A Taste of the South

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the pleasure of going down south to North Carolina for our friend's wedding. (Congratulations Shaun and Natalie!!!) Not only did we get to experience amazing southern barbeque at their reception, but we also got to see what the little town of Asheville had to offer. For a small town, there sure was a LOT of food! So many restaurants.....so little time! I instantly fell in love with this town. My pick of the weekend was the Tupelo Honey Cafe. I went with a few of my girlfriends and let's just say, we weren't the only people who where interested in trying this place. There was a line out the door and an hour-long wait! So in the mean time we shopped around the quaint little town which truly is a shopaholic's paradise! The food certainly was worth the wait. The biscuits at the Tupelo Honey Cafe were almost the size of baseballs with blueberry jam and honey to top it off. Yum! I had an egg scramble that was oozing with melted Havarti cheese, lump crab meat, spinach, and caramelized onions. Holy cow, can you say delish?! A friend  of mine tried the sweet potato pancake which covered an entire plate and looked so scrumptious!!! I noticed a cookbook in the front of the restaurant which I decided to page through as we munched. Almost all of the recipes on the menu were included in the cookbook! So of course, I had to have it! There isn't much in this book that doesn't excite me. So the problem was, what do I make first? I settled on the Tomato Pie and though it would go nicely with a salad for dinner. Well, it definitely didn't disappoint and now I am even more excited to try more of the recipes in this book and share them with you! Today I made the Pecan Pie recipe for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I can't wait to try it. It's been on my counter staring at me all day!

Tomato Pie (adapted from the Tupelo Honey Cafe)


Ingredients:

1 pie crust
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup mild, 1 cup sharp)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 chopped green onions, white and green parts
2 Tbsp. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
4 large tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
Directions:

1. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, green onion, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Stir to mix completely.

3. Layer half of the tomatoes over the pie crust, covering the bottom as much as possible.

4. Spread half of the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes and finish with another layer of the cheese mixture. (The cheese mixture on top gets so brown and crunchy because of the Panko. You are gonna love it!)

5. Bake for 30 minutes until top of pie is bubbly and browned. Allow to sit about 15 minutes before slicing.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!