Late last month, good friends telephoned to invite us to dinner, but the week before the party, the hostess was called out of town because of an illness in her family. Hearing this, I was certain that the get-together would be canceled, but this was not the case. Arriving home just two days before the scheduled event, she called to assure us that she would be entertaining that evening. I couldn't imagine how she was going to undertake all the cooking herself, so I volunteered to bring a dish. When she willingly accepted my offer, I suggested a Mushroom-Garlic Tart that I have made on several recent occasions.

The day of the party I prebaked a butter-rich crust and filled it with white and shiitake mushrooms sauteed with garlic, all floating in a custard mixture of cream and eggs. The savory pie needed only a half-hour in the oven until it was set and golden brown on top. I packed the cooked tart in a cake box to transport to the party. At our hosts' home, I simply reheated it for a few minutes when it was needed.

I thought the mushroom quiche would be offered as a first course, but my friend surprised me by using it very successfully as a side dish. Sliced and placed on a buffet along with grilled rib-eye steaks, roasted vegetables and a spinach salad, the tart quickly disappeared.

I began to think of other ways this tempting mushroom creation might be used and realized that it could be part of a brunch menu accompanied by bacon or sliced ham and a compote of fresh fruit, or it could be served for lunch or a light supper with a bowl of soup.

During the next few weeks when we have family arriving for the holidays, this make-ahead tart is likely to appear at our table more than once.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.

Mushroom-Garlic Tart

Makes 6 to 8 servings

CRUST:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks

3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

FILLING:

10 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean with damp cloth

10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean with damp cloth

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if needed

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

To prepare crust, place flour and salt in bowl of food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, slowly add water just until moist clumps form. Remove dough and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes. (Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Soften slightly at room temperature before using.)

Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim dough overhang to 1 inch, discarding extra dough. Fold overhang in and push it against edges to reinforce sides of pastry shell. Pierce bottom of crust all over with fork. Freeze crust for 30 minutes.

Arrange oven rack at center position. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake crust until light golden brown, piercing bottom with fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and lower temperature to 375 degrees.

To prepare filling, slice white mushrooms through the stems into 1/4 -inch-thick slices. With fingers remove stems from shiitakes by twisting them until stems break and pop out. Discard stems. Coarsely chop shiitakes into 1/2 -inch pieces.

Heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more oil if necessary, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, shallots, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper and continue to cook 2 minutes longer. If mushrooms exude juices, continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.

In mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and nutmeg. Spread mushrooms in prebaked tart shell and pour custard mixture over them. Slide tart onto a baking sheet, return to oven and bake until set, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove and cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle tart with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Note: Tart can be baked ahead and cooled. Leave at cool room temperature. To reheat, preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat tart until hot, about 20 minutes.