Hot, Hot, Hot...

This week has been over the top HOT.  My table needed to be food that could be done early and eaten later in the day.  I chose a quiche for just those reasons. I found a great recipe in Tupelo Honey Cafe's cookbook which I purchased in Asheville a couple of months ago.  At a later date I will recreate the Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce I had when I visited.  It needs to be a lot cooler.  This is what was on this weeks table:


Broccoli and New Potato Quiche
Watermelon Wedge Salad


Making pie crust has never been successful for me, so I purchased frozen pie shells.  The bottom of the shell is pricked with a fork, prebaked for 10 minutes and set aside to cool. Red potatoes are boiled just until soft and also cooled.  Broccoli florets are blanched in the hot water for a couple of minutes and put in an ice bath to stop cooking. I sauteed thin slices of shallot until crispy and set aside.  Grated sharp cheddar cheese is sprinkled on the bottom of the crust.  The potatoes and cubed and added to the pie along with the blanched broccoli. Eggs, heavy cream and seasonings are beaten and poured over the potato, broccoli, cheese mixture. The crispy shallots are sprinkled over the top and the pie is placed on a cookie sheet (in case it cooks over) and baked until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown.  Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

Wedge salads were a big deal while I was growing up.  Lately they have come back in to fashion and appear on many menus. This salad is a variation. Instead of wedge lettuce, watermelon is cut into wedges and feta yogurt dressing is pour over and garnished with a sprig of basil.  The dressing is made up of yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice and chopped chives. Crumbled feta is folded in at the end.  The dressing is drizzled over the wedges of melon.  I enjoyed this combination very much.  It set off the richness of the quiche.  I had pomegranate iced tea with the meal.

It's a bit cooler right now, but I understand it will be back into the 90's by the weekend.  The farmers market had bison sirloin which I will marinate for kabobs over the weekend.  Stay tuned to see what else will be on Marilyn's Table.  Stay cool....