Somebody just had a big birthday (40th…cough) and returned from a lovely weekend in Asheville, North Carolina, planned by her hubby.

I thought I’d share a recipe from our amazing bed & breakfast, the Beaufort House, for Mouthwatering Mondays hosted by Rachel at A Southern Fairytale. I can’t say enough great things about this place. We stayed at the inn Saturday night (hello king-size bed where have you been all our lives) and on Sunday night we stayed at one of the newer cottages located at the back of the property. Neither the hubby nor I had ever been to Asheville and the Beaufort House was centrally located near downtown, which came in handy last night since we wanted to watch the Titans in the Hall of Fame game (we went to a great place called the Bier Garden) as well as just a short drive from the Biltmore. Also, the manly man ambience from the Bier Garden seemed to help balance out the fact that we were staying at a huge pink house. We also went to a wonderful quaint general store in downtown Asheville called Mast General Store, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We toured the Biltmore all day Sunday and it was incredible even though I was an idiot and wore jeans on a 90-degree day. For some reason I was thinking “mountains” when I got dressed, not “August.” Thankfully there were many ginormous fans blowing throughout the Biltmore and then we toured the winery afterwards and sampled several varieties of wine so by then I didn’t really care that I was sweating.

Check out the other wonderful recipes on the Beaufort House website. Chris, who owns the inn with her husband Jim, is a wonderful chef. This morning we had the most amazing French Toast made with croissants and served with fresh walnuts and banana slices, which is not a recipe featured on the website but trust me…is amazing.

Asparagus Spinach Cheese Quiche from Beaufort House in Asheville, North Carolina

6 servings: Baking time: 45 min.

• 8 eggs, organic are best


• 3/4 cup whipping cream or Half N Half Cream


• 3/4 cup (roughly) blanched fresh asparagus


• ¼ cup fresh baby spinach, enough to cover one layer of pie surface


• ¼ cup shredded hard parmesan cheese – not grated


• 1/2 cup aged shredded cheddar cheese


• Dry basil


• 1 pastry round

Heat oven to 400 degrees for first 15 min. of baking, then reduce to 375 degrees for last 30 min. of baking time. Cut asparagus on angle and blanch in boiling water until just bright green, set aside. Blend eggs and cream with mixer until well combined. Line pie plate with pastry round and sprinkle ample amount with dry basil. Layer parmesan cheese, spinach, aged cheddar cheese, and lastly, chopped asparagus. Cover with egg/cream mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 min. until set in middle.

Tips:

At last minute, mix egg/cream mixture on high speed for 2-3 minutes, then pour into prepared pie shell. Add blanched, drained asparagus evenly. If pastry or top of quiche are getting too browned before quiche is completely “set” in the middle, just lay a sheet of tinfoil gently over the top…this will prevent further browning.