Day 29: Quiche! And the Best Thing to Do with Leftover Pie Dough

First things first: I know this is not a revolutionary idea, but next time you have extra pie dough trimmings, cover them in either:

• Cinnamon and sugar
• Black pepper and parmesan.

Then, you MUST eat the second it comes out of the oven. Literally heaven. My classmate Heather said her mom used to do this for her when she was little. Makes me want to carry on traditions like that! Okay, onto the quiche. I’ve got to say, I make a lot of pie, so I was super excited to do this in class. Sadly though, it seemed as if the pie dough didn’t really cooperate for anyone, and we had a lot of schlumply looking (but very delicious!) quiche’s. The first problem was that we didn’t quite get the water to dough ratio correct so there was a lot of cracking, and the second problem was that the dough recipe was really high in fat, but we didn't quite chill our pie doughs long enough to accommodate for that. The result was the butter didn't firm up and went into the oven too soft. Normally the water in the butter will evaporate while the fat holds the dough together, creating those beautiful puffy / crispy pieces you love. Instead, the fat had no structure because it was too soft, so our crust just sort of melted away before our eyes. Sad. The great thing about pie - even if it looks terrible, it is often still SO GOOD. Definitely the case here. The fillings were bomb and obviously I don’t discriminate against an ugly pie crust. This was also a fun class because everyone got to try out their favorite combination of ingredients, and I’ve included the recipe for the one I liked most below. The asparagus keeps it super springy and seasonal - perfect for a lazy sunday brunch.              Another fabulous combo was roasted red peppers + goat cheese + melted down garlic /onion + parsley (shoutout to Monica for that one) - feel free to sub that out for the veggies and cheese here.For crust - whatever pie dough recipe you like! (Going to save you from the high-fat recipe we used)I love Erin Mcdowell and trust anything she makes:https://food52.com/recipes/24928-all-buttah-pie-dough

Ingredients for one 8 inch quiche:

• Pie dough
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 shallot, diced finely
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (can use button, but shiitakes are super delicious!)
• ½ cup sliced asparagus
• 3-4 tbsp butter
• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup cream
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Roll pie dough out to ⅛ inch thick and line an 8 inch tart tin with a removable bottom. Chill for at least 30 minutes
2. Preheat oven to 350. Prick the bottom of the chilled dough with a fork, line with plastic and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until bottom of the dough is no longer wet, then remove the parchment and beans and bake until very light colored (this is called partaking)
3. While that is cooking, cook your ingredients! Saute onions with ¼ tsp of the thyme in a little olive oil and a pinch of salt until they have softened. Set aside.
4. Saute the shallots in olive oil. After a minute or two, when the shallots have softened, add the mushrooms and saute until browned, softened and fragrant. Set aside.
5. Finally, saute asparagus in a little olive oil over medium high heat for just a minute or two, until the asparagus has softened but is still bright green and has crunch.
6. Place eggs, milk, salt and cream in a bowl and whisk lightly to combine. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
7. In the partially cooked pie shell,, spread cheese, onions, asparagus and mushroom mixture on the bottom of the tart shell, and then add egg mixture. Bake until the filling is set and the top is lightly browned! (20-25 minutes ish, but check after 15-20)