Mom's quiche

My mom was in town for dinner last night!  And tonight, some friends are coming over.  So I did some planning ahead for these two nights earlier in the week.
Mom does not eat wheat, and we don't really eat much meat.  My first thought was quiche with a potato crust, and mom actually said she felt like that- perfect! 
My friends are meat eaters, but are also fairly open.  I wanted to make sure everyone would be happy and most importantly, full.  I went through my recipe journal (where I sometimes jot down what I made if I don't want to forget) and came across a 'broccoli pesto alfredo' pasta I made several years ago when I had too much broccoli!  I also noticed that I had also added some arugula.  I thought everyone would like that.  I asked Kate to bring bread and Tara, of course, will bring dessert :)

For the quiche I decided on arugula (because I can use it both nights) and...figured I'd be inspired at the produce department for the other ingredient.  If not, I always have onion!
When I went to the store Tuesday (in the pouring rain, with a 6 mo old, and no umbrella...seriously, every time I think I might be getting this 'mom' thing...) I made sure to pick up a little more cheese (I chose some parmesan because I wanted it for the pesto and knew it would be fine for the quiche as well.), I already had some kind of gruyere, I think it was, from when Cody went grocery shopping with me and couldn't resist buying the sample at Whole Foods!...  Anyways, I was inspired; I bought a leek to go with the arugula for the quiche.  I always buy organic greens (one of the 'dirty dozen') but I splurged on the packaged and pre-washed stuff...really just because it was all they had!

With any quiche, all you need are eggs, any kind of cheese, desired filling, and some kind of dairy product in the way of cottage cheese, plain yogurt, sour cream, or a mixture of any of those.  Please note, this is my way of doing quiche--and it works!  I'm sure there are many respectable and scientifically tested opinions out there about exactly what kind of cheese, dairy, and eggs, and how much, and how long it should be cooked, etc.  But I don't worry about that.
With my mom sitting in the kitchen with me last evening, I started cooking.  I first got the potato crust made and put in the oven for a few minutes.  I think I only needed one russet sliced thin with a mandolin (or a knife if you don't have one).  And then I spread them out in the bottom of a pie dish that was oiled.  If you slice the potatoes really thin you can make an impermeable crust, but I didn't mind if the egg mix snuck underneath a potato or two.  As with putting any type of potato in the oven, I first poked it a few times with a fork.   I never know exactly what temperature to do quiches on, but I know it is a higher temperature, usually in the 400's.  So I settled on 410 and put the crust in for 5 minutes. I just wanted to make sure the potatoes cook a little before they are covered in egg. 
I started on the egg mix.  I like quiche because it's another one dish meal, everything goes into a bowl to mix it and then into the pie dish (alright, 2 dishes I suppose!).  I used 8 eggs but you can use however many you want, a few big dollops of cottage cheese, some grated cheeses, a chopped leak, and a handful of arugula.  I seasoned it with salt and pepper of course, and some basil leaves (just because I have it), and a heavty sprinkling of dried dill.  I feel like dill always goes really well with eggs.  And basil was a softer herb, unlike sage or rosemary which were my other options.   They seem too harsh for a quiche... Although, now that I think of it, I pair rosemary and potatoes, so that probably would have been really good!
Anyways, I beat all that up with a fork and dumped it into the potato pie dish.  I sprinkled a little more grated parmesan on top for good measure and back in the oven.  I think I set the timer for 25 minutes or so to remind me to check on it then.  But I wouldn't have been able to forget about it because it started smelling so good!  I think it was done around 25 minutes.  You can tell when it gets puffed up a bit and golden brown.  And you can double check by toothpick testing, or jiggling it.
Ahhh, redemption.  It was delicious.  I really didn't make anything else to go with it except white wine :)  But some arugula leaves for a salad would be nice and easy.  Or, a piece or two of the cornbread from last night-- because as I have found, you can make any sub-standard bread item scrumptious by toasting it with butter!!
Broccoli pesto to come...
Dine on!