Foolproof Quiche

Almost two months to the day from my last post - yikes. I'm not sure where the time went,  until I consider the packing, unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and shopping that consumed all of March and much of early April. A resolution when we moved was to eat in much more often, so hopefully I'll have many more recipes to share.

When we were talking about making a quiche for Easter brunch, Brian stumbled upon this recipe. It's more a guideline than a recipe with specific measurements and ingredients, and it's exactly the way I like to cook...with what's on hand, what sounds good, with just a few "rules" to make sure it all comes together well.

How to Make a Foolproof Quiche

I made a quiche again yesterday for brunch with some great friends - my first official company in our new home! This is what I did this time...

Ingredients

• 9" prepared pie crust
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fat free half and half
• pinch of salt
• half of a large onion, chopped
• 8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 8 spears of asparagus, cut in half
• 2 cups freshly grated Gruyere

Method

1. Roll out the pie crust and fit it into straight-edged pie plate - I used Polish pottery. Trim away any overhang and reserve for patching up any cracks that appear during baking. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the pie crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake for 20 minutes and remove the weights and parchment. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until just starting to brown. Cool.
3. While the crust is baking, saute onions and mushrooms in oil and butter until soft and mushrooms have given off all of their liquid. Cut asparagus spears so each top piece will fit nicely into the pie dish, from the center to the edge. Grate cheese.
4. Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the pie crust and top with the fillings. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top. 
5. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, and salt until frothy. Pour the custard into the pie crust.
6. Bake the quiche at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set but the quiche still jiggles a little in the center. Cool for at least 20 minutes.

At Easter, we baked the quiche on Saturday night, cooled it, then stored in the fridge overnight, as instructed on the site. We warmed it in a 325°F oven for nearly 40 minutes on Sunday morning, and it was still so cold in the middle we had to heat the slices in the microwave (since everything else was ready). Yesterday, I put the entire thing together in the morning and it was pretty quick and easy. At the most, I might prepare the filling and crust the night before, but put it together and bake it fresh when I'm ready to serve.