Recipe Review - Quiche

Having spent a year studying in France as a kid, I developed a lasting and satisfying relationship with... quiche.  I never made it in my home until recently, and I always wondered what the secret was to the especially wonderful quiches I occasionally came across - you know the ones.  They melt in your mouth.  I found this recipe, as I so often do, over on Martha Stewart's page.  It's by a guest chef, and she absolutely nails this quiche.  My only modification is that I add 6 slices of bacon (which we did not quite cook long enough this time), with the fattiest bits discarded (because who wants the wiggly bits in their quiche??).

 We used fresh thyme from our kitchen window herb garden - not having a real back yard (it's more of a large patio with no actual grass anywhere), we just have a little pot out back with thyme, cilantro, dill and basil, our most commonly-needed fresh herbs.

 I used some gorgeous local farm eggs, purchased through Penn's Corner, our local farm alliance.  We love everything we've gotten from them!

The final product was a wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth quiche.  We did cheat and use store-bought crust.  Honestly, the crust is a problem for me.  I am far too lazy to premake my own crusts to have at the ready for dishes like this.  But the store-bought is *so* gross.  Not to mention packed with trans-fats.  So, since I'm making the dish again tomorrow in anticipation of some guests arriving Friday, I'm going to attempt to make it without any crust at all.  It dramatically reduces the calories, and while I do prefer a nice crust on a quiche, I will survive without it this time around.  In the meantime, does anyone have a delicious yet super easy flaky crust recipe??

Oh, and the secret to the magical quiche texture?  Creme fraiche.  I trolled at least 3 different stores to find it, but I suspect my DC and New England-based friends and family will have an easier time of it.  Anyway, it's so worth it.  The creme fraiche really works wonders.  And it's even great as leftovers.

Approximate calories per 1/8 of quiche serving size (rounded to nearest 5):

With crust AND bacon: 400 calories per serving
With crust, no bacon: 375 calories per serving
Without crust, with bacon: 290 calories
Without crust or bacon: 265 calories.