Cheesy Creole Tomato Pie

Creole Tomatoes and Vidalia Onions are a summer staple.  This is a great recipe that uses these as an entrée that isn’t a salad.  It’s great as a make ahead recipe because it can be served at room temperature.

 Ingredients:

• 1 (9 in.) refrigerated pie crust
• 3 medium Creole tomatoes, sliced ¼ in. thick (about 2 lbs.)
• 1 small Vidalia onion
• ½ t. kosher salt
• 1/3 C. Panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ C. mayonnaise
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 T. fresh thyme leaves
• 2 T. fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 C. (¼ lb. or 4 oz.) Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 C. (¼ lb. or 4 oz.) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 T. olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Roll the pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate and gently press the crust into place around the pie plate.  Pierce with a fork in several places on the bottom of the crust and in a few spots on the side.
3. Bake the pie crust for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.  Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool while preparing the pie ingredients.
4. Cut the onion in half to create a semi-circle and then slice thin, cut the core off of the top of the tomato and discard and then cut into slices.
5. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt.
6. Combine the mayonnaise, egg yolk, garlic, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.
7. Sprinkle 1/3 of the breadcrumbs in the bottom of pie plate, cover with half of the tomato slices, half of the sliced onions, and half of the herbs.  Drizzle half of the mayonnaise mixture and then cover with half of each of the cheeses.
8. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the breadcrumbs over the cheese, and then the rest of the tomato slices, the rest of the sliced onions, and the rest of the herbs.  Drizzle with the rest of the mayonnaise mixture and cover with the rest of the cheeses.
9. Finish with the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle the olive oil over the whole pie.
10. Bake for 1 hour (the top should get nice and brown).
11. Remove and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  This pie is best at room temperature.

Tips and Tricks:

• DO NOT refrigerate the Creole tomatoes.  They taste best at room temperature. 
• If you can’t get Creole tomatoes you can use Beefsteak tomatoes and it you can’t get Vidalia onions, you can use sweet onions or red onions instead.
• If you don’t have Panko breadcrumbs, unseasoned breadcrumbs work well also.
• I use Pillsbury Pie Crust, which can be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, usually by the can biscuits.

Crustless Spinach Cheese Quiche

This is a great recipe from Paula Deen.  It is easy to fix and makes a great presentation for a brunch or breakfast celebration.  Don't let the spinach fool you into thinking this is healthy.  You'll realize it's not when you read the ingredients, but it sure is GOOD.

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
• 4 eggs
• 1 C. sour cream
• 1 C. small curd cottage cheese
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
• ¼ C. all purpose flour
• ½ C. Parmesan cheese
• ¼ C. of chopped green onions
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Spray a 8” x  8” baking pan or corning ware with cooking spray, set aside
3. Cook the spinach in the microwave for 4 minutes, in a microwave safe bowl
4. Drain and then remove the excess water with paper towels, set aside
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, flour, Parmesan, green onions, salt and Creole seasoning together
6. Fold in the spinach, then the cheddar cheese
7. Pour the mixture into the baking dish
8. Bake for 45 minutes
9. Remove from the oven and allow to set for 15 minutes
10. Cut into pieces and serve

Tips and Tricks:

• I use an immersion blender to whisk the eggs with the sour cream.   They are light and fluffy this way.  I use the immersion blender to incorporate all the other ingredients also.
• I usually double this recipe and bake in a 13’ x 9” dish.  I cut the quiche into 16 pieces.