Mushroom and Asiago Quiche

It’s Roe v. Wade Day on the Quirky Calendar. Your assignment should you choose to accept it: Mushroom and Asiago Quiche.

It was a toss up between angel food cake, pavlova or scrambled eggs so I opted for quiche. Eggs. Get it? We are in the middle of a 16 week baking series. I am almost desserted out. Gasp!

A quiche is my idea of a perfect go to recipe because it is a recipe with no boundaries. It will be comforting to those of you who need to hold a recipe in your hand and it is versatile enough for those of you who want to venture forth and create your own. As long as you have the generally accepted cast of characters: pie dough, eggs, milk and cheese, you are halfway home. The cast can even shine with the occasional understudy. Use half and half for the milk. Whatever kind of cheese which has tried out for the part will receive a standing ovation. As for the other filling ingredients, open the casting call up to an infinite amount. Sausage, ham, bacon, salmon. Leeks, onions, shallots. Broccoli, mushrooms, squash. Experiment with flavor profiles and use this time to clean out tids of this and bits of that from the shelves of your fridge.

TODAY’S QUICHE aka Mushroom and Asiago Quiche

1 refrigerated pie crust

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup chopped shallots or chopped onions

4 cups sliced button mushrooms

4 eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup Asiago cheese, coarsely grated

3/4 cup Grana Padano cheese, coarsely grated

Preheat oven to 450. Place the pie crust in a 9 inch glass pie pan. Bake for about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325.

Melt butter in a saucepan and add shallots. Sweat for about 2 minutes to soften. Add mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are soft, about 8 minutes. Cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, beat eggs and add milk and salt and pepper. Combine the two cheeses and add about 1 cup to the egg mixture. Add mushrooms and stir to combine.

Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until center is just set. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.