Quich'up n down, a qwirky name for such a wonderful twist on quiche

There is always a time during the year for a nice serving of quiche. The flavors of eggs, cheese, meats, and a flaky crust are such a treat for our taste buds. There was a time when it was the rage; however, as all things do, quich came and went and eventually found its niche. For those not aware, real men do eat quiche.

As always, I love to give traditoinal dishes a bit of a twist in my quest for renewal. I created the following recipe for a quiche like dish that through the aid of a fellow Food Buzzer, came up with a catchy name, Quich'up n down. Now you might wonder what the up and down is all about. Well, there is a crust at the bottom and a crumble crust at the top, but no crust around the edges. I took a big chance, wondering if when I unsprung the springform pan, the filling was going to hold like a cheesecake or ooze into a flat pudding type mess. Afterall, I not only had some good money invested in this, but also my pride. I will not keep you in suspense, it held tight to its shape. Eureka! But you already knew that just by the picture above. Let's get started with this very easy recipe with easy to use ingredients:

4 whole eggs
2 cups of milk or non fat half n half
1 tablespoon of flour (sifted)
1 1/2 cups of grated Gruyere
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss
1/2 cup of fresh crab meat
1/2 cup of fresh shrimp, cut in pieces
4 cups (1 package) of fresh spinach chopped
1 puff pastry sheet
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 dashes of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

There is a very interesting thing that happened that led to the making of this recipe. Originally, the puff pastry was to be made into little tart shells. Everything was going fine at the start, the pastry lined the tart molds, the oven was preheated, and in went the tart shells. Well, when they came out, I realized they had shrunk to the point where the sides were no longer sides, and the pastry was simply a set of "disks". Disappointed, I was not about to be defeated. I made a good thing out of a bad situation and after the puff pastry had cooled, I cut them all up into pieces, threw them into the food processor and made puff pastry crumbs. I added a tablespoon of butter so that the crumbs would stick together well. With that, I proceeded to make a bottom shell for this dish, using about a 7 inch springform mold. I saved some of the crumbs to cover the top once my quiche was half way through the cooking process. So now you know the story. Let's get on with the creation of this dish.

Preheat your oven to 400. Make sure to grease your springform pan completely before adding the crumbs to the bottom. Don't forget the sides! Take the springform pan that has the bottom crust and bake for about 10 minutes, carefully watching so that it doesn't get too dark. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. At this time leave your oven on, reducing the heat to 350.

In a bowl, add the eggs, the salt, and pepper and beat well. Set this aside. Take the milk and in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, heat on high for about 4 minutes to just before it comes to a boil. Do not boil otherwise it will just be too hot.

Once milk has been heated, carefully and a little at a time, add to the eggs while constantly beating. If you add the milk too quick, it will give you scrambled eggs. If you follow these directions, you'll have no problems and your custard mixture will be very smooth and velvety. Continue to add the milk a little at a time until you have completely mixed it well with the eggs. While the mixture is still hot, add half the cheese and the parsley and mix well. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until it just begins to smoke over medium high heat. Quickly saute the spinach for about 1 minute, remove and allow to drain. You want as much moisture out of the spinach as possible so your quich will stay nice and solid.

Now saute in the same manner, the crab, shrimp, and shallots for just one minute, enough to draw some of the moisture out. Add to the custard mixture and still well. Pour the custard in you mold. Sprinkle the spinach evenly over the top and allow it to sink in a bit. Then sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over the top and pat the surface down so that the mixture has a smooth surface. So that your pan doesn't leak, line the bottom with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. About 30 minutes before quiche is finished baking, add the rest of your crumbs to the top and return to the oven for the remainder of the time.

When fully baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool some for about 45 minutes. At this time, you may sprinkle some dry dill over the top as I did. Before you remove the springform, take a sharp knife and scrape around the edges so that the sides will no stick. Serve with a wonderful salad of Frizee lettuce with just a touch of olive oil and enjoy.