When I was in my late teens and early twenties, my best friend, Karena, and I had a summer catering business on New York’s Fishers Island. We mostly did huge, outdoor lawn parties for 100 to 200 people, and it was an absolute whirlwind. We hired the entire staff and did all of the prep by ourselves at Karena’s mom’s house. We’d then carefully shuttle everything in the backseat of our rusty old cars to the site of the cocktail party.
The island had one small country market, which closed at 6 p.m. sharp and had very limited ingredient selection, so all of the shopping had to be done with an assist from a ferry a day or two before a party. As you can imagine, leaving anything off the shopping list left us in quite a pickle.
In those situations, or if we were running low on our other pre-planned hors d’oeuvres (it was the 90s, so we were serving cutting edge spanakopita, small meatballs, and sausage-stuffed mushrooms), we made small crustless quiches. With the exception of the fresh rosemary, which really makes this great, you can whip up this fridge-dump quiche using whatever you have on hand.
Here’s how you do it: Whisk around 8 to 10 eggs, 1 cup milk, and 1 cup cream together, and pour the mixture onto a rimmed metal baking sheet. Sprinkle several generous handfuls of cheese—use whatever you’d like, but I use shredded mozzarella, which is low in moisture—on top. Follow that up with some kind of meat (or not!). I think Canadian bacon works best, but crispy bacon, sliced deli ham, and cooked sausage could all substitute in well. Finish it off with fresh rosemary sprigs on top. This is essential, and will also make the house smell amazing for guests. Bake at 350° for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown and the texture is firm and springy to the touch. Cut it into little squares for serving and serve it piping hot for one or 100—whoever’s lucky enough to try it.