Build Your Own (Really Good) Quiche

Quiche and Salad

I am planning a brunch. 

Although dinner parties are my usual fare, my stepfather is turning 80—an event that will be marked with a suite of activities.  My contribution will be to feed whoever remains on Sunday before they head back home again.  Kind of like the breakfast after a wedding with older honorees.

So I have planned a menu that includes potatoes au gratin, a homemade bread basket, homemade sausage, salad, a dessert plate, juice, coffee, and… 6-8 varied “build your own” quiches.

As I began to research quiche recipes, there was a definite theme in the comments—add more “stuff.”   I knew I didn’t want to make six identical quiches, so I needed to figure out a basic formula that would then accommodate a variety of add-ons.  Here is what I came up with: 

Basic Quiche Filling (fits a non-deep dish frozen crust)

• 3 large eggs
• 1 c cream or milk
• 1/2 c cheese (matched in flavor to fillings)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed filling ingredients (sausage, spinach, onions, mushrooms, etc)  

Basic Instructions 

• Pre-bake frozen pie crust.  Let soften for 5-10 minutes, then prick crust with a fork (it may crack if pricked while still hard).  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  (I tried the packaged instructions and burnt my first crust—at 425 it goes from raw to burnt fast.)

Pre-bake Quiche Crust

• Beat eggs and cream together, then add filling ingredients of your choice, reserving half of the cheese.  Pour into crust, then top with remaining cheese.

Quiche Filling

• Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes until egg is solid and quiche is golden.  To test for doneness, be sure a knife inserted near the center of the quiche comes out clean.

Quiche in Oven

• Let quiche set for 5 minutes before cutting.

Variations:

Deep dish quiche:  this was approximately 50% larger, so I used 4 eggs, 1 1/4 c milk or cream, 3/4 c cheese and about 2 1/2 cups loosely packed filling.  Cooking takes longer, so allow 45-60 minutes.

Crustless quiche:  Pour water into your pan to measure the size, then discard and dry pan.  Spray the pan with a non-stick vegetable spray.  Mine holds 4 cups, so I used doubled the original filling ingredients.  Skipping the crust saves calories and fat, not to mention cash.

What was our favorite recipe?  Everyone liked something different, but here is mine: 

Crustless Seafood Quiche

Crustless Seafood Quiche (4 cup pan)

• 6 eggs
• 2 c cream
• 8 oz sliced crimini mushrooms, sauteed in 1 t butter
• 8 oz raw small scallops
• 1/2 c onion, chopped
• 1/2 c chopped hearts of palm or asparagus
• 1/2 T thyme
• 1/4 – 1/2 t salt
• 1 cup swiss/gruyere blend

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Sautee sliced mushrooms in butter until they start to turn golden.  Let cool
• Beat eggs and cream together
• Mix in remaining ingredients (including cooled mushrooms), except for 1/2 cup cheese.
• Spray  pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour in filling.
• Top with remaining 1/2 c remaining cheese
• Bake at 350 until knife inserted near center comes out clean, 30-45 minutes.

The build your own quiche project was a fun experiment and a treat for the whole family.  No dinner complaints all week (and I have teenagers)!

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