**The Art of Quiche Making**

In this episode of our culinary journey, we're going to get ahead in the quiche game by rolling out the dough to a diameter of about 18 inches to fit our intended vessel, a nine-inch springform pan. The process of getting the dough into the pan is a bit tricky, and we need to be patient to prevent holes and rips and tears. To achieve this, we'll roll the dough upon the rolling pin itself to drape it as centered as possible over the spring form.

To further ensure that our crust turns out perfectly, we'll lift and drop the dough into the pan, knowing that our patience will be rewarded with a tall, proud crust. After 30 minutes in the fridge, we'll parbake at 375°F for the same 25 minutes as the first batch, carefully removing any excess sugar to prevent waste. The next step is to return to the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until it no longer looks wet. We'll then trim off any excess and allow the crust to cool completely before filling.

The filling of our quiche will be a crucial part of its success, and we're going to make sure it's extra special. To start, we'll combine two cups each of whole milk and creme fraiche, whisking gently until smooth. Then, we'll bust out the stand mixer to whip up a grand total of 10 eggs, with five crackled into the bowl first to form a paste when combined with about a third of a cup of all-purpose flour. This is to help stabilize the custard, which will be very tall.

We'll scrape down the sides of the bowl if we missed any dry stuff and add the remaining five eggs and the milk/creme fraiche mixture to the stand mixer. We'll start beating that together on medium speed until it forms a light, creamy filling, about one minute of work. To give our quiche an extra boost of flavor, we'll add about a tablespoon's worth of chopped fresh thyme, one quarter of one cup of kosher salt, about a half teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, and a generous dash of white pepper.

With the custard ready, it's time to fill our quiche. We've got four ounces of gruyere and three ounces of Emmental cheese to layer in at the bottom, followed by an even amount of each vegetable, some more cheese, just enough custard to cover the veg, a little sprinkle of cheese, and then we'll rinse and repeat until the thing is full. Finally, we'll top it generously with the remaining cheese.

Now that our quiche is baked, we need to cool for at least four hours before serving. While we're waiting, let's prepare our cocktail to pair perfectly with this classic dish. We'll start by harvesting some fresh thyme from our herbs garden or simply getting some from the fridge and engage in a bit of overacting. Then, we'll fill a tall Collins glass with ice and a lemon peel, topping that with two and a half parts of The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, adding a little splash, and topping that to the rim of the glass with tonic.

To complete our cocktail, we'll add a straw and garnish it with fresh thyme. This classic bright lemon B&T is the ideal way to welcome the warmer months and celebrate the one-of-a-kind people in your life. Order a bottle of The Botanist on Drizly by clicking on the link in the video description.

**The Quiche**

Our quiche has finally cooled, and we're ready to cut into it. Taking a moment to admire its soft, luxuriant custard and flavorful fillings, we can see why this dish is so impressive. The combination of ingredients and the careful attention to detail make it truly exceptional. It's not surprising that making quiche from scratch requires some effort, but the result is well worth the labor.

Quiche Lorraine has been a staple of French cuisine for centuries, and its versatility makes it a popular choice for brunches and dinner parties alike. With so many variations and fillings to try, there's no excuse not to get creative with this classic dish. By following our recipe and techniques, you'll be well on your way to making quiche that rivals those found in professional bakeries.

**The Botanist Gin**

Our episode wouldn't have been complete without The Botanist Islay Dry Gin as our featured spirit. This unique gin is distilled with wild botanicals from an island off the coast of Scotland, making it one of a kind. Its flavors are complex and complement any season and friendship. A perfect pairing for our quiche, this bright lemon B&T is the ideal way to welcome the warmer months and celebrate the one-of-a-kind people in your life.

Ordering a bottle of The Botanist on Drizly by clicking on the link in the video description is an excellent way to start your own collection. Whether you're a seasoned gin enthusiast or just starting to explore the world of spirits, this is an investment worth considering. With its unique flavors and versatility, The Botanist Islay Dry Gin will become a staple in your home bar and pair perfectly with many classic cocktails, including our signature bright lemon B&T.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- A good friend is someonewho appreciates your personalityin a way that few can.So today, my best friend and Iare basking in each other'sunique way of doing thingswith the uniquely deliciousflavors in The Botanist Gin.This gin comes from a small islandoff the wild west coast of Scotland,and makes a spring Botanist and Tonicactually worth comingout of hibernation for.Here's to the start ofspring, and friendship,and to the subject of today's episode,a spring vegetable quiche.Let's get down to basics.(light midtempo music)Alright, so we're gonnastart off by makinga nice easy quiche crust, byvirtue of a food processor.Into the bowl of said processor goes 145g,or about one cup of all-purpose flour,and a half teaspoon kosher salt,which we're just gonnapulse together to combine.Then we're adding 113g or one stickof refrigerator coldcubed unsalted butter,which we're gonna process togetherwhile pouring about 45mlsor three tablespoonsof ice cold water through the feed tube.We then want it to cometogether into a ball of dough,so if it does not,then go ahead and addanother tablespoon of water.And as soon as it startsto form big old clumps,we're gonna dig it out,begin wrapping itthoroughly in plastic wrap,and press it into a disc.This is gonna make it easierto roll out into a circleafter it spends a bare minimumof one hour in the fridge.Its fridge stint now complete,we're ready to roll it outon a generously floured work surface.At first pounding, and then rolling outto a diameter about two inches widerthan your intended baking vessel.I'm gonna be using a nineinch fluted tart pan,so I'm going for an even foot.Drape the pie dough over the tart pan,and then we wanna sort oflift and drop the dough,not press and stretch it into the corners.Once we've done that,we then want to press itto fill out the fluted edges.A great way to do this iswith a little ball of dough,so your hot, warm fingersdon't start to meltall that nicely chilled butter.Once shaped, this guy'sheaded back into the fridgefor yet another 30 minutes.I know this is annoying,but this is what preventsyour crust from shrinkingand deforming in the oven,which is where it's headed next,but first we need to weigh it down.Now, you could line thecrust with aluminum foil,but a crumpled up piece of parchment paperdoes a much better job.You just gotta make sure it'sreally thoroughly crumpled.If you have to,pop it in your mouthand give it a few chews.I know this seems gross,but it's perfectly normal,I'm just kidding, don't do that.Go ahead and crumple one upthat has not been in your mouthand press it into your quiche crust.Now to weigh it down,you can use pie weights,or beans, or rice, butI really like sugar.It really gets in allthe nooks and cranniesand presses down thoroughlyand evenly on the crust,and turns into flavorfultoasted sugar in the oven,which is lovely to bake with.Speaking of which,it's headed into a 375°Foven for 25 minutesbefore we remove whateverpie weights we're using,and returning our crust to the ovenfor another five to 10 minutesuntil it's lightly brownedand the surface is totally dry.Now, while it's still relatively soft,we wanna trim off all that overhangso that our quiche willhave a nice clean edgeand we'll be able toget it out of the pan.Carefully shake out anyerrant crumbs if you made any,and set this guy aside to cool completelywhile we prepare our fillingand examine our crust.As you can see, it's alight and tender shortcrustwith many flaky layers andexcellent snackability.Once you're done snacking,onto the filling.Now bear in mind that I'm making fillingsfor multiple quiches right now,so don't pay attentionto how much I'm doing,just what I'm doing.We will have a correct amountsin the written recipe on the website.To start with some caramelized leeks,we're basically gonnathinly slice some leeksand soak them in waterfor about 10 minutes,and then slowly cook themin a glug of olive oilover medium low heatfor about half an hour,covering occasionally andadding a splash of waterif necessary until they area soft, brown, and jammy.Season those with a little kosher saltand freshly ground black pepperand set them aside to cool.Next up, some sauteed mushrooms.You can use whatever kindof mushrooms you like,I got some sliced baby bellas here.And so I can feel like a fancy, fancy boy,I've got some oyster mushrooms,which I'm gonna cut off their root thing,and roughly chop into bite sized pieces.Now, mushrooms contain a lot of moisture,so it is especially importantthat we cook them prior toadding them to our quiche.I'm gonna simply sautethem in a pat of butterwith a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme,and we'll give them a littlesprinkle of kosher salt,which is gonna helpdraw out their moisture.We're cooking them forseven to eight minutesover at medium heatuntil their liquid hasreleased and evaporatedand they're starting to brown.Lose the thyme sprigs andlikewise, set these aside to cool.Next step, some niceskinny spears of asparagus.Everyone in my life has always told methat you should trimasparagus by snapping it,but I'm here to tell you, youcan just cut it, it's fine.We're likewise chopping theasparagus into bite size piecesbefore dumping into some boiling waterand shocking in an ice bathafter cooking for about five minutes.Boiling will obviouslyparcook the asparagusand shocking it in anice bath will preserveits beautiful green color,and cooling it off fast will prevent itfrom getting mushy.Last step, some simply sauteed spinach.Little bit of oliveoil and a nice hot pan,add way more spinach than you thinkcan feasibly fit in there,and cook over medium high heatuntil it's shrunk to about a bajillionthof its original size.At this point, we're gonna crushin a clove or two of garlicand continue sauteeingfor another 30 secondsor until fragrant.Season with a little bit of kosher saltand freshly ground pepper,and just like everything else,set it aside and allowit to cool completely.Next up, the all-important custard.And once again, I'm makingmultiple quiches here,so do as I say, not as I do.And the recipes will beadjusted on the website.Into a medium bowl goes two large eggs,a half cup of milk and ahalf cup of heavy cream.Whisk that together witha dash of white pepperuntil homogenous.And then for a shallowquiche like this one,we're gonna start by laying downa thin bed of gruyere cheese,followed by any and all of ourparcooked spring vegetables.Then we're gonna pour our custard over topuntil the quiche is very nearly full,it's gonna puff up alittle bit in the oven.Top with a little extra cheeseor a lot of extra cheese,plop it on top of a rimmed baking sheetto protect your oven fromany accidental drippage.Then we're gonna bake itat 375°F for 10 minutes,lower the temperature to 325,and bake for an additional 30.You want the edges to be setbut for it to be still alittle jiggly in the center.Let it cool for at least half an hourbefore removing it fromthe tart pan and serving.And you can serve this guywarm at room temperatureor chilled in the fridge overnight.And it makes for a deliciousand versatile breakfast,lunch, or dinner.But what if we want to make a quichethat really blows the bloody doors off?Well, first we have to make ourselvesan honest to god pie crust,and my new favorite way todo it is in a stand mixer.This is gonna be a much larger quiche,so this is double the recipe that we didin the food processor.And we're gonna use thepaddle attachment on low speedto break up the butterinto the dry ingredientsuntil it's in varied chunks,about the size of blueberries.At that point, we'regonna add our ice waterjust a little bit at a timeuntil it starts to clump togetherinto a cohesive pie dough,which we're going totreat very much the sameas the other pie dough.Press it into a disc using plastic wrapand fridge it for at least 30 minutes,or up to overnight ifyou want to get aheadin the quiche game.This time, we're gonna roll it outto a diameter of about 18 inchesbecause our intended vesselis stay high walled,nine inch springform pan.Getting the dough in here is a bit tricky.We're gonna roll it upon the rolling pin itselfin order to drape itas centered as possibleover the spring form.Then in order to preventholes and rips and tears,you really have to lift anddrop this one into the pan,knowing that yourpatience will be rewardedwith a tall, proud crust.Into the fridge it goes for 30 minutesbefore we commence to parbaking.Same procedure here, but this time,we're using two crumpled upsheets of parchment paperand just a whole lot more sugar,this thing ate, like, six pounds of sugar.But don't worry, noneof it is going to waste,toasted sugar is your friend.We're parbaking at 375for the same 25 minutes,carefully removing the sugar,and returning to the oven foran additional 10 to 15 minutesuntil it no longer looks wet.Then, same as before,we're trimming off the excessand allowing to coolcompletely before filling.Now, you might've noticed thatthis is rather a deep quiche,so we're going to needa whole lot of custard.We're also gonna makeone that's super badass.We're starting by combining two cups each,whole milk and creme fraiche,whisking gently until smooth,and then once again,busting out the stand mixer.We're using a grand total of 10 eggsand we're gonna crack the firstfive into the stand mixer,and we're gonna whisk it togetherwith about a third of acup of all-purpose flouruntil it forms a paste.This is to help stabilize the custard,which, once again, is gonna be very tall.Scrape down the sides of the bowlif you missed any dry stuff,add the five remaining eggs,and the milk/creme fraiche mixture,and we're gonna startbeating that togetherinto a light, creamyfilling for our quiche.But wait, the fun's not over.We're adding about a tablespoon's worthof chopped fresh thyme,one quarter of one cup of kosher salt,about a half teaspoon offreshly grated nutmeg,and a generous dash of white pepper.Then we're beating everybodytogether on medium speeduntil things are light andfrothy, about one minute,and then it's time to fill.I've got four ounces of gruyereand three ounces of Emmental cheese.I'm gonna lay a little bit downon the bottom of the quiche shell,and then we're gonna startlayering in our fillings.A roughly even amount of each vegetable,and then we're gonnatop it with our custardand some cheese, just enoughcustard to cover the veg,a little sprinkle of cheese,and rinse and repeatuntil the thing is full.Top generously, onemight even say greedily,with the remaining cheese,and instead of thevariable oven temperatures,this guy headed into a 325°F ovenfor a solid hour and a half,until the edges set but thecenter jiggles when jiggled.Now this guy's gotta coolfor at least four hours,plenty of time to makeourselves a cocktail.First, we're gonnaharvest some fresh thymefrom our herbs garden,or you can just get some from the fridge,engage in a bit of overacting,and then we're fillinga tall collins glasswith some ice and a lemon peel,topping that with two and a half partsof the Botanist Islay Dry Gin,oop, little splash,and topping that to the rimof the glass with tonic.Add a straw and our thyme garnish,and it's that easy tomake this classic, bright,and crisp cocktail that willgo perfectly with our quiche.Speaking of which, we'vecarefully removed thatfrom its springform pan,and now we're gonna cutourselves a big old slice.taking a moment to admirethe soft luxuriant custardand flavorful fillings.And yes, this one ispretty labor intensive,but it's super impressive,and you just do not get quiche this goodoutside of a bakery.Thank you again to The Botanist Ginfor sponsoring today's episode.This gin is distilled with wild botanicalsfrom an island off the coast of Scotland.It's one of a kind flavors complementany season and friendship.This bright lemon B&T is the ideal wayto welcome the warmer monthsand celebrate the one of akind people in your life.Order a bottle of The Botanist on Drizly,the link is in the video description.Cheers.(soft, mellow music)\n"