Il Culinary Masterpiece

Yesterday afternoon at work I was hit with the inexplicable craving for a Quiche. This happens to me every so often (An inexplicable craving for something). I NEEDED a piece of quiche. Which struck me as odd considering that, for the most part, I don't like eating eggs. (Or Popcorn, or hot chocolate, the feel of suede or incapable people, which are not at all pertinent to Quiche, but since I was listing my dislikes I just kept going...) Make of that what you may, I knocked off of work surprisingly early, around 4pm (I've been getting to work between 7:30 and 8 this week! In the MORNING!) and proceeded straight to the grocery store (Love Trader Joe's!) to pick up my supplies (see below).

Are Quiches Italian? I think probably no. But I can pretend. In all honesty, they are, quite possibly French, in which case we should all watch the move Julie & Julia and say in a big voice "Bon Apetit!" ...On further reflection, strike that. I'm stuck on Italy, so we should watch Under the Tuscan Sun and say instead "Buon Apetito!"

But I digress.

Back to Trader Joe's: After spending a good ten minutes in the wine aisle, trying to figure out what makes a white wine "dry" (Disclaimer: I'm NOT a drinker of any kind of alcohol and therefore know nothing about it), I finally found one with a description that included the word "dry." Sold! One $6, massive bottle of Chardonnay later (which you'll find funny when you see in the recipe that all I need is a "splash" of wine.) And by massive, I mean truly and genuinely oversized. But the price was right and it was the only one that said "dry"!! And now it is sitting, opened, minus one very generous splash (I might not drink it, but I love cooking with it. Even though I'm allergic to it and I always get sinusy and groggy after eating meals cooked with Vino), in my fridge, where it will remain until I cook something else with it or pour it down the drain. Presto. Headed home, cooked up my masterpiece and it turned out like this:
















Voila! Che Belleza Quiche!  I am quite proud of it.
(PS: Don't tell anyone that Quiches are ridiculously easy to make).



And alas, I must report that in my gut, knowing that this was truly a French dish, I watched the film that arrived via Netflix: Les Choriste. It's French. It means "The Chorus." And it was a FABULOUS film. Absolutely charming and lovely. I highly recommend it.

So that's all for my in-denial-that-it-was-French-instead-of-Italian evening.

• La Ricetta (The recipe):
• 1/3 lb Italian pork sausage
• 2 big handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 8 smallish button mushrooms, chopped
• 6 oil packed, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 TBLS oil from sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 C onion, diced
• 1/3 C shredded parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 C shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 C shredded provolone
• big splash dry white wine
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper
• 4 eggs
• 1 C half & half
• 1 9in unbaked pie shell
• 1 TBLS butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425F
Brush melted butter over unbaked pie shell and refrigerate 30 minutes, or until filling is ready.
In large skillet, brown Italian sausage
When no longer pink, drain and set aside.
Add 2 TBLS of oil from sun dried tomato jar to skillet.  
Saute onion & garlic until translucent.
Add mushroom & sun-dried tomatoes, cook until mushrooms are tender.
Add a big splash of dry white wine.
 Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, salt & pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Get butter brushed pie shell from fridge.
Sprinkle sausage evenly in the bottom of the pie shell.
 Evenly cover sausage with vegetable mixture.
Sprinkle Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone evenly over vegetables.
 Pour egg mixture over everything.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 325F and bake for 25 more minutes or until crust is golden and filling is set.

Allow to set for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. 
Quiches re-heat beautifully, so don't be afraid to cook ahead of time!


Enjoy!
Recipe from: Bakespace


NB: I don't like fungus (mushrooms) and didn't add any. And I added the cheeses on top of the eggs instead of on top of the vegetables... because I didn't read the recipe closely enough. But it didn't matter. Also, I think next time I will add diced bell pepper and possibly beat in some shredded potato with the egg batter (for texture - I don't like eating eggs, you remember, so an entire mouthful of fluffy eggs... Well, I'd rather have potato mixed in). - C