Quick reminder that you can enjoy performances – for free – by Tonic and Aftah Party at Sundown in the City tonight (May 20) on Market Square. The Sundown in the City web site offers sample clips from each band and additional details about the event (parking, recycling, etc.).

As for The Tomato Head, the Knoxville restaurant will be offering “Square-Side” service for show-goers, featuring pizza by the slice (both a meat and vegetarian option), burritos (both a meat and vegetarian option), and non-alcoholic drinks. These easy-to-eat-while-enjoying-the-show options will be available starting around 6:30pm until right before the music ends, around 9:30pm.

Mahasti appeared on WBIR yesterday morning, sharing The Tomato Head’s “Cole Slaw for a Crowd,” just in time for Memorial Day cookouts and parties. This quick-to-make recipe is ideal for topping a barbecue sandwich and also serves as an excellent side dish for everyday summertime meals.

Tomato Head’s Cole Slaw for a Crowd

4 cups red cabbage, sliced thin
1.5 cups carrots, peeled and shredded
.5 cup red onion, sliced thin
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp red wine or cider vinegar
1.5 tsp cumin
.5 tsp salt

Place cabbage, carrots, and onions in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss well to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves 8 – 10.

Makes a great side for fried chicken, fried or grilled fish, grilled steaks and barbecue.

It’s a bit drippy this Wednesday morning, but hopefully the mist will burn away before noon because there is a lot happening on Market Square today. The mid-week Farmers’ Market will be in full swing and our homegrown radio station, WDVX, will be broadcasting its Blue Plate Special live from the Square. The Farmers’ Market takes place from 11am – 2pm and the WDVX Blue Plate, featuring Sam Quinn and Bill Mize, starts up at noon.

Ways to enjoy these noontime events? First, move some of those clouds. Second, our specials will be posted around 10-ish…call ahead, order lunch to go, and sit on the Square to enjoy the music and people watching. Or eat-in and extend your lunch break to stretch your legs and visit some of the farmer and vendor stands.

It’s that time again…another free, outdoor concert in downtown Knoxville.

The Eli Young Band and Jill Andrews will both perform at the Thursday, May 6 edition of Sundown in the City. If you want to get a quick listen of either of these artists, you can sample sounds from the Sundown in the City web site.

Since The Tomato Head has a front door to Market Square, we’ll be offering special “square-side” service for all the show goers starting around 6:30pm. You’ll be able to purchase pizza by the slice (both a meat and vegetarian option), burritos (both a meat and vegetarian option), and non-alcoholic drinks. These easy-to-eat-while-enjoying-the-show options will be available until right before the music ends, around 9:30pm.

See you on the Square for Sundown!

Today marks new art at both the Knoxville and Maryville restaurants. The Tomato Head Knoxville is currently showing, “”Watercolors by Kelly Coffey, Mixed-Media & Works On Paper by Diana Rogers.”  The exhibit will be up for viewing from May 1st through June 4th. Below are a few sample pieces from the show:

"Untitled," by Kelly Coffey

"Untitled," by Kelly Coffey

"Horses in My Dreams," by Diane Rogers

"Meadow," by Diane Rogers

"Valley," by Diane Rogers

The Tomato Head Maryville is now showing high-resolution scans featuring species from the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. The show is presented by Discover Life In America (DLIA) and the Great Smoky Mountain National Parks (GSMNP). The show will be on exhibit from May 2nd through June 5th. The blog post from earlier this spring provides more information about both DLIA and this particular exhibit.

We hope to see you at the restaurant and we hope you enjoy the work of regional artists (and native species) as well as the work of the Tomato Head kitchen.

Mahasti shared this recipe on WBIR this morning and the video clip is available for viewing here. Recipes for both the pan pizza dough and the onion version are presented below. This really is a treat both to make and to eat. 

Tomato Head’s Onion Pan Pizza

One recipe pan pizza dough (see below)
6 cups onion, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Shredded parmesan cheese
Fresh basil leaves – chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare pizza dough according to recipe (see below). Press the dough into a 13 x 18 greased cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 3-4 minutes – or until top of crust becomes dry to the touch. Remove the dough from the oven and set aside while preparing the topping.

In a large bowl mix the onions, heavy cream, salt and pepper until the onions are well coated. Pour onion mixture on top of pizza dough and spread the onions out evenly.

Place back in the oven and bake 20 – 25 minutes longer until crust has browned and onions are soft.

Remove from oven – sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Cut into 8 – 10 pieces. Serve with a salad.

Serves 8 – 10 people.

Can be cooled and refrigerated. To serve, reheat in a 425 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.

Tomato Head Pan Pizza Dough

2.25 cups bread flour
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
7 – 8 oz water, room temperature

In a medium bowl mix together flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add water and stir with a spoon until dough comes together. Place mixture on a floured work surface and gently knead until a smooth ball forms. Place dough in a greased medium bowl, cover and let stand at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours or until dough has doubled in volume.

Lightly grease a 13 x 18 inch cookie sheet. Scrape dough onto the pan. Gently pull and stretch the dough to fit the pan. If dough is slipping sprinkle a light dusting of flour under the dough.

Looking at the calendar these days is getting difficult, i.e., there are so many things going on it is simply hard to choose. It may not be possible to attend or partake of every offering, but here’s a quick list of some of the fun things we’re looking forward to in Knoxville and Maryville.

Tennessee Shines is Wednesday, April 28, starting at 7pm. If you haven’t heard of Tennessee Shines before (or only think of shine and Tennessee in the Mason jar sort of way) then you’ll want to take note. Tennessee Shines is a live-music event that takes place the last Wednesday of each month at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville. Each show features between four and six performers who showcase some of the best local and regional music. It all happens thanks to WDVX and AC Entertainment.

April’s line up features Frontier Ruckus, Mary Gauthier, Matt Urmy, Paleface and Southern Culture on the Skits. What a night.

Don’t feel like venturing out on a Wednesday night? Perfect solution…order food to go and tune in to WDVX and listen from home.

If you’re lucky enough to have Thursday, the 29th, off from work or free of indoor responsibilities, you might want to visit the Organic Crops Tour at the University of Tennessee. This is a morning to early afternoon event that looks pretty interesting, from learning about plants that you didn’t know you could eat (from Jeff Rose of Blackberry Farm) to learning more about methods and approaches to organic farming.

On Thursday, April 29, Maryville will be rolling out the Clayton Center’s red carpet for Dr. Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys. Cherryholmes will also be performing. If you haven’t seen or been to the Clayton Center for the Arts, yet, this would be a performance worth the inaugural visit. The show starts at 7:30pm and promises to be a memory maker. The Center is located on Maryville College’s campus and is within nice-weather-for-an-evening-stroll distance from the Maryville location of The Tomato Head.

What else, what else?

Last Friday takes place on the 30th in Maryville. The monthly Art Walk opens shops and venues throughout downtown Maryville in the evening hours and the spring season is one of the nicest for the event. This will be one of your last chances to see Julie Armbruster’s show, “Doomed Mammals,” at The Tomato Head in Maryville. We’ll send another reminder, but the closing reception for this exhibit takes place May 1. And that said, there is so much going on from the 30th through the weekend that it’s going to require a whole ‘nother post. It’ll be coming together in the next couple of days.

Until then, get out and enjoy!

Happy Earth Day.

Sundown in the City starts today.

It’s definitely Spring.

Thursday, at 6pm, Market Square assumes its role as venue for the annual Sundown in the City shows, opening this year with Superdrag and Trombone Shorty. If you’re not familiar with Sundown in the City, it’s a series of free, open-air concerts held throughout the spring and early summer in the historic heart of downtown Knoxville.

The official Sundown web site is worth a visit for those who are less familiar with downtown Knoxville, for parking, hotels, and other standard questions. The Tomato Head will be open and serving.

And for those who are familiar with Sundown, we’ll see you tonight.

Last Saturday, during Mahasti’s appearance on WBIR, she demonstrated how to prepare a Pan Pizza Dough. As promised, the recipe is below for anyone who may have missed the show. Enjoy!

Tomato Head Pan Pizza Dough

2.25 cups bread flour
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
7 – 8 oz water, room temperature

In a medium bowl mix together flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add water and stir with a spoon until dough comes together. Place mixture on a floured work surface and gently knead until a smooth ball forms. Place dough in a greased medium bowl, cover and let stand at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours or until dough has doubled in volume.

Lightly grease a 13 by 18 inch cookie sheet. Scrape dough onto the pan. Gently pull and stretch the dough to fit the pan. If dough is slipping sprinkle a light dusting of flour under the dough.

We’d like to thank everyone for the great, and numerous, responses to the sandwich question we posted on Facebook and Twitter. When we tallied things up from Twitter and Facebook, the Kepner won the day, with close seconds by the Oh Boy and the Tuscan Chicken. And everyone sharing their own way of enjoying their favorite sandwich – on wheat or white or pita, with chips or fruit, switching out cheeses, etc. – was a nice reminder about how each person makes the Tomato Head their own.

After reading all the responses, we wanted to give a thank you to folks.  So we did a little random drawing of all the responses and pulled 10 names out of a Cubs hat. These randomly selected names, or rather the people behind the names, have just won one of their favorite sandwiches…for free! And the lucky winners of their favorite sandwich are…..

Leann Vineyard Cooper – Tuscan Chicken
Ashley Burkhart Johnson – Tomato Head
Jennifer Hodson – Lucy
Trevor Lofton – Kepner Melt
Kristin Carter – Vegan
Joshua Dotson – Roger Roger
Annie Roe – Kepner
Emily Mitchell – Kepner
Jill Reed Chaney – Veggie Burger
Abigail Jones – Oh Boy

We’ll contact you directly with a code you can use to redeem your sandwich.

Thanks again for your answers, and your patronage. Hope to see you soon.