BROCCOLI QUICHE
16 apr 2006

passover + easter = a match made in heaven. except foodwise, not so much. but we do what we can b/c my mom's family is jewish & my dad's family is protestant, & hell, who doesn't like chocolate eggs?

i figured i'd make a crustless quiche this year since the alternatives were lamb chops or salmon which just won't fly with the vegetarian contingent (ie, me). my mom & i talked about this, & i told her how daniel had said, when i asked him if he'd eat the quiche, "is that that thing your mom made for dinner that one time? b/c i liked it but it was kinda eggy." HA!

anyway, i managed to get her to email me her recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1-9" unbaked piecrust
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1/4 pound shredded swiss cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half
3/4 teaspoon salt
steamed broccoli cut into pieces

METHOD
preheat oven to 425F. spread piecrust with butter or margarine. steam broccoli & cut into small pieces. sprinkle cheese & broccoli in piecrust. in medium bowl, beat eggs with remaining ingredients; pour into crust. bake 15 minutes. turn oven down to 325 & bake 40 minutes more or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. remove from oven & let stand 10 minutes before serving.

it's eggy 'cause it's made with eggs!!!

love,
moom

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
ok, like i said, no crust -- other than that, though, no major differences between my attempt & the recipe, which is pretty easy as far as recipes go.

exciting point #1: i got to use my new grater on the block of cheese i got! daniel picked it up for me at a garage sale but it only has one little rust spot on it & it's still sharp enough to grate swiss cheese, so what do i care?

the other issue was that i had no idea how much broccoli to steam, but i only had the one head so that was all i could do. it seems to have worked out ok. also, & i'll be honest with you here even though i feel kinda stupid, i had no idea how to steam broccoli. i mean, i get it -- boil water, stick broccoli in, simmer -- but how much water? for how long? & do you bring the water to a boil before you add the broccoli, or do you start with the broccoli in the pot already? & i have one of those steamer thingies but no clue how that factors in, so i just flew blind & it was fine.

oh, the last point to note was that i undercooked it by about 10 minutes b/c i was planning to bring it to my grandma's house for easter & i wanted to finish cooking it there, but when i pulled it out of the oven, it was already brown & bubbly & totally cooked. i guess maybe my oven cooks hot? either that, or not having the crust in there really affected the cooking time.

those of us who ate it at my grandma's easter lunch thought it tasted fine but we all missed the crust. & my mom said that hers is fluffier. which it is. WELL, WE CAN'T ALL BE PERFECT.

"Broccoli Quiche" from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook (i think) by way of my mom.