Monday, August 3, 2009

Tomato Takeover Part 2: Tomato Pie

Welcome to the prime time edition of Tomato Takeover Part 2.
I'm Katie Couric and I'll be your hostess
as we navigate through this second recipe in a three part series
of tomato-licious recipes.
So....tomato pie, eh? Doesn't sound like anything I would eat.
But I was desperate to use tomatoes! Don't look at me like that!
If tomatoes were dominating your kitchen like they were mine,
you'd have taken a chance on any tomato recipe too!
Now, I am here to tell you that this pie is delicious!! It's not a "last resort" recipe. It's a Oh-I-Hope-We-Have-Enough-Tomatoes-to-Make-Tomato-Pie recipe.
So take a chance on this one and put some tomatoes in a pie shell.
Crust comes first.
(I have to warn you: I'm no good at pie crust, or anything that takes rolling out. You'll see as we go along. I'm a complete embarrassment). Wait til you see what I did to a calzone crust in an upcoming post. You will point at me, laugh at me, and then delete me from your followers list in disgust). (Calzone recipe is coming soon Sara!)
This is a wonderful recipe for a savory pastry crust (I just butcher it, is all).
1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp baking powder all cozy in a bowl.
Not knowing their maker is about to make a mockery of them.
Whisk together.
Add 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 16 pieces.
Cut using a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. You'll notice here that mine resembles large chunks of carrots. I'm a lazy pastry cutter. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of water over the flour mixture and stir to form a ball. (That's one of the reasons I like this recipe. You've seen those recipes for pie crust where you have to add one tablespoon of water at a time, fluff it with a fork over in one corner of the bowl, then add the next tablespoon of water. SHEESH! I can't stand high maintenance dough. I'm an impatient fluffer).
You can add a little bit more water a teaspoonful at a time if the dough is too dry and won't form a ball. Knead several times. (Dough can be wrapped up and put in the fridge all tidy if you don't want to bake it until later).
Now here's where things really start to deteriorate.
I'm not going to lie to you.
It's a small insult to my ego to show you this next picture.
You're supposed to roll the dough into an 11 inch circle.
Did I fail geometry? Am I making a relief map instead?
It's seriously the best I could do.
And it only gets worse from here people.
Due to the ghastly nature of this pie crust,
the following image may not be suitable for children.
Or adults.
Oh geez! I'm cringing and giggling. See my patches?
And you're supposed to flute.
FLUTE!!
I don't flute.
I don't play the flute, I don't own champagne flutes and I don't flute pie crust.
No fluting ever occurs in my house. I'm an incompetent fluter.
A fluting failure.
But I do prick. Prick madly! Prick with abandon!
Prick the sides and the bottom. Then line it with foil.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Then remove the foil and bake for 3-5 minutes more.
This crust turns out fantastic.
Despite my blunders, it's fantastic.
Now on to the filling.
4 tomatoes. Slice one tomato into 6 slices and set aside.
Halve the remaining tomatoes, remove seeds,
and cut each half into approximately 6 wedges.
You see that knife? It's from my mother-in-law and I'm enamored with it.
I've never come across anything that cuts through tomatoes better.
See how I started with that silly old knife in the background?
Yeah, that sucker quickly got tossed aside when I brought out this bad boy.
1 cup chopped white onion. Oops.
Well, some of it's white.
Also needed is 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil. As mentioned previously, I'm not a huge fan of chopping fresh herbs. So I have my manservant do it. He's a very handsome manservant. See, marriage is all about picking up each other's slack. Putting forth a little effort for each other each day. Let me explain: I don't like taking out the garbage, scrubbing showers, cleaning the litter box, trimming shrubbery, filing taxes, dusting, giving the kids baths, taking the dog to the vet, making important phone calls or chopping fresh herbs. So he does all that.
He doesn't like blogging. So I do that.
It's important to give fifty-fifty.
In a bowl, mix 1 cup grated cheddar...
...1/2 cup grated Parmesan... ...and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Oh, again with the mayo???
I know. It's all globby. Globular.
It'll make my backside globular, that's for sure.
There's nothing I can do about it though.
You're gonna love this pie, I promise.
And then you'll forget all about this globular nonsense. Mix it all up, Sweets!
She's a good little stirrer.
The pie crust is done baking. Look at the poor chap.
He's all bewildered, living out his daymare
of being the ugliest bit of pastry to ever exist.
He longs for fluted edges.
First, fill the pie crust with half of the sliced, seeded tomatoes. Then add half the chopped onion...
...and 1 tablespoon of the manservant-chopped basil. Sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Spread on half the cheese mixture.
Repeat one more time with the remaining tomatoes,
onion, basil, 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
and remaining half of cheese mixture.
Arrange reserved tomato slices on top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes until it's golden brown.
OH LOOK! Doesn't it look good?? IT IS!!
This is what it looks like after some people with little regard for
the potential for globular backsides get their hands on it.

30 comments:

Lois Christensen said...

It DOES look yummy! Going to try it when I finally get some tomatoes!!! Enjoy your day!

WhiteStone said...

Well, I've used tomatoes in a lot of recipes (and have a huge bowl of them right now awaiting transformation), but I've never even Heard of Tomato PIE! However, today is not the day. I also have a huge box of fresh Peaches on hand and peach pie wins out over tomato pie any day of the week. LOL

Amanda said...

I'll have to try this for my father in law, he has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with tomatoes. :)

Jackie said...

This looks delicious! I'm going to try it with my tomatoes.

Have a great day!

McVal said...

That looks really good!!! I can't wait to get tomatoes and try it out! I know my hubby won't eat it, but I know at least 2 other people in my family that will... and they'll love it!
It's so nice you have a manservant!

monica said...

It does look fabulous! Too bad I don't like tomatoes!

Dandy said...

I love mayo in dishes. I do. And I love tomato. And I love cheese.

I hate making pie crust and mine turns out far worse than yours. No fluted edges?! But I'll try it again just for you. And I'll laugh the whole time remembering this post.

And I'll make sure to tell B that blogging counts for my half of the chores!

Dad2TSG said...

Manservant weighing in. Are manservants allowed to "weigh in"? Anyway, coming from another pie consumer, this is a great pie and for the record I forgot to take the trash cans out this morning/last night so my amazing wife did that as well! I'll find some way to make it up:)

Sarsa said...

I never knew so many recipes could be inspired by tomatoes. I can't wait for Part 3... and of course the calzones.

Elle Bee said...

Yeah, you guys it was a total fiasco. I wheeled out three garbage cans in my pajamas, sleepy creased face, and greasy matted hair. Gross. (Isn't manservant lucky to be married to a beaut like me?) All the while, I could hear the garbage truck approaching and I was so scared he would see me! Cuz we all know how important it is to impress the garbage man. Anyway, I'm sure what I had to go through is worth at least 3 hours of blogging time tonight.

Yelena R. said...

Wow really? A tomato pie? Honestly, something I've never heard about...but I do love tomatoes so I will probably be trying this pretty soon :)

cyndi said...

This looks really good! My mom gave me a bunch of tomatoes from her garden and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to use them all. I wish that I didn't have leftovers so I could make this tonight. Do you serve this as a main dish or a side dish?

Heart2Heart said...

Yummmm, I'll be right on over to take home one of those beautiful tomato pies! I am seriously going to have to add this one to my list of recipes! I could see where all the tomatoes, basil and onion were heading besides into the bottom of the most amazing pie crust, but I could hear the words, brushetta being called out from the great beyond somewhere.

Then you added cheese and mayo, and baked this prize and look how it turned out?

So what time is dinner?

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Elle Bee said...

Hi Cyndi! (Is this Cyndi? As in RIP Pee Wee?) I make it as a main dish, but I bet it'd be even better as a side. Good idea! Because it is pretty rich, so it gets a little overwhelming as a main dish.

Lani said...

Wow- that looks awesome! I'm a big pie crust fan. If it has crust, I will eat it:)
I really wish my one tomato plant would grow some tomatoes, but it's apparently shy:)

Unknown said...

You're too funny!! I loved your relief map, I think we're from the same 'country'! And, I don't flute either, in fact I get so darned frustrated I just have to step away from the counter...far, far away. The pie does look yummy, I will give it a try when our tomatoes arrive!
Be well! ~Andrea~
PS. Yes I would love the zucchini recipe, please and thanks! : )

Scary Mommy said...

That looks so delicious and I bet everyone in my house would actually eat it. I'm going to try it over the weekend-- YUM!!

Dandy said...

OMG Elle! For a second this morning I went in to a full on panic! Where is Bunch of Benhams? Where can she be? Did she leave me and she didn't even say good bye?

And then I found you and all was right in the world. I like what you've done!

AND I got to see manservant! Or hear, or read, whatever. ~jumps up and down waving arms~ Hi manservant!

tiarastantrums said...

oh man - that is something I would totally eat!!!!!

Unknown said...

I make a version of thisa too! I love it and it is a great way to use up all those tomatoes from the garden!

Debbie said...

Oh excuse me, anything that has mayo AND cheese AND tomato in is is something that I am going to get behind.

And I need a nap because I just tried to spell tomato with an "e" at the end of it.

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

This sounds delicious! Love anything with tomatoes!

The new name of your blog had me disoriented for a moment, but I like it! What a cute header! I just love that picture of the twins in the diswasher!

Have a great evening, Elle!
Tammy

Tamara @ Watching the Grass Grow said...

Looks WONDERFUL! I would love to try it, but I'm scared to try a pie crust. Especially after you slammed yours, and I thought it looked beautiful. (I did, for one brief moment, think from your ingredients pictures that you were piling it all on your lovely countertop...I couldn't see the bowl! What I thought to be insanity turned out to be...not insanity.)

Also, thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment--I LOVE comments (don't we all?). It's late tonight, but I'll come back to read some more (and to use your recipe as my tomatoes start to come in).

Dana said...

Sounds yummy! Of course anything in a pie crust HAS to be good!

Relyn Lawson said...

What a terrific post. And a terrific idea. I love knowing parents who cook with kids, craft with kids, write with kids. You know - just include their kids in their daily lives instead of just plopping them in front of a tv. You, my friend, are an inspiration.

curegirl0421 said...

My kid would never eat it, which is okay because I'd probably try to stab her with my fork if she tried to take any YUM!

I love your blog!

southerninspiration said...

fluting with a fork may do the crust a favor.......it's at least easy....you are too funny! and the pie looks fantastic. Manservant looks nonplussed by his many hours of servitude....I'm jealous! :)

Suzanne

cyndi said...

Tried this tonight and it was delicious!! Had a really hard time with the crust. I got it to roll out nicely but was unsuccesful with actually getting it into the pie plate. I ended up just forming it in the pie plate but it didn't hurt the taste. I also used Light Miracle Whip to cut down on some of the calories (but made up for them by pairing it with a glass of wine). My husband looked at it suspiciously while I was making it but he helped himself to seconds. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Jennifer said...

No worries on the pie crust- as long as it tastes good, who cares if it's perfectly round or fluted? This looks great! I'll be sure to try it soon!

Dandy said...

Do you know that I come here all the time to look at this recipe and laugh at your wittiness? I do. I make this tomato pie all the time because it's requested all the time.