Easy As Pie Tomato Pie

I met Glutenfree Girl or Shauna James Ahern on twitter while whining about attending my first foodie conference, the giganaramous and impressive IACP Conference in Austin. She was kind enough to tweet at me and reassure me that'd she'd been in a similar boat not too long ago and I'd be okay. Now, I'd heard of Shauna, read her blog and recent cookbook (Loved the sweet lovestory of her and the chef)and so I was totally wowed that she took the time. In Austin, I did feel kind of lost but there were too many nice people around for me to stay that way for too long. I even managed to say hi to Shauna.

So when I saw @glutenfreegirl tweeting about #pieparty, well I just had to jump in to the fun :)

My 9-year-old recently brought home Easy as Pie by Cari Best and Melissa Sweet.

I simply adored the book, maybe even more than my son. The book celebrates the joys of the kitchen, but also touches important themes like cooperation, finishing up tasks, cleaning up your messes and working for a solution-- all without preaching but through baking. In fact, young and adult bakers should all try and follow ~

Chef Monty's Baking Rules:

1. A happy baker bakes a happy pie.
2. Concentrate on what you're doing no matter what.
3. If something unexpected happens,fix it as best as you can.
4. Always leave your kitchen as you found it.
5. Don't give up even when what you're making doesn't look the way it's supposed to.
6. A baker can always use some help.
7. Always finish what you start.
8. A pie is ready when it's ready and not a minute before!

Besides the rules and the story, the book also comes with a "Happy Peach Pie" recipe on the back. By the end of our reading, we were both ready to bake.

Only problem was an untimely frost killed off our peach blossoms and this summer I have zero peaches. But I had buckets of tomatoes! So we used Rule #3.

The recipe called for refrigerated pie dough and well, keeping things simple is one of my cardinal rules. So went with refrigerated pie dough.

Now a lot of tomato pie recipes call for Mayo, never liked the stuff: so went with a quiche-style filling. The kids took turns whisking the egg mixture. Threw in some sliced onions and micro-Thai Basil from the garden. Layer everything in starting with the cheese.

Add the egg batter.

Popped it into a 375 degrees oven for 35 minutes. Let it cool and served it to the family.

Verdict:

Six-year-old: We are like the cooking shows on tv. We cook, cook, cook, take pictures, finally eat and then we judge it.

Well this one got thumbs up all around the table.

Recipe:

1 unbaked 9-inch refrigerated pie crust, set into the pie pan
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 small yellow onion sliced
1 tablespoon micro-basil leaves or slivered basil
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Have the unbaked pie crust in the pan, ready.

Sprinkle the mozzarella and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese on the bottom of the crust,single layer tomatoes, onions and basil on top.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning and flour. Pour it into the pie shell. Sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese.

You can add a few more slices of tomatoes on top.

Bake 35 minutes. Serve with a side salad.

I even like this cold and could eat if for breakfast, lunch and dinner!