Tomato pie

My 13 year old takes her school work very seriously.  Before winter break she embarked on a creative writing assignment about Edisto - of course she was thrilled when we actually went there.  It was as if she had embarked on a research project as she made note of how long it takes to get to Edisto island (Atlantic Intercoastal Highway) from the main road and then the distance to Edisto Beach and finally to our lodging.   She also took pains to identify the various sea birds.

To invoke a sense of place, she wanted to describe the food; not the seafood, but something she considers unique to the place - tomato pie.  Her assumption is that in the north most people think of an Italian pizza style dish when you say tomato pie, however she recalls our first introduction to tomato pie almost two years ago and the Gullah woman that told me how to make it.

Needless to say, she's been nagging me for days because she wanted to experience the pie so that she could write an accurate description that would conjure up the taste.  I complained that tomatoes weren't in season but she was confident that WF would have something and they did - tomatoes from New England that weren't bad...unlike the pink Mexican tomatoes that are all over supermarkets this time of year.

She sat in the kitchen with her legal pad, taking notes as I prepared the pie.  I made one adjustment - I diced the tomatoes and mixed in the peppers, onions, basil, and seasoning rather than layering with slices - this produced a more robust flavor.  I also added a dash of tabasco to the cheese and mayo topping mix and I couldn't remember if the crackers (I use cheez-its instead of oyster or saltine crackers) went on or under the cheese.  She got a little nervous because I was deviating from what she considered authenticity but the results were superb - she actually enjoyed the pie...my little cousin on the other hand acted as if he was being poisoned with every bite.