Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.

Well, the Romas certainly won that race. Perhaps it could be argued they had less to heft to the finish line than their older brothers, the Beefsteak Tomatoes.

And to tell you the truth, I’m as disappointed as I am impatient about this. Because though Cute Redhead doesn’t (sit down for this one) even like tomatoes, she does have in her illustrious repertoire a recipe from Mother Jane.

That’s Mother Jane right there. As southern a belle as they make them, and I’m not kidding.

And if you mean to say it right (“Muthah JaAYan,” that is) you have to recruit a very Southern drawl. Failing that, you better have some sort of peace offering at the ready. And when it comes to Mother Jane (who happens to be a Master Gardener and experienced enough to have had something to do with deciding where to plant the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil, if you ask me), nothing arrests her attention like a good recipe.

Ever hear of Hot Tomato Pie?

Oh. Man.

You take a frozen pie crust and drizzle olive oil. Then you slice up home-grown tomatoes and let them overlap to your heart’s content; but don’t stack them so high as though you’re making an apple pie. You’re not. The thrown on some basil, some Mozzarella cheese and a bit of salt and pepper. Throw it in the oven at something like 375˚F or whatever seems to make sense to you as far as baking a pie goes. When it looks right (don’t ask because I don’t know), pull it out and dig in.

If there’s a better summer dish to accompany whatever else it is you’ve prepared for your brood…I don’t know what it is.

I love this recipe. I love Mother Jane.

But I’d run over her with a locomotive, right in front of God and everybody, to get to a plate of this.