Tomatoes

For a few weeks now, Mark has wanted to make tomato pie. He got the idea from leftovers that Bill, his brother, brought home from a party while we were in Atlanta for the fourth of July. I had never heard of tomato pie, but when I tasted it it was super delicious! I was joking to Bill when I texted him while he was at the party to "bring home some food they are serving" because it's kind of ghetto, right? I mean he was at a complete stranger's house so the thought of even asking is embarrassing, but he did anyway and they even gave him nice tupperware to put food in to take home. I suppose that's southern hospitality. We did mail the tupperware back so Bill would be invited back to future parties and bring back more tomato pie! Yippy!

We went up to our New Milford, Connecticut house over the weekend and Mark thought it would be an opportune time to make tomato pie. I suggested to do it after our long training run on Sunday so the cheese and whatever else won't upset our stomachs and cut our long run into a very short one because who knows? We are in our 3rd week of a 16-week marathon training plan for the NYC Marathon the first Sunday in November. This is the first time we've legitimately trained; however, it will be my 3rd and his 2nd NYC Marathon. Had the marathon not been cancelled last year due to Sandy, and rightfully so, this year would've been my 4th and Mark's 3rd. Training has been going well so far and we both want to set a PR.

While in New Milford, the annual Village Fair Days was being held (it's always the last weekend in July) on the Town Green. It's a 2-day fair with lots of community booths, local food, entertainment and a way for the locals to socialize and have a great time. We walked through the fair and later had dinner at Lucia, a cute but small Italian restaurant in historic downtown New Milford. The food was pretty good. I wasn't able to take pictures of the food or collect the menu. I know-booooo!

After our long run on Sunday, Mark not only made tomato pie, but also made tomato basil bisque. I was a little leery about the bisque because the last time he made it it was not enjoyable at all. It was tart, too thick and the tomato skins were bothersome. This time around I was very delighted and impressed with the results. The bisque was the right thickness, flavored with adequate spices and with each spoonful it made me want to lick the bowl until it was completely clean.

Mark's tomato pie was a modified version of the one Bill brought back from his party. Apparently that recipe was a version of Paula Deen's Tomato Pie. Upon watching the video of her recipe, Mark's recipe wasn't all that different. Since it was his first time making it and without following her recipe or even any knowledge of it or any kind of recipe, I think he did very well in creating his first ever tomato pie. He did a few things different: made his own pie crust, used bread crumbs as part of the dressing, used greek yogurt and less cheese. The one thing he could've done that would have made this perfect was drain the tomatoes.

Because dough was left over from the tomato pie, Mark decided to experiment and create a small side dish using the extra dough. Using a ramekin, he filled the bottom and sides with the dough and left some extra hanging off the sides to cover the ingredients used to fill the middle. He combined greek yogurt and 2 eggs, poured it into the ramekin along with some seasonings and used the dough hanging off the sides to cover the filling. He baked it for half hour at 350F. What came out was a light, fluffy egg souffle that reminded me of quiche. I suggested that it would be magnificent with ham in it. He decided on the name "Morning Glory." Can't wait to have it again.

You say tomato, I say let's it eat!