A little belated, November’s Veggie Supper Club in Eugene had the theme of “Animated Flavor.” We were to pick a cartoon and design a dish that represented it in some manner. I made something I’d call “Gargamel’s Wish” (blueberry muffin bread pudding recipe here) – as in… he finally caught the Smurfs.  I also made Chester the Cheetah’s…

Cheetos Crust Chanterelle & Gruyere Quiche

…

Makes 8-10 servings

Pie Crust Ingredients: makes a 9″ pie crust

• enough Cheetos to make 2 cups of crumbs (a large bag less some for snackin’ worked out)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

Pie Crust Steps:

1. Put Cheetos crumbs in large bowl.
2. Add beaten egg, mix thoroughly.
3. Let the melted butter cool below 150 degrees, then add melted butter and mix thoroughly so the butter is evenly distributed.
4. Press evenly into pie pan (don’t grease the pan) to make firm, even layer throughout.
5. Blind bake @ 300°F for 8 – 10 minutes or until firm.
6. Cool before filling.

Quiche Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (above)
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2/3 cup chopped shallots (about 3 medium)
• 4 to 5 cups sliced/chopped assorted mushrooms (such as chanterelle, stemmed shiitake, oyster, crimini, and button; 12 to 14 ounces)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (packed) coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (about 7 ounces), divided

Quiche Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until mushrooms are tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate; spread out to cool slightly.
4. Whisk eggs, half and half, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg in large bowl to blend.
5. Stir in 1 cup Fontina cheese and sautéed mushrooms.  Pour filling into crust.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over quiche.
6. Bake quiche until puffed, golden brown, and just set in center, about 45 minutes.
7. Cool 30 minutes. Cut into wedges.

You’ll look at the recipe and think that it’s not enough eggs and too many mushrooms for a quiche.  I thought that before making it, and well, it turned out FANTASTIC.  Perfect ratio.  While I don’t know if I’d go to the trouble of making a Cheetos crust again, this quiche recipe is GREAT and the Cheetos crust was a fun experiment.

This is a mainly music-based blog. If you stumbled in on a recipe search, check out my other recipes at THIS LINK.

~Dan –  Mike Patton – The Solitude of Prime Numbers