The Great Dried Mushroom Quiche Experiment
When I made mushroom quiche last weekend, the finished product was little wet. It was cooked through, but there was extra water present. granted that could have been from the double Gloucester cheese, I used, but I was a little concerned that I hadn't cooked enough water out of the mushrooms.
As I considered possibilities, it occurred to me that already dried mushrooms might be worth a shot. But, when I went to Lowe's Foods and had a look, my choices were pretty limited. Shiitakes at $3 for half and ounce or portabellas at $4 for half an ounce. And it looked like I'd need 2 ounces. Chuck remembered that he's seen a large container of dried mushrooms at CostCo, so he picked them up on the way home Wednesday. It was 8 ounces of mixed morels, Brazilian caps Ivory portabellas, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.
I looked up how to use dried mushrooms and everything kept telling me how to rehydrate them before use. One site said that using hot water would let more flavor out into the water so I should use that water to make broth or asa base for sauce. I also read that using cold water would take longer to rehydrate them, but they would keep more flavor IN the mushrooms.
I didn't rehydrate them before I used them. I wanted them to be dry, after all, so there wouldn't be soggy crust under my quiche.
Instead, I allowed the milk in the quiche mixture to do the rehydrating.
I dumped about 3 ounces (since I have a gracious abundance) into the crust, sliced some fresh basil leaves and sprinkled them over and grated a chunk of Jarlsberg and some hard cheese I no longer remember the origin of and about 2 ounces of Gorgonzola. Then I mixed 3 eggs with 1.5 cups of milk and poured it over the top. And I had too many mushrooms. The milk didn't cover them. I was afraid that the bits sticking out would stay dry, so I poured more milk in to bring the level up. I put the whole thing on a cookie sheet, covered it with foil and stuck it in the fridge.
Yesterday afternoon, I put it in the oven, uncovered, at 5. At 5:50, the crust was brown and the the cheese was gorgeous.
When I'd poked the bits of mushroom that were sticking out of the cheese a little bit, they were springy and I felt pretty secure that everything had turned out well. And I was right. Next time, I will cut them up more, as they were a little tough to cut. But, the flavor was great and it was NOT soggy.
So, now I have a new trick.
As I considered possibilities, it occurred to me that already dried mushrooms might be worth a shot. But, when I went to Lowe's Foods and had a look, my choices were pretty limited. Shiitakes at $3 for half and ounce or portabellas at $4 for half an ounce. And it looked like I'd need 2 ounces. Chuck remembered that he's seen a large container of dried mushrooms at CostCo, so he picked them up on the way home Wednesday. It was 8 ounces of mixed morels, Brazilian caps Ivory portabellas, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.
I looked up how to use dried mushrooms and everything kept telling me how to rehydrate them before use. One site said that using hot water would let more flavor out into the water so I should use that water to make broth or asa base for sauce. I also read that using cold water would take longer to rehydrate them, but they would keep more flavor IN the mushrooms.
I didn't rehydrate them before I used them. I wanted them to be dry, after all, so there wouldn't be soggy crust under my quiche.
Instead, I allowed the milk in the quiche mixture to do the rehydrating.
I dumped about 3 ounces (since I have a gracious abundance) into the crust, sliced some fresh basil leaves and sprinkled them over and grated a chunk of Jarlsberg and some hard cheese I no longer remember the origin of and about 2 ounces of Gorgonzola. Then I mixed 3 eggs with 1.5 cups of milk and poured it over the top. And I had too many mushrooms. The milk didn't cover them. I was afraid that the bits sticking out would stay dry, so I poured more milk in to bring the level up. I put the whole thing on a cookie sheet, covered it with foil and stuck it in the fridge.
Yesterday afternoon, I put it in the oven, uncovered, at 5. At 5:50, the crust was brown and the the cheese was gorgeous.
When I'd poked the bits of mushroom that were sticking out of the cheese a little bit, they were springy and I felt pretty secure that everything had turned out well. And I was right. Next time, I will cut them up more, as they were a little tough to cut. But, the flavor was great and it was NOT soggy.
So, now I have a new trick.