High Rising Quiche Recipe

For Kara’s shower, we wanted to make something special.  We thought about little sandwiches and tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons, but that is hard to plan for 50 people.  We thought about breakfast casseroles with bread and eggs but decided quiche would be more fun.  My mom did a little research to find a quiche recipe that rose high and was pretty, unlike some quiche that sink when they are done cooking. I think she found the perfect one.

We adapted this recipe from Thomas Keller, from Food and Wine Magazine.

•  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups of baby spinach
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream – or half and half
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Your favorite Pie Crust recipe – we used Trader Joe’s frozen pie crust which is very buttery and flakey

1.   Preheat the oven to 325°. 
2. In a very large skillet, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms and onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook over high heat, stirring, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir often, and cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes longer. 
3. Stir in thyme. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.
4. Press a pie crust into a spring form pan.  Make sure to press each corner so the eggs can’t get out of the pan. 
5. Scatter 1/4 cup of the cheese and half of the mushrooms/onion/spinach mix evenly over the bottom of the Buttery Pastry Shell.
6.  In a blender, mix half each of the milk, cream(half + half) and eggs and season with a good amount of salt and pepper.
7. Blend at high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. 
8. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry shell. Top with another 1/4 cup of cheese and the remaining mushrooms/onion/spinach
9. .
10.  Make a second batch of egg mixture with the remaining milk, cream and eggs, plus the same amount of salt, pepper as before and pour into the shell. 
11. Add any leftover veggies you have to and the remaining cheese on top.
12. Bake the quiche for about 1 1/2 hours, or until richly browned on top and the custard is barely set in the center. Let cool in the pan until very warm.  *The quiche is very soft compared 
13. Using a serrated knife, cut the pastry shell flush with the top of the pan. Carefully lift the springform pan ring off the quiche. Cut the mushroom quiche into wedges, transfer to plates and serve warm.