When we started thinking about the Super Bowl and all the folks holding parties and gatherings around the big game, one thing came to mind…the food. Chips and salsa–check. Hummous and pita and veggies–check. Take-and-bake pizzas and sandwich platters with all fresh ingredients–check.

We cater corporate meetings and special events regularly and would love to add a little Tomato Head to your Super Bowl smackdown. Steelers or the Packers? Who knows? But we can promise two things. Thing 1, no matter what, one of the teams will win; Thing 2, you really can’t lose with eats from The Tomato Head.

To order some special somethings for Super Bowl Sunday, simply call either of our locations and we’ll help you plan that perfect take-and-bake pizza for two or a spread of snacks for a houseful.

Maryville — 865.981.1080
Knoxville — 865.637.4067

Every time we make up a batch of banana pudding it’s like everyone’s inner kid comes out to play. Some folks love the vanilla wafers, others seek out the chunks of banana, and still others crave the creamy custard. No matter what ingredient is a person’s favorite, banana pudding is just one of those desserts that people love, in a step-aside-I-need-a-spoon-now kind of way. Below, Mahasti shares The Tomato Head’s recipe for this beloved treat. Enjoy!

Tomato Head’s Banana Pudding

For the Custard:

5 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter

Place milk and heavy cream in a medium stainless saucepan over medium low heat. While the milk is heating in a small mixing bowl, mix together the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisking constantly, gradually add 1 cup of the warm milk to the egg mixture. Now pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk on the stove. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens and gets glossy. Remove the custard from the heat, add the vanilla and butter and whisk until the butter has melted completely. Pass the custard through a sieve into a medium bowl. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

For Whipped Cream :

1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp confectioners’ sugar

Beat the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

To assemble the Banana Pudding:

Vanilla wafers
3-4 medium bananas
½ tsp fresh lemon juice

Peel and slice the bananas into a small bowl. Toss the bananas with the lemon juice and toss them (this will keep the bananas from turning brown). Arrange up to eight 6 or 8 oz cups on your work surface. Place 2-3 vanilla wafers in each cup. Top the vanilla wafers with ¼ cup of sliced bananas followed by 1 or 2 more wafers then ¼ cup of cooled custard. Top with 1 Tbsp of whipped cream. Decorate the top of each pudding with a perfectly round vanilla wafer.

This recipe makes 6-8 individual puddings.

This bit of Tomato Head ephemera was brought to us by one of our longtime, regular customers Ellis Bacon (of the South’s Finest Chocolate Factory). What is it? What makes it so special?

It’s a one-of-a-kind Tomato Head pizza box, complete with grease stain.

Here’s the story.

Some of you may remember when The Tomato Head staffers had a bit more time on their hands than they do today. When a pizza or calzone was ordered to go, whoever was working the counter and register would decorate the box. The practice of decorating boxes started with black Sharpies and simply writing the customer’s name on the box, drawing a few characters, a cartoon or two. But really, why leave it at that?

It doesn’t hurt that many of the early Tomato Head employees were artists of some sort—painters, actors, designers, performance artists, sculptors, writers. (Actually, we’re lucky to still have a great number of artists on staff.) So what do you think this creative crew would do when a blank canvas came their way? From the Sharpie designs came the next stage–full-on collage.

As soon as the dining room magazines fell out of date they were fair fodder for the person who had some spare time. After work, or while waiting for the dining room to really pick up, staffers would cut and paste and create one-of-a-kind art for each box. Customers who ordered to-go regularly loved peeking around the corner of the counter to see which box they might get. Think of it as the pre-dinner fortune cookie of The Tomato Head world.

Since then, The Tomato Head hired local artists Kevin Bradley (who spun a pie or two in his day) and Julie Belcher of Yee-Haw Industries to design our to-go boxes, using the artwork of Bjorn Rune Lie. His work is also featured on the menu and the web site. So, due to time constraints (and all those @&#($*! scraps of magazine clippings) the restaurant moved to a permanent design but still employed artistic creativity for our boxes.

Do you have Tomato Head ephemera? Old pictures or your own favorite memory? Let us hear about it. We’d love to add it to the archives and maybe feature it on our blog or Facebook page.

Many folks have their New Year’s Day traditions and the eat-your-black-eyed-peas-for-good-luck is a tradition that The Tomato Head tucks into by the forkful. Hoppin’ John is the typical recipe but if you’re looking for a twist on black-eyed peas, these croquettes are a fun and delicious way to encourage good luck in 2011.

Tomato Head’s Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Chipotle Sour Cream

–For the Croquettes–
½ lb black-eyed peas, looked
½ cup quinoa
¼ cup oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1.5 Tbsp all purpose flour
Small bowl of all purpose flour for coating the croquettes
Oil for frying

Place the black-eyed peas in a medium saucepan. Cover them with enough water so that the water level is at least 2 inches above the beans. Cook the beans over medium heat until the beans are completely soft – about 45 minutes. When the beans are done, remove them from the heat and drain.

Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with 1.5 – 2 cups of water and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and drain.

While the beans are cooking – in a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion with the oil for 1 minute then set aside.

Mash the black-eyed peas in a large mixing bowl with a potato masher, or with a food processor until you get a smooth paste. If using a food processor transfer the beans to a bowl. Add the cooked quinoa, onions and the remaining ingredients. Mix well with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well blended.

Fill a medium skillet half way with frying oil and heat over medium heat. While the oil is heating scoop the bean mixture with an ice scream scooper or with 2 teaspoons onto a cookie sheet. Roll each ball in flour.

When your oil is hot, gently lower each croquette into the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Fill the skillet with as many croquettes as you can fit without overcrowding the pan. Cook the croquettes until golden brown – about 4-5 minutes. Remove the croquettes from the oil as they brown onto a paper towel-lined plate. Continue until all the croquettes are cooked. Serve warm with Chipotle Sour Cream.

–For The Chipotle Sour Cream–

2/3 cup sour cream
2-3 Tbsp canned chipotles, finely chopped

Mix the sour cream with the chipotles in a small bowl.

Perfect for the winter holidays in both color (deep, red cranberries & bright, white chocolate) and in taste, White Chocolate Cranberry cookies are easy to make. The cookie dough also freezes well, so you can make more than enough and have extra on hand to bake for drop-by visitors and friends. They’re a proven favorite at The Tomato Head.

Ingredients:

2.25 sticks butter, room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2.5 cups flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, on medium speed, beat the butter till creamy. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy (2 – 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add ½ of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. Add remaining flour and beat until incorporated. Add the cranberries and white chocolate chips and beat until evenly distributed. If using a hand mixer fold the cranberries and chocolate chips in with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Lightly flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 12 – 15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. For a softer cookie bake less and for a crunchier cookie bake a little longer.

Makes 24 cookies or more depending on size.

Note: You can scoop the cookie dough onto a plate, and freeze. After the cookie balls are frozen transfer to a freezer bag. You can store frozen cookie dough for up to one month.

To bake frozen cookie dough balls simply remove them from the freezer and place on a lined cookie sheet. When the cookies have thawed, gently press them down and bake according to above directions.

Both locations of The Tomato Head (Knoxville and Maryville) are collaborating with Rotary to turn beans and rice into support for local and international clean water efforts. On Friday, November 12, 2010, the restaurant will be offering the “Rotary Club Clean Water Network” bean and rice bowl as one of their daily specials.

Fifty percent of the proceeds generated from the sale of the special in the Knoxville location will go to the Tennessee Clean Water Network, www.tcwn.org. For specials purchased in Maryville, the same percentage will be donated to Heart 2 Heart relief projects in Mexico.

Jeff Talman, Volunteer Rotary Club President, coordinated the effort with The Tomato Head and Rotary. “These specials are a wonderful way to enjoy great food and fellowship and see the proceeds go to terrific service projects,” said Talman.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Come on out, ya’ll. Eat well, and do good.

November is here and so is new art. The Tomato Head Knoxville is currently featuring an exhibit of paintings by Jonathon Howe. Howe’s work, celebrating classical beauty through stunning landscapes and captivating portraits, will be on display through December 3rd.

"Summer Slumber," by Jonathon Howe

"Lonnie," by Jonathon Howe

The Tomato Head Maryville is now presenting a selection of photographs by Patrick McInerny. The show will be on display through December 5th. McInerny’s work was most recently exhibited at The Tomato Head’s Knoxville location.

Whenever the restaurant makes its Curried Lentil Soup, a customer will come asking, “can I have the recipe?” It’s an ideal soup for this season and Mahasti is excited about sharing the recipe. She’ll be presenting it this morning, Saturday, November 6th, on WBIR around 8:15-ish. 

Also, both Knoxville and Maryville restaurants will be featuring the soup today. So…tune in and taste up!

Tomato Head’s Curried Lentil Soup

½ cup onion, finely diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 lb dried lentils, looked over for rocks
1.5 cups carrot, peeled and sliced
1.5 cup fresh spinach, chopped
8 cups water
1.5 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté one minute longer. Add carrots, lentils, spinach, and water. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat and allow soup to simmer for 35 – 40 minutes or until lentils are soft. Add curry powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Serve hot with fresh bread.

Yields 8 cups of soup.
Serves 6 – 8