Crab Quiche

I had intended to make this crab quiche for our Christmas Eve dinner, but we ended up going over to friends for appetizers instead. Since I had all the ingredients on hand, I decided to make it last night and boy, was it good...and so easy.  Neal and I each had two pieces!  I used a store-bought pie crust and it wasn't the prettiest in the world, but I think Paula Deen would be proud.

Crab Quiche

(courtesy of www.pauladeen.com)

Servings: 6 to 8
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
One 9-inch pie shell, par-baked and pricked with a fork
1 pound fresh white crab meat, drained (canned works well too)
2 scallions, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground mace or nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pie crust. Top with the crab meat and sprinkle with the scallions. Whisk together the heavy cream, lemon zest, mustard, seafood seasoning, salt, mace or nutmeg and eggs in a bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust.

Bake until the custard sets, about 40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.