the summer of 2007. I abruptly quit my job at a law firm and was stumbling through my summer with my eyes glazed over. Literally, glazed over. Then my dad took me to the movie theater one hot summer afternoon to beat the steamy Midwest heat ,and I watched as Keri Russell’s character, Jenna, escaped her life by making pies (Bad Baby Pie; I Hate My Husband Pie; Fallin’ in Love Pie; Baby’s Screaming It’s Head Off in the Middle of the Night and Ruinin’ My Life Pie; Pregnant, Miserable, Self-Pitying Loser Pie – do you see a theme here?).

I have always wanted to try making the Bad Baby Pie (because I love Brie cheese) except for one thing: I hate ham! Well, I guess I’m not completely sure I hate it anymore. I haven’t eaten it in about 13 years or so. So I guess it’s possible that my hatred for the meat has now passed, and if I tried it again, I’d find I don’t much hate it after all. I’m still a little afraid to try it though. So instead, I thought I would substitute a different smoked meat: smoked salmon.

Turns out, I’m not the first person inspired by Jenna’s pie by nor am I the first person inspired to make the pie by substituting smoked salmon. I Googled smoked + salmon + brie + Quiche and arrived at recipe for Bad Baby Pie made with smoked salmon (to make the dish Kosher). WTH? I’m so not original.

While Jenna’s pie was made of Brie, ham and eggs, I decided to punch up my pie a bit by adding green onions and flat Italian parsley (from my garden!).

ingredients.

½ recipe for Basic Pie Dough for a Flakey Pie Crust or one recipe for Vegan Whole Wheat Pie Dough
3 whole eggs (or 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites)
¾ c. milk
¾ c. heavy whipping cream (or substitute one and a half cups half and half for both the milk and cream)
½ c. parsley, chopped
2 whole green onions, diced
4 to 6 oz smoked salmon, flaked into bite size pieces
½ lb Brie cheese, sliced
1 T. flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

directions.

Prepare pie crust according to recipe directions. Partially bake pie crust in a 400-degree oven for about 8 minutes, covered in foil and weighed down by pie weights or dried beans, plus an additional 10 minutes uncovered.
While crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, whipping cream, flour, salt and pepper.
When the crust is finished, lay slices of Brie cheese along the bottom of the crust.
Top with green onions and parsley.
Pour the egg on top.
Drop the smoked salmon into the center of the pie (it’s OK if it spreads out a bit) and then lay additional pieces of brie cheese on top the pie, fanning out from the smoked salmon center.
Reduce oven to 325 degrees and bake the Quiche 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Note: Quiche is like lasagna in a way – it’s best to let it sit so the ingredients will set. I have to admit, I’m not the most patient person. Especially not right after removing food from the oven. It’s hard for me to wait to dig into anything. But this dish is worth the wait. It would even taste good luke warm, I swear. And letting it cool for a considerable amount of time will making cutting the pie easier. This is a great dish if you like leftovers. I would wager to guess that leftovers might be even better than fresh out of the oven pie.

I have to admit I was a little bit nervous that this pie wouldn’t turn out. I never cook with smoked salmon. I’ve always been under the impression that I don’t like smoked salmon unless it’s home-smoked, and I don’t have a smoker. But I decided to chance it anyway, as you can see. And I’m glad I did. Holy crap. This is a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, breakfast pie. The smoked salmon is concentrated in the middle of the pie and I found that as I worked my way toward the edge of the pie, I needed to pick up some of the smoked salmon debris that littered my plate. The smoked salmon was the best part. Though, I’m sure this pie would be just as fabulous with smoked ham!

Love Brie? Me too! Check out other recipes that use Brie:

Recipe rating: 