Stewed Tomato recipe found! :)

This weekend we went apple picking right outside of Charlottesville, and on our way we stopped at Michie (pronounced "Micky", btw) Tavern, which happens to have God's own recipe for stewed tomatoes.

By some combination of wits, charm and outright desperation, I somehow managed to get their recipe for stewed tomatoes; actually, it was a very nice woman working in the gift shop, after hearing me recount my numerous attempts at replicating their recipe, who brought me aside and graciously shared their secret ingredient, which was....leftover biscuits! That actually makes sense if you think for a moment that back in Jefferson's day they wouldn't want to waste anything, especially all of those biscuits that went stale without plastic bags or refridgeration.



For those of you who would like to try this out, it's actually a great recipe to have, especially with the holidays coming up. It's something different, tastes delicious, and uses up all those stale biscuits you've got lying around the kitchen. ;) Please let me know if you try it and we can compare notes.

Jefferson Stewed Tomatoes

• 4 cups of tomatoes quartered (can be fresh or canned)


• 1/2 cup of sugar (I tend to use a little less of the sugar)


• Salt and pepper to taste


• 6 stale biscuits (or scones for my friends in SA and the UK); they have to be stale so they don't become dumplings
  

1. Put the tomatoes and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, slowly simmer until tomatoes are mushy.


2. The biscuits need to be broken into small pieces so that they can thicken the sauce later on.


3. Add the biscuits and stir constantly until its well blended.


4. Add salt and pepper to taste and there you have it.

One more funny anecdote -- when I got back into the car, Isabella was a little upset at me because she thought that I was leaving Aunt Lubsley (Aunt Lesley) behind; she remembered that we went there with her godmother the last time we were in Charlottesville and was upset because she thought we were leaving without her. We explained that Aunt Lesley did not make this trip with us and was safe at home :).

The search for stewed tomatoes

You would think that living in the south, we would be able to find these at every grocery store; not so, I tell you!

These have become my new culinary obsession, and it all started a month ago with a visit from Isabella's godmother Lesley (this was just before the water pipe incident). We went to Michie Tavern in Charlottesville to have lunch, and for those of you who have not been there, it's an awesome place to visit and the food is delicious! When we were there, we tried some of their stewed tomatoes, and it was the best thing I have had in a while. Needless to say, I have been searching and searching for a recipe, and have yet to find one that can even come close to what they make.

Matt has been my test kitchen; I have been trying to recreate this recipe, and he is great about trying the results and offering comments. I am currently of the opinion that I have to go up there and see if I can find a cookbook that would explain how to make it; or barring that, get them to sell me some of that stewed tomatoes, its not a tough trip to sell because there is a great apple orchard there that makes the one of the most delicious apple pies I have had, you know come to think of it... I see a trip to Charlottesville in my family's future