Foodie Fridays: Mushroom Quiche

I am old enough to remember the quiche craze of the '70s.  As a senior in college at the time, I shared an apartment with a roommate, and quiche became one of our favorite meals to prepare.  So did London broil for some reason (from a recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook), back in the days before I developed my red meat allergy -- we always had it with macaroni salad from the supermarket deli.  However, I am rambling on about the old days digress.  We tried various filling combinations in our quiches, and one of my favorites was mushroom and Swiss cheese.  I had not made quiche in a very long time, but since I had a refrigerated pie crust left over from Thanksgiving I decided it was time to bake this old favorite again.  The recipe I used is seriously decadent and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  Quiche is comfort food at its best -- I really need to make it more often than just once every few years!

Mushroom Quiche

1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
2 T. butter
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 slices Canadian bacon, minced
1/2 T. sherry (optional)
3 eggs
1 1/2 C. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt
pepper and nutmeg to taste
1 1/2 C. shredded Swiss cheese

Prick the pastry shell with a fork and cover with a double layer of foil, gently pressing the foil down into the bottom and sides of the shell without stretching the pastry.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 3-5 minutes until the edges just start to brown.  Remove from the oven and gently press down any bubbles in the pastry.  Reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees.

Sauté the mushrooms in the butter over medium heat until softened.  Stir in the Canadian bacon and heat until fragrant.  Reduce the heat and add the sherry.  Cook until the liquid evaporates.  Season lightly with salt and remove from the heat.

Beat the eggs slightly in a large bowl.  Whisk in the cream.  Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Spread the cheese over the bottom of the pastry shell.  Spoon the mushroom mixture over the cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over, using enough to almost reach the top of the pastry shell (do not overfill).  Cover the edges of the crust with foil (or one of the many new contraptions now available for the purpose) to prevent over-browning.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, taking the foil off of the edges for the last five minutes of baking.  Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.  Serves 6.

Note: I used heavy cream because I had it, but half 'n half or whole milk also work well.  Also, I kind of went crazy with the cheese (I am a hopeless cheese addict).  Feel free to reduce this ingredient by half if you are a more rational person with greater self control.