Preheat oven to 350 and place cookie sheet in oven.
For homemade dough: Press dough into a lightly buttered 9-10 inch quiche dish or a 10-inch deep dish pie plate. Trim dough as necessary, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. If using quiche dish or tart pan, fold overhang into dish and press sides up 1/4 inch above dish. If using pie plate, fold overhang under itself and cover the rim of the pie plate.
Refrigerate for at least one hour.
If using store-bought frozen pie crust, thaw and follow directions from here.
Prick dough several times with fork. Crumple a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover crust, flatten, then line crust with it.
Fill crust with about two cups of dried beans or uncooked rice grains and place on heated cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cover edges with foil or pie shield if they start getting too dark. Remove crust from oven and remove parchment paper and beans. Cool on a rack to room temperature, 30-40 minutes.
Custard
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, cream, half and half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and herbs if using.
Filling the Crust
Sprinkle the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Scatter the meat and vegetables over the bottom and evenly distribute.
Slowly pour custard into crust. If you're not using a quiche pan then you may have a little extra custard so be careful not to overflow.
You can make the quiche up to this point and refrigerate overnight. If baking immediately, turn oven down to 325.
Bake the Quiche
Preheat oven to 325. Cover the edge of crust with foil to prevent over-browning.
Place quiche on cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake 45 minutes to an hour (my oven usually takes an hour). Quiche should be golden brown and not jiggle.
Remove from oven and place on cooling rack to rest for at least 45 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
You can also cool completely then cover and refrigerate if you want to make ahead and serve the next day. Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
**Cook's Tips for Making the Best Quiche:
If using homemade pie shell, refrigerate for at least one hour prior to baking the quiche.
If using homemade pie crust, you can place it in the tart pan, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for 2 weeks. If frozen, allow crust to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
If you're not using a quiche pan then you may have a little extra custard so be careful not to overflow.
After adding the egg mixture to the pie shell, you can cover and refrigerate overnight then bake in the morning.
Cover the edge of crust with foil before baking to prevent over-browning.
The quiche can also be fully baked, cooled, and placed in refrigerator if you want to make ahead and serve the next day. Serve warm or room temperature.
The quiche freezes well if you fully bake then allow to cool. Wrap with parchment or freezer paper, then foil, and place in a freezer bag. Freeze up to two months.
You can reheat straight from the freezer—just unwrap and reheat on 350 for about 25 minutes until heated through. You can also thaw and serve at room temperature.