Waiter, There's Something In My....Pie again?

So, I was actually intending to make this Monday night as a WTSIM entry, which had a deadline of being posted before today. I figured I could still get it done last night, and be in just under the clock. Well, last night kind of sucked, for reasons that's aren't important. Just many little annoyances as soon as I got home. And once dinner finished just in time to eat while watching Dancing With The Stars, I just didn't have the energy to get back up again. So I just figured I'd be missing the event. But, lo and behold I found out today that the deadline had been extended through the end of the week. Hurrah! So, this month's WTSIM is being hosted by The Passionate Cook with an Easter theme. So, in thinking of something that says Easter to me I immediately thought of spanakopita. We have an Easter dinner every year with Josh's mom and spanakopita is a main feature for me. Then I thought of the Spinach Pie I saw on an episode of Everyday Food a month or so ago. It was like a disassembled spanakopita, and called out to me from the start. And so my WTSIM entry was born. Trust me when I tell you that this dish is pretty delish. I'm actually eating the leftovers while I'm typing this entry!

Spinach Pie
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 12
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 10 oz. boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dried plain breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried dill
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz. frozen phyllo sheets, thawed and thinly sliced

• Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons salt; cook until garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in spinach, feta, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in eggs until combined.
• Divide mixture evenly between two 9-inch springform pans or two 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plates; press firmly to flatten.
• Make the topping: In a large bowl, gently toss sliced phyllo to separate, then toss with remaining 1/2 cup oil until coated.
• Divide phyllo between pies, covering the tops evenly and completely. (To freeze, cover pies tightly with plastic wrap, being careful not to flatten topping. Bake within 3 months; do not thaw first.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees;. Bake until heated through and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes for frozen pie (30 minutes for unfrozen pie).

My notes: I understandably enjoyed this recipe, noting my existing adoration for spanakopita. Josh really liked it. He said "mmmm" without me asking him what he thought first. I cut this recipe in half because I don't have springform pans just lying around, waiting to be popped into the freezer. I was a little low on feta, so I compensated with a smidge more Parmesan, and I have no idea how to figure out those 4 oz. of phyllo. I figured it would be 1/4 of the 16 oz. package I had, but that turned out to be too little, and it seemed like it took more like half the package to get the job done. Maybe I didn't separate the first batch of sheets well enough. Either way, it's good. I'd never complain of a dish being too light and flaky. :) Oh also, I divided our one pie which should serve 6 into quarters instead. This was the only thing I was serving last night so bigger portions were fine, and it made it easier to divvy up for dinner and lunchtime leftovers.