how to make a perfect quiche

Last Sunday, the beau and I decided to take a walk to the neighborhood discount retail store. I came across a really good deal on some porcelain tart pans, but hesistated a moment before deciding to purchase them.

“What would I use them for, really? I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna make a bunch of tarts anytime soon.”

“Ooh! you could make a quiche,” beau replied, then went on to extol the wonders of various quiches he used to make and enjoy.

I for one can’t stomach scrambled egg dishes, but I love a great cookware deal. Plus, when I saw the delighted anticipation on beau’s face, I caved. I’m a sucker for anyone that appreciates my cooking.

That day, I broke in one of the pans with my first quiche ever. I had some fresh spinach, mushrooms and broccoli florets leftover in the fridge from a meal earlier in the week, and 2 or 3 mostly empty bags of shredded cheese. With a few pointers from my handy go-to kitchen bible, “How To Cook Everything“, I turned out what was apparently a very tasty dish (I didn’t taste it myself, but beau raved about it and polished most of the thing off before kickoff that afternoon).

This past weekend, my good friend Regina had her annual holiday ladies’ gathering at her house. This year’s theme was ‘tea and crumpets’, and guests were invited to bring a ‘crumpet’ to share. I’ll give you one guess what I brought.

I made one quiche to share with the ladies and another for beau to eat while he watched the Falcons try to make the playoffs. This time the dish was a double success. Within 20 minutes after setting it on the ‘crumpet’ table, all but one slice was gone. And a few minutes after that, I got the following text message from beau:

this quiche is sooo frickin’ delicious!

If you say so.

Here’s the recipe (some approximations):

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared pie crust
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups of cream room temperature
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (I used parmesan and cheddar)
• couple of handfuls of fresh spinach
• about 1 cup broccoli florets
• handful fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place pie crust in pan and cook according to package directions. While crust is baking, parboil broccoli until crisp-tender (about 4-5 minutes). Remove and drain. Sautee garlic and spinach in a little olive oil, until spinach is wilted. Place spinach onto paper towels and squeeze until all the liquid is expressed. Chop broccoli and spinach into small pieces. In a large boil, combine eggs and cream, then add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour egg mixture into pie crust and bake in 325 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. When done, quiche will be mostly firm with a slight jiggle in the center.

Slice, serve, and enjoy.

cheers,

k