Employee birthday's where The Nudge works was always celebrated by bagels and spreads or donuts. When I showed real refusal of this tradition, he told me to make something healthier that would feed the office peeps. First year I made a quiche and a pan of brownies. Please don't ask me what year that was but since then the annual bootee has grown to three quiches and two large trays of brownies.
OK the brownies are not all that healthy, but better than donuts, don't you think?
I do take shortcuts, like buying frozen crusts (Oronoque Orchards Deep Dish Pie Crust made by Mrs. Smith are the best) and pre-cut vegetables.
The crusts are sold two to a package, I needed three so that 4th crust was our dinner. I made enough filling for four and he took three into work, 1 - Quiche Lorraine, 1 - Asparagus and Mushroom and 1 - Italian Supreme.
I took all the extra leftover fillings and bake them into ours. This was a true hodge podge.
Lately The Nudge needs to know exactly what is in his dinner (to tell the lunchroom gang what he's eating) and last night was no exception.
Here is the laundry list:
Salami
Sweet & hot peppers
Onions
Garlic
Kale
Fontina cheese
Basil & thyme
Rosemary
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Pancetta
I know this quiche was excellent becauseThe Nudge insisted I take a picture and post the recipe. I handed him the camera and told him to make it a good one.
He did pretty good and since he deserved credit, I held up my end.
The egg/cream mixture was based on a Martha Stewart deep dish quiche recipe with addition of nutmeg and fontina cheese. While you may be tempted to sub half & half for the cream and milk, I have made these both ways and the half and half has a looser texture after baking.
While hers was enough for 2 (9") spring form pans, I halved the recipe for one (was a perfect split). I would suggest you think about baking off the two and freeze one for a time when dinner needs to be easy.
I served a side of marinated tomatoes and cucumbers over a spring mix.
Basic Quiche Filling
makes enough for one 9" deep dish quiche
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 cups whole milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 8 oz. brick Swiss cheese, freshly grated
* 3/4 cup cooked vegetable/meat mixture of choice
* 1 frozen of homemade deep dish pie crust
Preheat oven to 375°. Defrost the crust.
1. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Sprinkle half the grated cheese over the bottom of the crust. Place in the oven until it just starts to melt.
3. Pour the eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg into a blender and mix thoroughly.
3. Spoon the filling mixture of choice evenly over the softened cheese. This will anchor the filling so it will not move when the dairy is poured in.
4. Fill the pie shell with the egg/cream mixture up the edge of the crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the quiche and place the sheet pan in the oven. Once the pan is on the oven rack add any additional cream mixture without going over the edge.
5. Bake for 10 minutes and reduce the oven to 325° and bake another 60 minutes.
6. When the time is up jiggle the pan and if the center still moves, return it to the oven for another 10 minutes. The quiche is done when the center of puffy and stable.
Remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
