Category: Recipes

  • Thumbprint Cookies – Nowruz Recipe

    I‘m at an age when I may be guilty of idealizing my youth in a kind of “the good old days” filter that blocks out any unpleasant memories of political or cultural unease.  Of course, I wasn’t aware of any such issues, at least not in a way that was meaningful: I had a privileged…

  • Tomato Head’s Chicken Enchilada Dip

    Ingredients 2 packs Frontera Enchilada Sauce 2 oz Cream Cheese at room temperature 1/2 tsp Salt ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper ¾ tsp Cumin 2 tsp Light Brown Sugar 4 cups Cooked & Shredded Chicken 1.5 cups Frozen Corn Kernels 2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mild Cheddar Heat the enchilada sauce in a 10-inch cast…

  • Flour Head Bakery’s Appalachian Trail Mix Cookies

    You cook?  Then try this recipe, post a picture on social media and tag us! Also use our hash tag #FoodGottaCook and we’ll randomly pick a winner and send them a Tomato Head Gift Card! I have a sneaky feeling that the creation of gravy happened somewhere at the intersection of accident and eureka. In…

  • Tomato Head’s Collard and Creamed Leek Pie

    I grew up attending a small and fiery little church, where I learned that we were right and you were wrong.   In fact, there was a joke about us… A Baptist minister who, upon entering heaven, asked St. Peter for a tour of the place.  They moved past many different halls, each filled with hosts…

  • Hummus – Tradition and Invention

    Absolutes are dangerous. Of course, absolutes are also attractive, sometimes very attractive because they eliminate uncertainty and create a kind of level playing ground for the mind.  After all, life is so unpredictable, it’s only natural that we’re drawn to anything we perceive as steady, fixed and resolved.  But the truth is, the truth can…

  • Deviled Eggs

    My relationship with eggs is a Facebook status: It’s complicated. And like many a well-documented social media bond, my affair with eggs has always been mercurial and overly sensitive to the delicate shadings of status updates. Today, I’m a fan of eggs of all sorts – boiled, deviled, poached and even shirred.  But it’s been…

  • Chess Pie

    Chess pie may not be what you think it is. There’s the name, of course; unlike apple or peach or even buttermilk pie, chess pie doesn’t sound like what’s in it.  It doesn’t promise a crust filled with bishops or even pawns.  There are many stories about its name, and in one version, as Mahasti…

  • Matzo Balls for Matzo Ball Soup

    Recipe 4 large eggs 1 tsp Salt ½ tsp Black Pepper, ground 2 TBL Parsley, chopped ¼ cup Schmaltz (chicken fat), or melted shortening ¼ cup Chicken Stock 1 ¼ cup Matzo crackers, ground In a medium bowl whisk eggs.  Add salt, pepper, parsley, schmaltz and chicken stock and mix until incorporated.  Add Matzo meal…

  • Simple Chicken Stock for Soups

    Recipe ½ a Chicken 2 medium Carrots 3 stalks Celery 1 large Leek 1 small Yellow or White Onion 4 cloves Garlic 2 – inch piece of Ginger 8-10 sprigs Parsley 20 cups Water Cut a whole chicken in half, rinse and place the chicken in a large stock pot.  Peel carrots and cut into…

  • Tomato Head’s Grit Casserole with Mushroom Cream Sauce        

    I can’t recall my first memory of grits. I may have blocked it. That’s not because of any dislike, per se, but more likely it comes down to shame.  I suspect that my first encounter with grits involved copious butter with lots and lots of sugar, too.  And as any self-respecting Southerner will tell you,…