Spinach Mushroom Quiche

Some of my favorite food memories come from my high school sweetheart and our favorite spots. La Madeleine was actually his mother’s and my favorite place. We’d make a Barnes and Noble trip…and lunch at La Madeleine. Or I’d help her choose fabric at Calico Corners…and lunch at La Madeleine. When Jack and I broke up, his mother and I met for lunch and cried…at La Madeleine. My go-to meal was a Quiche Florentine and their Tomato Basil Soup. It took me five years to figure out how to make this as light and airy but as rich as La Madeleine makes it. And, of course, the answer is whole milk or half-and-half, but to whip it with the eggs until it’s so light and frothy that the quiche practically rises in the oven. USE A CAKE PAN! It helps the quiche rise higher and lighter.

Basic Pie Crust:*

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

8 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 to 4 T ice water, as needed

Filling:

6 eggs 1 cup of whole milk or half-and-half

1 cup cooked spinach 4 whole button mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup onion, minced 3/4 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

1 tsp sugar Salt and pepper

~ Preheat oven to 375º F.

~ Beat milk and eggs till frothy and doubled in volume.

~ Sauté mushrooms and onions with salt, pepper, and sugar.

~ Off of heat, combine mushrooms and onions with spinach.

~ Pour frothy eggs into pie crust*.

~ Loosely scatter spinach mixture.

~ Top with cheese and allow cheese to sink into egg mixture so the quiche doesn’t brown too much.

~ Bake for 15 minutes at 375º, then turn down to 350º for 30 minutes or until quiche is set in center.

*When I make this for my gluten-free friends, Presh Killebrew or Michelle Supko, I thinly slice potatoes and layer them on the bottom of a greased pie plate. Brush them with butter. Bake them for 10 minutes at 350º F till potatoes are just browning. Then add quiche filling and bake for another 45 minutes.