Quiche Conquering Day

Happy Thursday!  I know it's been pretty quiet here this summer, but I made something pretty yummy today and thought it was worthy of sharing, if only because I'm so proud that I finally figure this one out.  Quiche.  I know, so simple, right?  Well, while that might be true I have never been able to make it myself and it's one of my favorite foods, so today was a big day in the Franklin house!  

If I'm being honest, which I always am, I have to admit that quiche totally intimidates me, and yet I find it so enticing.  It's buttery, flaky crust combined with cheesy, flavorful filling, how can you go wrong?  Well, I did.  Over and over again; until today!  Now, I will also admit that I used a pre-made crust because I had one in the freezer and I figured I would tackle this one step at a time.  I feel like next time I could try and make my own dough.  Anyway, on to the recipe.  

I based my recipe on my old standby-Mark Bittman, but I added the mushrooms.  

You need:

1 deep dish pie crust (I had a bunch of filling left over and happened to have fillo cups in my freezer, so I made 24 mini quiches as well)

6 eggs

2 cups of milk, cream or a combo (I used 1.5 c 2% milk and .5 c cream)

2 c. shredded cheese (I used white cheddar)

1 c. chopped mushrooms (I used a mix of button and baby bellas)

2 Tbsp. chopped herbs (chives and parsley for me)

good pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

little butter or olive oil for cooking the mushrooms

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees and when it's ready, bake your crust for about 15 minutes.  While that's baking, get out your eggs and let them come to room temp. Heat a med. skillet to medium heat with a little olive oil or butter (I like a little of both) and then add your chopped mushrooms.  Let them cook until they are brown and tender.  Don't forget that mushrooms go through a dry phrase, so don't add more oil or butter, be patient!  Then salt and pepper them and set them aside.  Heat your milk just until it starts to steam and then start mixing all of your ingredients together except the mushrooms. 

Take the crust out of the oven, whisk your eggs together and slowly add the warm milk.  Do that slowly, a little a time to start so you don't accidentally scramble your eggs (temper them).  Add the cheese, herbs, and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  

Turn the oven down to 325 degrees, put the mushrooms in the bottom of your crust and pour the filling over top.  Put this in the oven and set the timer for 35 minutes (it actually took mine 40, but keep an eye on it).I am not sure if my crust wasn't deep dish, or I just didn't account for the extra space the mushrooms took up, but I had a good bit of filling left over.  So, I pulled out my fillo cups, popped 24 of them in a mini muffin pan, and filled them with the leftover filling (no mushrooms.)  When there are 30 minutes left on the time, add the mini quiches.  

Serve either of these or both warm from the oven or at room temperature.  I ate mine for brunch today with my kale and watermelon salad.  I made a few changes this time, just using kale, watermelon, and hazelnuts, and made the dressing with a little lemon juice, champagne vinegar, olive oil, and a little watermelon juice, salt, and pepper.  It may have been even better!  Oh, and I did a chiffonade of the kale (cut into little ribbons) to make it easier to eat. Even better, the kale came from my garden.  So good!

What is your favorite kind of quiche?

Asparagus Quiche with Spaghetti Squash Crust

I got the idea for this recipe from Pinterest, but I ended up tweaking it a little bit and have an idea for what I will do differently next time already.  I love quiche, but never make it because the one time I tried before was a disaster!  If I'm being completely honest, I was really nervous about this because really, my favorite part of quiche is the crust.  It's buttery, flaky and oh so delicious...  I'm getting side-tracked!  So, when I decided to try this quiche, I realized that I was just going to go into it with different expectations.  

So, yesterday I roasted my squash.  I used all the muscle I have in order to chop it in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, and then roasted it cut side down for about 45 minutes on 400 degrees.  

 I did this step a day ahead because I had the time.  Quiche itself is time consuming, so getting the first step done and out of the way made the whole process go more smoothly. 

So, because I cooked the squash ahead of time, it was scooped out (just scrape it all out with a fork) and cooled by the time I needed to press it into my pie plate.  I pre-heated the oven to 400 and then pressed the squash into it.  I then sprinkled about a handful of grated Parmesan cheese over the squash and then put it in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Now, I did this in hopes that it would help it harden and crisp up a little before I added all the filling stuff, but I'm pretty sure it didn't do anything.  Next time, I'm going to pat it all dry with a paper towel before baking it.  Maybe that will help with the browning.  

Anyway, while that was baking, I peeled a big shallot and threw it in my mini food processor.  I heated a medium skillet with a little olive oil in it and then started the shallots going over medium to medium low heat.  While they are softening up, I cut the ends off of the asparagus (snap one to see where the natural break is, then cut the rest at that same length) and then cut them into 1 inch pieces.  Once you have them ready, toss them into your pan and cook them for just a few minutes.  Don't get them get too soft, just till the green pops and they are tender. Once you get those in the pan, take your "crust" out of the oven.
 
While the asparagus is cooking, mix together 5 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of cheese (I grated Gruyere, but Swiss would be good, too, salt, and pepper.  Whisk that all together and then put the shallots and asparagus into the crust and pour the egg mixture over top.  Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 45 minutes.

 Here it is out of the oven.  Notice my beautiful new butcher block counter tops in the background.  Ahh, so pretty!

Overall, I think the quiche is good.  I didn't even really miss the crust.  It was a little sweet, which surprised me, but I did enjoy it very much and would definitely make it again.  Hopefully patting the squash down will help control some of the excess moisture.  Let me know what you think!

 I enjoyed this delicious quiche with a little salad that my friend Adam introduced me to a few weeks ago. I modified it slightly because I don't love feta, but here is what you see pictured here.  I mixed a little spinach and arugula with some chopped fresh mint, some toasted pine nuts, and a little Panela cheese.  Dress it with just a little rice vinegar and black pepper.  It is so yummy!