A Good Day, with Recipes
Recently, I spent the day with my oldest son. Our visit was centered around food and discussions of creative projects, so it was a really satisfying day.
I'm a vegetarian; my son is not. He's become very interested in finding meals he can serve me, but that also meet his taste and that of his roommate. Our menu: broccoli & tomato quiche in a potato crust, paired with cream of mushroom soup. A bit rich for everyday fare, but wonderful as a treat.
The recipe we used for the potato crust we found at Taste of Home, in their Potato Crust Quiche Recipe. We lined a large, round, deep casserole dish with this. The crust turned out okay, but was not as good as we had hoped. The coursely grated potatos weren't as suited to a crust as mashed potatos might have been, and the crust seemed a bit undersalted. I'll admit, too, that I would have preferred a pastry crust, even though I was willing to experiment.
The quiche filling we put together blended elements from a couple recipes and made a few adjustments of our own. The primary recipes we started from included Broccoli Garlic Quiche from epicurious, and Tomato Quiche from Taste of Home.
Broccoli & Tomato Quiche Filling
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 375°F.Saute the onion in the butter until translucent and golden. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the broccoli, tomatos (reserving the sliced tomatos), salt and pepper, nutmeg, and thyme and continue sauteing for 2-3 more minutes. Take the pan off the heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended and a little frothy, then add the half and half. Blend the cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese into the egg mixture. Put about 1/4-1/3 of the vegetable mixture into the crust, then blend the remaining vegetable mixture with the egg mixture and pour this on top. Gently lay the tomato slices on the surface of the filling and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 40 minutes, then check for doneness. Custard needs to be golden brown and set, with only a slight jiggle. Let sit 20 minutes before serving; custard will continue to set as it cools. (We needed to cook ours for an additional 20 minutes, or so, probably due to the depth of the dish we cooked the quiche in.)
The mushroom soup we made was based on the Food Network's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. Our budget didn't stretch to wild mushrooms, so we just used 16 ounces of plain white mushrooms; we used dried thyme, instead of fresh; and, we'd managed to miss the need to buy leeks, so we substitued 1 cup chopped onion for the 2 cups of chopped leeks. Oh, and we didn't have any white wine, so we used 1/8 cup of gin.
The quiche and the soup were both out of this world.
I'm a vegetarian; my son is not. He's become very interested in finding meals he can serve me, but that also meet his taste and that of his roommate. Our menu: broccoli & tomato quiche in a potato crust, paired with cream of mushroom soup. A bit rich for everyday fare, but wonderful as a treat.
The recipe we used for the potato crust we found at Taste of Home, in their Potato Crust Quiche Recipe. We lined a large, round, deep casserole dish with this. The crust turned out okay, but was not as good as we had hoped. The coursely grated potatos weren't as suited to a crust as mashed potatos might have been, and the crust seemed a bit undersalted. I'll admit, too, that I would have preferred a pastry crust, even though I was willing to experiment.
The quiche filling we put together blended elements from a couple recipes and made a few adjustments of our own. The primary recipes we started from included Broccoli Garlic Quiche from epicurious, and Tomato Quiche from Taste of Home.
Broccoli & Tomato Quiche Filling
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup pear tomatos (like cherry in size, but more oblong), cut in half; plus, 2 pear tomatos, sliced (used as garnish)
- 2 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese; plus more as garnish, to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat oven to 375°F.Saute the onion in the butter until translucent and golden. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the broccoli, tomatos (reserving the sliced tomatos), salt and pepper, nutmeg, and thyme and continue sauteing for 2-3 more minutes. Take the pan off the heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended and a little frothy, then add the half and half. Blend the cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese into the egg mixture. Put about 1/4-1/3 of the vegetable mixture into the crust, then blend the remaining vegetable mixture with the egg mixture and pour this on top. Gently lay the tomato slices on the surface of the filling and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 40 minutes, then check for doneness. Custard needs to be golden brown and set, with only a slight jiggle. Let sit 20 minutes before serving; custard will continue to set as it cools. (We needed to cook ours for an additional 20 minutes, or so, probably due to the depth of the dish we cooked the quiche in.)
The mushroom soup we made was based on the Food Network's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. Our budget didn't stretch to wild mushrooms, so we just used 16 ounces of plain white mushrooms; we used dried thyme, instead of fresh; and, we'd managed to miss the need to buy leeks, so we substitued 1 cup chopped onion for the 2 cups of chopped leeks. Oh, and we didn't have any white wine, so we used 1/8 cup of gin.
The quiche and the soup were both out of this world.