Full Sized Crustless Quiche

Something like a month and a half ago, I’d signed up for a pot luck brunch.  I truly love the fun and creativity exhibited at these brunches.    I signed up to make a couple quiches.  Due to my whilst-dining-at-home gluten-free commitment, I wanted to make these crust-less.  (Yes, there are crusts that you can make that do not have gluten-containing ingredients, but I have no gustatory urges in that direction, anyway.  I’m rather more about flavor…)

Crusty quiches can taste great, but for me they’re less important than what’s inside.  And,  I suspect that overall, my body thanks me for this.

The Vegetarian crustless quiche.

I tried scaling up my initial mini-quiches, but this did NOT work – the results were watery, and yes, I’d squeezed the death out of the spinach!  Scaling ingredients is worth the effort in trying, but apparently does not always work!

Perhaps fortuitously, my original pot luck brunch got postponed due to New England’s belated bout of WEATHER, so I had a great chance to try making a couple of better quiches again.  If an original endeavor does not work… please do NOT repeat the mistake!  Scratch the ole figurative noodle, and try again!  This intrepid chef added an extra egg and deleted some of the cream from each quiche.  IT WORKED!  Extra slices went home with participants!

A note regarding cheese:  I never buy the pre-shredded stuff.  There are various anti-caking additives in that, which I’d prefer not to eat.  Shredding doesn’t take all that long.

Full Sized Crustless Quiche (Vegetarian and Omnivore versions below)

Prep  Time:  45-50 minutes, including cooking down the mushrooms.  I dice slowly…?
Cook Time:  40-45 minutes.  
Rest Time:  20 minutes, but these were still warm on delivery a couple hours after oven removal.  The site was an hour away from my home and we didn’t eat immediately.  Re-heat if needed!  
Serves:  I made 8-10 slices per pie.  

A Vegetarian Quiche

• 10 oz cheese total – Swiss and Smoked Edam,or whatever you like that melts.  Shred them.
• 1 very drained package frozen spinach (10 ounces)
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced and sauteed in a little grapeed oil
• About 7 ounces of cremini and oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped, also sauteed in a little oil.  Drain/pat off most of the oil as possible.

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used 3/4 cup whole buttermilk + 1.4 cup half and half)
• 1/4 tea ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• a sprinkling of dried thyme

OR

An Omnivore’s crustless quiche

An Omnivorious Quiche

Prep  Time:  45-50 minutes, including cooking down the mushrooms.  I dice slowly…?
Cook Time:  35-40 minutes.  
Rest Time:  20 minutes, but these were still warm on delivery a couple hours after oven removal.  The site was an hour away from my home and we didn’t eat immediately.  Re-heat if needed!  
Serves:  I made 8-10 slices per pie.  

• 10 oz cheese total – Fontina + Provolone, or whatever you like that melts.  Shred them.
• 6 ounces sausage, diced.  I used pre-cooked Boars Head Soppressata, mild/sweet.
• 1 large bell pepper, de-seeded and diced.  Saute this.  Drain, pat off most of the oil as possible.  I’d use a red bell next time for appearance.  The yellow got lost!

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used 3/4 cup whole buttermilk + 1.4 cup half and half)

Prepping Stuff

Preheat oven at 400 F.

Lightly oil the quiche pans.

Mix the veggies/sausages and cheeses together by hand.

Put on bottom of pans, smoothed out.

Beat eggs, add cream and any seasonings, and mix.

Pour over bottom layer of pan, so it covers everything below.

Bake for 40-45 minutes (check at 40 minutes!).  Tops should brown but not burn.

PS, the buttermilk I used was a thick one in the local/organic dairy section of my ShopRite.  (My too-watery original version used one less egg per pan and a quarter cup more cream.  I am thinking using a thick ALL BUTTERMILK version, locally sourced, may be great as well.  Will let you know down the road!)

My plate for the first of two servings  at our brunch pot luck – (I left the cold/room-temp salads for the second serving):

Awesome pancakes to 6 o’clock, loved the French toast to 3 o’clock, great ham cup with baked egg towards noon – a couple slices of my quiches to 10/11 o’clock. Oh. And, bacon. Center towards 8 o’clock.  Berries rummaging at four…

Below:  The table itself as everyone started to merge in on it:  Even thinking about staging a neat photo was impossible – as soon as the foils came off, our hungry hordes were IN it!

So much food! 11 of us for brunch!  (Two guys, nine ladies!)

Posted at Fiesta Friday’s Link Party, and I’m going to be co-hosting this week.  Drop on by, and visit the many foods that people have created there.  The focus is on real foods from real ingredients.  I’m sharing the co-hosting with Monika, who is very creative on her own blog!