Tomato Vdalia Gratin

[tandkvd]

Deerpark on Biltmore Estate Tomato Vidalia Gratin


Ingredients

1 yellow or Vidalia onion, medium diced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1-cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1-cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2-cup mayonnaise (or enough to bind)
3/4-pound bacon, cooked and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 deep dish, 9-inch pie crust



Directions

Brown off piecrust for about 8 minutes or until slightly brown at pre-heated 350 degree oven.
Lay sliced tomatoes over browned piecrust.
Top with chopped basil.
Top with diced onions.
Mix cheddar, mozzarella, mayonnaise, and bacon until combined.
Press cheese mixture on top of pie.
Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, until golden brown, approximately 15 to 25 minutes.
Let cool 5 or more minutes before serving.
Serves 4-6 people

Found this while surfing the net last night. We had it for brunch today, using some of our abundance of tomatos from the garden. Very easy and Verrry good!
Had with a glass of OJ. Would be good as a main dish or side dish.
Any ideas on food and wine pairings.

[Georgie]

Sounds delicious, except for the OJ accompaniment! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img] I've printed the recipe out to give it a try. Thanks!

[Innkeeper]

Barbera, Italian or Domestic. On the East Coast it would probably be easier to find a nice Barbera d'Alba or d'Asti.

[tandkvd]

Thanks for the sugestion IK. Had this dish again tonight with S. Orsola 2001 Barbara d'Asti. This is the first Barbara that I have tried. It went very good With the Tomato Vidalia Gratin.

Again I could not find any references to this wine doing a search. Was just wandeering how it compared with other Barbara wines. Was $6.99 at Total Wine.

[Innkeeper]

If you like it, stay with it. That is an excellent price for an imported barbera. Only Roberto's bottom feeding find last year, 1997 Il Podere Dell' Olivos, California, Barbera for $3.99 last year, beat it. Maybe there is a glut in Italy now too. Good Italian Barbera normally starts around $12 and runs way up. Quality California Barberas, with Roberto's exception, run between $10 & $20. I love Easton Barbera which is currently running around $19.

[tandkvd]

I made this dish again last night, to use up some of our tomatos. I did not have a wine to pair with it.

My wife finished a big paper for her Masters class she is taking at UNCC. She was wanting some of her Martini and Rossi Asti Spuminti. I had to run out to Sams to get her some.

There was some of the tomato gratin and the asti spumanti left this morning. This made for a very good breakfast.

[This message has been edited by tandkvd (edited 07-25-2004).]