Asparagus Challenge

OK so this was a slight failure in the log of experiments but that's the fun of cooking, even when it fails, it can be extremely tasty :) This week's food challenge was asparagus which is a personal favorite of mine I've cooked in a ton of different ways. The thing about asparagus is generally all you need to make it shine is to have a good product. Young fresh asparagus will be tender and delicious. If its old and woody, there's almost no cooking method that will save it bar soup and that's only because I strain the fibrous bits out of my soup. Since I've cooked asparagus in so many tasty ways over the years, for this challenge I wanted to try to improve some other aspect of my cooking skills: presentation. My food is often delicious, rarely pretty. In my mind I thought of a kind of upside down crustless quiche. Like the upside cakes, when you flip it over after cooking, it would have a beautiful pattern baked in to shine. I think the mushrooms I used in the quiche turned the egg a bit gray. It looked better BEFORE I flipped it over. Live and learn then eat your mistakes right? So if you try this, don't flip it over but by all means eat it. It was yummy!

Upside Down Asparagus Quiche

1/2 lb asparagus spears trimmed (by this I mean snap off the woody ends)
1.5 cup eggbeaters (or 6 eggs)
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup shredded italian cheese
1 tsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp dried minced onion
2 tblsp sundried tomato slices
2 tsp italian seasoning
salt
pepper

Steam asparagus until tender. Trim to fit in a pretty sundial pattern (or whatever pattern you'd like) in a 9 inch cake pan. Reserve the cooked trimmings and any extra asparagus not used in pattern. Add sundried tomatoes to 1 cup of hot water and set aside to rehydrate.

Over medium high heat toss the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a lightly oiled skillet until just the mushroom slices are just tender and soft. Layer on top of asparagus pattern in pan. Grind salt and pepper on to taste. Layer shredded cheese on top. In a blender whir reserved asparagus trimmings, egg beater, drained tomatoes, and italian seasoning until you get a thick puree. Pour gently into pan. Tap pan on counter to allow the egg to drip through.

Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes until the center is just set. Let stand on cooling rack for 10 mins before cutting and serve warm.