Tomato and Spinach Pie over a Quiche ala Drick's Rambling Cafe

Said it before,  I am a sucker for presentation.  I mean just look at these colors... Bright red tomatoes, deep forest green spinach all accented with some beautifully melted provolone cheese!

And that's just the top...

Inside is a beautiful savory Creole spiced onion, sausage and egg custard quiche with a hash brown crust.

Talk about Good!!!

But first, let me introduce you to today's favorite blogger.  Drick Perry of the "Drick's Rambling Cafe" blog is a resident of Mobile, Alabama with a love for food.  Let me let his words introduce you to this wonderful blogger...

"You don't have to be born in the south to enjoy our style of cooking, but it sure helps if you like the cook.

Cooking is second nature to me, and my passion is to preserve the traditions of southern cooking. Recipes handed down from generations of cooks are what makes southern cooking so appealing to many. With every savoring bite, a taste of history is enjoyed every time a recipe is shared with friends and I believe that experience makes southern food a most identifiable type of cuisine."

I first discovered Drick's blog a month ago when he started contributing to eRecipeCards.com.  But he is an old guard when it comes to blogging, with over 650 posts and 3 years experience under his belt.  As much as I enjoy reading new ideas and interesting variations on classics, I am always drawn to blogs that save and record historic recipes.  Drick often posts recipes from his three generations of Southern cooks that have influenced his skill and recipe files.

And speaking of his recipe file, he has done what we all of pondered...

HE WROTE A COOKBOOK!!!  Again, here's what Drick has to say about "Grits to Guacamole"...

"My first cookbook, Grits to Guacamole, features recipes from an array of foods along the southern gulf coast. Features include southern dishes, regional seafood and shellfish, my love for Mexican, Cajun and Creole foods plus my passion for grilling and barbecuing. Of course, raised on a farm in central Alabama, cooking down-home recipes comes naturally and many go back for over three generations. Take a look, enjoy real home goodness from my home, my family and around Mobile."

So very exciting!  And a great kick in my pants to add a new feature to eRecipeCards.com.  I was reading Drick's bio and looking into his book the same time I was watching the Food Network.  I saw a quickie bio on Ree, the Pioneer Woman.  Do you all know that Ree is getting her own show on the Food Network later this month.  Again, how exciting, one of our own is making the jump to  a brand!  Well, it dawned on me that maybe in a small way, eRecipeCards can help those of us that want to, support our fellow bloggers when they try to take that next step.  They are grabbing the entrepreneurial bull by the horns with the step beyond entering contests and signing up for fractions of a penny in publisher ad payments.

I have visited hundreds and hundreds of blogs in the last month.  There are a few with a book for sale, a B&B in the south of France, a cooking class or even a product (like roasted nuts) sold at their local Farmer's market.  Maybe just maybe those of us with a dream might need the encouragement of reading about those that have and are trying.  Those in the process.  And, maybe just maybe those of us that are interested in regional cooking will want to order a cookbook, stop and say hi to a nut saleswoman or even travel to France to visit some hens.  All in the spirit of supporting one of our own.

And based on this presentation and recipe, Paul should be worried...

The photo to the left is lifted from Drick's blog.  Click the photo or click HERE to see his original post that got me so excited.  Now doesn't that look beautiful!!!

Drick's recipe is for a garlic and caramelized onion pie, topped with tomatoes, cheese, spinach and more cheese.  It is a wonderful recipe to keep in mind on a Saturday afternoon after a morning trip to the farmer's market.  August is the BEST time to go to a market, so much fresh produce.  Like amazing tomatoes!

And that alternating circular presentation is so easy.

Well, as I've said before, I just can never leave well enough alone with a recipe.  I adored the presentation.  But it just screamed the top of something more than the whole recipe.  To me, wanted to see what a quiche would taste like with this topping.

So, I actually used everything in Drick's recipe.  I just added a base of quiche over some hash browns in place of Drick's pastry shell.

It's a pretty standard quiche recipe... The hash browns are simply diced up potatoes, onions and a few peppers.  I baked the shell of taters for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. before I moved into the quiche.  While it was baking, I got the rest of the ingredients ready...

1/2 pound of provolone cheese sliced

1 pound of HOT spiced sausage, browned to remove grease)

3 eggs

1/2 cup Whipping Cream

1 Sweet Onion (I caramelized this for about 30 minutes in 1 TBS butter)

1 Tomato sliced

about 10 ounces of Spinach (I like to cook mine in the left over juices from the caramelize onion for just a couple of minutes)

I lined the bottom of the shell with slices of provolone.

Next I added the sausage and onions.  I whisked together the eggs and cream and poured that over the top of the sausage.  That lining of cheese on the bottom between the hash browns and the sausage will keep the eggy mixture from making the potatoes too soggy.  The cheese melts in and holds everything together nicely.

And from there, it is just working on the presentation... alternating some spinach, cheese slices and tomato slices.

I baked this in a preheated oven  (350 degrees) for about 40 minutes, until the eggs were set.  The provolone cheese is a great cheese for this.  Not only does it melt nicely, but it also stays in about the same shape as when you assemble the dish.  The image of melted cheese.

And there you go...

a delicious quiche (insert some "real men do eat quiche" joke of your own here).  The HOT sausage I used was a perfect pairing with the sweet caramelized onions and the creamy egg custard.

Of course, Dreck's Tomato and spinach pie I used as the quiche topping made for a dramatic presentation.  But also, it was so delicious with the fresh spinach and tomatoes I used.  And extra cheesy... and so much extra delicious goodness.

I can not possibly recommend this higher.   It would be a delightful dish to serve in the south of France, but also it would be a wonderful dish to take to a church supper.  This is the dish I plan to submit to Everyday Mom's Meals blog hop, Church Supper Sunday's this week (click the logo to the left).  Trust me, I know the church supper ladies (I have a Southern Baptist background).  There is nothing in the world as competitive as a Sunday potluck.  Every woman knows who takes home an empty dish and who takes home anything with less than half taken.

This dish would go home empty!

THIS WAS AMAZING!  A new favorite.  Absolutely DELICIOUS!  Drick, I just can not thank you enough for introducing this wonderful dish to me!

And everyone else, take a jump over to "Drick's rambling Cafe",take a look through his blog and tell him "Hi" from me.

And for a quick look at what he blogs, click on the logo link image to the right.  You will see all the eRecipeCards that Drick has submitted to eRecipeCards.com.  You can add his recipes to your eRecipeBox (once you have a free account).

See how useful the site is and how easy it is to find new favorite bloggers!

These posts continue to highlight bloggers and recipes that I have found on  "eRecipeCards.com"...