This menu – creamy, cheesy, crab-flecked quiche and a wonderful, colorful Greek salad – is one that I myself would love to eat on Mother’s Day – or any day. Serve French rolls or a baguette with the quiche and salad, and for dessert, oversize chocolate chip cookies (bought from a good bakery) along with a bowl of lightly sweetened sliced strawberries would be lovely.

 

Herbed Crabmeat Quiche

Make your own pastry (see recipes in my New England Cookbook or Dishing up Maine or consult another reliable cookbook) or buy rolled-out crust in the refrigerator case.

Serves 6 to 8

One 9-inch pie crust, unbaked, homemade or purchased

6 eggs

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons snipped chives

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon cayenne

½ pound fresh crabmeat, picked over to remove any cartilage

½ cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fit crust into a 9-inch glass pie plate or fluted quiche pan. Prick bottom with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Press a sheet of foil into bottom of pie shell and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until pale golden. If pastry starts to puff up, press bottom gently with a large spatula or oven-mitted hand to flatten. Fill immediately or cool on a rack.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in cream, chives, parsley, tarragon, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir in crabmeat and two cheeses. Pour filling into pie shell and carefully transfer to oven.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is puffed and a knife inserted about two-thirds of the way to the center comes out clean. Center should still be slightly jiggly.

Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Spectacular Greek Salad

This salad, full of some of the best ingredients the Mediterranean has to offer, is as delicious to eat as it is beautiful to look at.

Serves 6 to 8 as a side salad

SALAD:

3 cups torn or cut Romaine

3 cups arugula or other dark peppery green

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

12 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

¾ cup sliced celery

1 small red onion, cut into rings

1 small green bell pepper, cut into rings

About 20 Kalamata olives

1½ cups crumbled feta cheese

1 tablespoon drained small capers

2 teaspoons dried oregano

8 anchovy fillets, optional

Cracked or coarsely ground black pepper

SIMPLE VINAIGRETTE:

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

8 tablespoons good olive oil, or a combination of olive and vegetable oils

Line a good-sized platter or shallow bowl with the greens. Arrange cucumber, tomatoes, celery, onion, green pepper, olives, feta and capers. Sprinkle with the oregano and crisscross optional anchovies over the top. (Can be arranged a few hours before serving and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.)

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, salt, pepper, shallots, mustard and sugar. Whisk in the oil. Use immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Shake or whisk again before using.

Drizzle salad with about ½ cup of the dressing, sprinkle with black pepper and serve.

Brooke Dojny is author or co-author of more than a dozen cookbooks, most recently “Lobster!” (Storey, 2012). She lives on the Blue Hill peninsula, and can be contacted via Facebook at

facebook.com/brookedojny

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