Our, ahem, exact conversation:

Hubby: So what’s for dinner tonight?

Me: Quiche.

Hubby: You know I hate quiche.

Me: No you don’t. You love it. And this one’s pizza-style. 

Hubby: Why can’t we just have normal food?

Me: Define “normal”.

 

Do you go through this same scenario at least once every single week, too? Until my hubby met me, he pretty much had very basic food all of his life. His mother was an EXCELLENT southern cook, but he admits she did make the same meat and potato dishes over and over.  And his ex wife was a PRO at Hamburger Helper. Truth. (Smiling ear to ear with an evil grin! 😀 )  

Soooo, when he met me, things changed. Drastically! It’s a constant battle, but he sure has come a LONG way! 😉 And guess what? Did he end up liking the quiche? Yep. He loved it! 😉 

And I promise you, you and your family will, too. 😉 So let’s get started! 😀

This is super easy to make, but forewarning, it takes a long time to bake and an equally long time to cool down. But it makes it perfect for a rainy day or even better, when you’re having company over.

You can have the whole thing already baked and out of the oven before your guests arrive. Enjoy some conversation, a few cocktails maybe, an appetizer or two, and by that time, it will be ready! Toast some garlic bread and plate the salad and you’re done! ZERO stress and you get to spend all of your time OUT of the kitchen enjoying your company! 😉 😀 

Just spray your springform pan with non-stick spray and lightly dust with a little cornmeal. Stretch out your dough and let it settle into your pan with overhang.

Place half of your grated cheese on the bottom. (I used a combination of mozzarella, sharp cheddar and parmesan.) Instead of sauce, I went with some of my grape tomatoes that I grew over the summer, oven-roasted and froze! They worked beautifully! So you can use oven-roasted, sun-dried, or a little thick pizza sauce if you prefer.

 

 

 

 

Next, layer your ingredients. Use any that you like! I used Johnsonville’s Sliced Italian Sausages (which are precooked and EASY to use!), sliced baby bella mushrooms, a sweet red pepper from my garden, and sliced black olives!  

 

 

 

 

Then you just whisk up your seasoned custard mixture, pour half over, top with more cheese, and pour the rest of the creamy custard mixture over the top and pop into the oven!

*I lined my springform with foil just in case it wanted to leak, but it didn’t leak a drop! But I still recommend doing this. Better safe than sorry! 😉

 

 

 

 

In order for this to get done evenly all the way through without getting too done on top and the outside, I baked this at 350 for 2 hours. Yep, 2 hours. It was just the right amount of time!

I took it out, topped it with a bit of reserved cheese, then some pepperoni to let it crisp up, and baked another mere 10 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

When it’s all done, it still isn’t finished. 😉 You then need to loosely cover it with foil and let it rest. And I mean let it rest! I left it for 2 hours and it was perfect! Still warm but not hot, as it tastes best this way, and the crust was perfectly done and lightly browned as well!  

You really do have to let this cool down and finish cooking and setting up, though. So don’t rush this!

 

 

 

 

The scariest part is always the release! Since I was flying by the seat of my pants on this one, I had no idea if I was going to have a lava flow or what would happen when I released the springform pan ring! I literally crossed my fingers first and said, “PLEASE turn out!” 

 

 

 

 

And TAH-DAH!!  It was truly a masterpiece! I was so proud that I called my hubby in to see! His tune suddenly changed and he said, “THAT’S what we’re having? Oh, ok!” Ha! I wanted to tell him that his side had crow in it! 😉 It was extremely hard to hold back, trust me, but I let it slide. This time. 😉 

 

 

 

 

It sliced like a dream and tasted just like pizza!!
Except better!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I have the baking times and resting time down, this will be made MANY more times! It was WAY better than any of the pizzas we’ve ordered from our area, and what a presentation! Your guests will be amazed!!

Not only does it have a wonderful pizza flavor, it also has a nice, rich creaminess from the custard! It was absolutely fabulous and definitely company-worthy!

I do hope you give this a try soon, forget ordering pizza, and just make sure you plan ahead for baking and resting time. Easy-peasy! Enjoy all, and I’ll see you tomorrow! 😀 ~Kelly 

 

 

Yield: 8 servings

Italian-Style Deep-Dish Pizza Quiche

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Additional Time: 3 hours 18 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 lb. homemade or purchased pizza dough (enough for a 16" pizza)
• 1 Tbl. fine cornmeal, (I prefer Indian Head)
• 2 cups shredded Sargento Chef Blends 6 Cheese Italian, can sub mozzarella
• 2 cups shredded Sargento Off the Block Traditional Cut 4 Cheese Mexican, can sub extra-sharp cheddar
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2-3/4 cup oven-roasted grape tomatoes, to taste, (*can sub sun-dried, chopped)
• 1/2 bag Johnsonville Italian Sausage Slices, thawed
• 4 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms, to cover
• 1 small pepper of choice, (mild, hot or sweet), thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives, or as desired
• 14-16 slices pepperoni, *fat pre-rendered in microwave between paper towels if desired

For Custard Mixture:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp. crushed dried basil leaves (4 dried leaves)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
• 1 tsp. whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder or a 1/2 tsp. fresh minced, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out and stretch pizza dough large enough to fit the bottom, sides and overhang a 2 1/2" deep x 9 1/2" round springform pan. Spray inside of pan with non-stick spray and lightly and evenly dust insides with cornmeal. (Bottom and sides.) Carefully place pizza dough into pan, re-stretch to overhang if needed. Set aside.

Grate all cheeses that need be and toss to mix. Reserve one cup aside.

Sprinkle half of the rest on bottom of pan.

Layer ingredients in order.

In large 4-cup measuring pitcher, whisk custard ingreints well. (Whisk eggs first, then add rest and whisk to mix.)

Evenly pour half of custard mixture over layered ingredients.Top with second half of cheese and evenly pour rest of custard mixture over the top. Roll down overhang of dough to just above the cheese and custard sauce.

Place springform pan onto large sheet of foil, and gather up around pan in case your pan leaks. (Mine didn't, but best to save your oven in case.)

Pop into preheated oven and bake for 1hour and 15 minutes. Tent top with foil to prevent excessive browning, and continue to bake for another 45 minutes until fully set.

Carefully remove from oven, top with reserved cheese and pepperoni slices. Pop back into oven and bake for about 10 more minutes.

Remove from oven, place on cooling rack, tent or loosely cover with foil, and let rest for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (It will stay hot and be completely set after resting.)

Release ring and serve. *Slice through outer crust with a serrated knife, then a sharp chef's knife to finish slicing the pieces.

Serve with a nice salad and a glass of your favorite wine or bottle of beer!

Notes

*You can add whatever ingredients you like, this is just what we had in ours.
**Reheat slices LOW and SLOW in microwave for 4-5 minutes on 30-40% heat until warmed through and cheeses have remelted.