So here’s my quiche story:
I was working as a prep cook and server in a very busy and quite fancy corporate cafeteria. It was an aggressive sales oriented company with a young, sometimes "over-exuberant" staff (ahem-hem). I had a reputation as being friendly and accommodating but not one to suffer fools.
One day, a huge group of corporate trainees were in the cafeteria creating chaos when over the din, one Irish bloke asked what was being served up. I gave him his choices which included a quiche Lorraine. Thinking he was being funny (and maybe not knowing what quiche was) he trotted out the old joke that ‘real men don’t eat quiche.’ “Fine,” I told him. “How about I do you a ham and cheese omelet?” He thought that would be good so I handed him a quiche plate and said” Here you go; I put it in a pie shell for you. Now &*^# @&&, ya pouf!” After the laughter died, I never had a problem with that group of trainees again. That guy and I are still friendly today!
I have made an awful lot of quiches over the years. They are great for a catering event whether as part of a buffet or as hors d’oeuvres. They can be served hot or cold and so do well for dinner, lunches, brunches, and pic-nics.
I am including here two very basic but nice quiches. Go ahead and make both at once for a dinner party and offer your guests a bit of each. I have also included instructions to turn them into quick and freezable hors d’oeuvres.
Mushroom Quiche
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup homo milk or light cream*
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp dried basil
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Swiss or Emmental cheese
Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough. In a frying pan, melt the butter over a medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms for about 30 seconds or until they are somewhat browned on both sides. Spread mushrooms and butter evenly in the bottom of the pie shell.
Beat milk or cream, eggs, salt, pepper, basil and cheese together -just to mix- then pour into the pie shell. Bake at 375° F for 40-45 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow the quiche to cool and settle for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Alternatively, you can make 12 -3 inch minis for hors d’oeuvres. I recommend buying the frozen mini pie shells available at any grocery store. Dice the mushrooms finely rather than slice them. Do not mix the cheese into the egg mixture. Place an equal measure of sautéed mushrooms in each of the shells topped by an equal measure of the grated cheese. Mix the eggs, cream and spices in a container with a pouring spout and fill up each shell. Bake at 375° F for 30 minutes. These minis freeze well and can be reheated from frozen at 350° F for about 15 minutes.
Spinach Quiche
1 small onion, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup of cooked spinach, well drained or one package of frozen spinach, thawed
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 cup homo milk or light cream*
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg
1/4 tsp oregano
1 cup grated Swiss or Emmental cheese
Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough.
In a medium to large frying pan, sauté the onion in the butter until soft. Add spinach and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Beat eggs, milk and spices together. Add spinach and onion and mix well. Pour into the pie shell and bake at 375° F for 40 minutes. Check after 35 minutes as the cooking time for this quiche can vary depending on the size of your eggs.
As with the previous recipe, you can make 12 -3 inch minis for hors d’oeuvres. Do not mix the cheese or spinach into the egg mixture. Place an equal measure of spinach and cheese in each of the shells. Mix the eggs, cream and spices in a container with a pouring spout and fill up each shell. Bake at 375° F for 25-30 minutes. These minis freeze well and can be reheated from frozen at 350° F for 15 minutes.
* The more fat in your cream or milk, the better the taste and texture of your quiche. I worked in a restaurant where quiches were made regularly with heavy whipping cream! (Eeeeep! Disgustingly rich, I don’t recommend trying it.) If you are fat conscious you can make quiche with lower fat milk although skim does not produce a nice pie at all. Before using anything below homogenized milk though, you should question whether you really want to eat what is basically a cheese heavy omelet in a pie shell anyway.
