Heart Eyes, Vol. 242: Shark Heart and Spinach Sheet-Pan Quiche
Friends! Hello. Happy Friday. What are we up to this weekend? I personally will be puttering around, taking care of a few things, and roping off some down time before the coming weeks and weekends kick it into high gear. Maybe I’ll finish the book I’m reading! Maybe I’ll knit a few inches of the fluffy, watercolor-y sweater I’m knitting! Maybe I’ll watch the next DVD on the shelf for an upcoming Blockbluster Review! Or, you know, maybe I’ll take a nap. (Probably I will take a nap.)
Whatever you’re up to, whatever speed you’re moving at, I hope it feels like the exact right thing for these spring days. I think we’re all doing great.
What to Read: Shark Heart, by Emily Habeck
After last year’s mild crisis of enjoyment, this year I’ve been reading with an emphasis on pleasure and it’s been going like gangbusters. I’m reading and loving so many good books! Shark Heart, by Emily Habeck, came recommended to me by Friend of Heart Eyes Alix, who drew me in with what I think is a pretty killer (pun not intended, but appreciated) synopsis: A couple gets married; shortly after, the husband begins slowly turning into a great white shark.
I mean. How’s that for intrigue?
The book is Habeck’s debut, and without getting into too many details, I cannot wait to see what else she’s got in her; Shark Heart is some introduction. It’s deft and poetic and weird and wildly sad in parts—picture me reading in the break room at work, vowing not to sob in front of all the engineers just trying to eat their lunches—but also funny and sharp and uplifting and singular. I enjoyed it very much. Maybe you would, too?
What to Cook: Spinach Sheet-Pan Quiche
I went on a cooking journey this Easter.
Having volunteered to bring a brunch dish for an Easter-morning event, I needed something that would feed a legitimate crowd (50+ as part of a shared spread) and that wouldn’t require a plate or silverware. I wanted something that could be made ahead and transported easily and would offer some protein in the midst of the Easter sugar high. Oh, and it had to be delicious.
I landed on the Smitten Kitchen Spinach Sheet-Pan Quiche, doubled to fit a 13x18” half-sheet. I’m not going to lie to you and say this wasn’t a project; it was. But I think this kind of thing—slightly labor-intensive recipes that yield perfect, crowd-pleasing results—is where Deb shines. A dozen eggs, forty ounces of frozen spinach, and a listen and a half through Cowboy Carter later, the finished product came out exactly as I’d hoped: green and golden and ready to go.
I do think there are things you could do to make this easier. You could choose a different quick-cooking quiche filling (thawing and draining frozen spinach being one of my least favorite kitchen tasks); you could skip the optional blind-bake. And of course you could start with a storebought crust—Deb mentions this option in the recipe and a lot of people in the comments seem to have taken her up on it. I went Full Deb, making the crust from scratch and blind-baking it while I mixed up the filling, none of which is difficult but all of which is time-consuming since the dough needs to firm up in the freezer after mixing and again after being pressed into the pan. (I am often loath to blind-bake since I don’t own pie weights or a dedicated stash of beans or pennies, but I just pressed some greased foil in tight against the crust and went for it. It turned out beautifully—no shrinking, no weeping, no tearing, just a golden, buttery, crisp-but-not-too-crisp crust, ready for filling.)
The finished quiche sliced neatly into 40 fairly generous 2.5”-ish squares, and I was lucky enough to have a bit of extra filling to bake up for my own Easter breakfast, which is how I know it’s delicious: tangy and savory from a mélange of cream cheese, cheddar, and Parmesan in addition to all that spinach. Everyone else seems to have thought so, too; the only thing that came back to me at the end of the morning was an empty sheet pan. No matter which route you take to get there, I think this is an excellent make-ahead dish that would be right at home at just about any gathering you can cook up, at any time of day. You might like it, too.