OLD FASHIONED TOMATO PIE

Tomatoes tomatoes everywhere..   the plants keep making and you can’t give them away.. let’s try something new –

Paula Deen’s Old Fashioned Tomato Pie

4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 Cup Crumbled Bacon (Optional)
1 (9-inch) prebaked deep dish pie shell
1 cup grated mozzarella or jack cheese
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.

Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, cut into slices and serve warm.

Paula’s Perfect Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
12 tablespoons butter, (1 1/2 sticks) cold and cubed
1/4 cup to 1⁄2 cup ice water

In a large mixing bowl,sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn’t get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball. When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.


West Cobb Tomato Pie

Main Ingredients

1 9- inch pie crust

4 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1/4 cup crumbled crisp cooked bacon

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

to taste salt and pepper

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

Recipe Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Prebake pie shell for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
  2. Arrange sliced tomatoes in prebaked pie shell. Fill pie shell just until tomatoes are 1/2 inch below top of crust. Top with bacon and basil. Season to taste.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine cheddar, mozzarella and mayonnaise. Spread on top of tomatoes. Place pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand one hour before serving.

MAKE THE BEST CHEESECAKE EVER

Mom’s Best Cheesecake Recipe

Cheesecake, the Ultimate comfort food
I love a great cheesecake.

Cheesecake dates way back to the first Olympic games held in 776 B.C. on the Isle of Delos, where small cheesecakes were served to the athletes during the games. Now I don’t know How they know this but apparently they do. These were not the sweet smooth treats we have today but a loaf of cheese flour and eggs.

Today we have thousands of cheesecake flavors in basically two styles; New York Style and Philadelphia Style. Try to find a definitive answer to the difference and you will get as many answers as questions is what I have concluded. To Sum it up, Philadelphia-style cheesecake is lighter in texture, yet richer in flavor than New York style cheesecakes. Some take huge amounts o

f cream cheese making them a very expensive dessert to make, some require long baking times making them a pain to even think of making because there are just not enough hours in today’s times. I honestly don’t know what my mom’s recipe was except she had it written in pencil on

the back of a business sized envelope and I remember as a kid- the warning was : “DON’T lose my cheesecake recipe!” – I still have her original, but have copied it hundreds of times in fear of ever losing it. She told me it was a recipe her mom had from the 1930’s when she was a kid during the depression.

This is not about fat free desserts or worry over cholesterol – it’s about making a cheesecake that will melt in your mouth and have your guests talking about it for weeks on end and doing it all in less than 40 minutes start to finish.

Let’s Celebrate with my Mom’s Best Recipe for Cheesecake

You will need a good graham cracker crust – I prefer to make mine (for this recipe don’t add cinnamon to the crust, it will take away from the flavor of the cheesecake)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs; 2 TBSP sugar; 1/3 cup melted butter

Add the sugar to the crumbs, mix well and then into the melted butter, toss with a fork until crumbly- pour into a 10 or 11 inch pie pan and press on bottom and sides – bake at 350 for 10 minutes – cool

Cheesecake Filling:

2 8oz packages of Philadelphia cream cheese (store brands are not as creamy)
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 eggs beaten
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
Cheesecake Topping:

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
With an electric mixer, blend softened cream cheese until creamy. Do not over beat as you do not want to incorporate too much air into the mix! Add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice – blend in well – add the 2 beaten eggs – beat until ther

 

e are no lumps – you will have to scrape the sides of the bowl and re-blend to get it smooth. Pour into cooled crust- bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes,

the sides of the cheesecake will look dull but the center will be slightly soft – remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes. Mix the sour cream with lemon juice, sugar and vanilla, until smooth and gently spoon on the top of the cooled cheesecake- (if you do not wait the sour cream topping may make holes in the delicate cheesecake filling ) use the back of the spoon to spread almost to the edge of the crust. Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 350- – remove from oven to cool and place in the refrigerator over night is best but for at least 10 hours o allow the cheesecake to fully set. There you go – without a doubt the Best cheesecake you will ever eat – no fancy toppings, no additional sauces – no need for whipping cream- simple and sinfully delicious. 

HOME FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE

Home Fried Chicken

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut up
  • Oil for deep-fat frying

DIRECTIONS

In a shallow bowl, mix the first six ingredients. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk egg, milk and lemon juice until blended. Dip chicken in flour mixture to coat allsides; shake off excess. Dip in egg mixture, then again in flour mixture.
In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, 6-10 minutes on each side or until golden brown and chicken juices run clear. Drain on paper towels. Yield: 4 servings.
Originally published as Best-Ever Fried Chicken in Reminisce July/August 2004, p48