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You blanch/shock them to remove the skins, then cook them as you would for any tomato sauce calling for canned tomatoes. Puree or juice a few of them to get liquid. If you want to be anal, you strain out the seeds. SOme people get in a tizzy about seeds, but I don't mind them. They key is to not crush the seeds, as their bitterness is released by force. It can be as basic or as complicated as you like.

The way I like to use them is to gently crush them up in a bowl, then add them to a pan in which you have warmed up some good olive oil, pepperoncini and some garlic, to where the garlic is just starting to get golden. You can add a tiny splash of good balsamic vinegar, some black pepper and some sea salt. Let this bubble and simmer and reduce a bit, all while stirring with a flat edged wooden spatula so that nothing caramelizes on the bottom or sides of your pan. At the very end, throw in some minced fresh herbs: thyme, marjoram or oregano, and a chiffonade of basil. If you're a hedonist like I am, you whisk in a tablespoon of cold butter and some heavy cream right before serving.

Another delicious thing you can do with them is cut them in half lengthwise, toss them in oil, vinegar, herbs and seasoning, and roast them on a cookie sheet. You can use these as is for a great salad / bruschetta topping, or use them to make sauce, as above.

depending on how many you end up with, you have some interesting options for all the fruit you cant manage to eat or force on your friends. definitely can them in their juices with basil. or, make your own tomato paste. you can also sun or oven dry them. i can barely contain my jealousy :)

Here's my favorite fresh tomato sauce recipe. Every August I make tons of it for the freezer and live on it during the year. This is a very basic, smooth sauce. One thing I've learned is that most plum tomatoes, such as San Marzano's, make a very sweet sauce when prepared using this recipe. I make the basic sauce with a minimum of seasonings then add herbs, chiles, whatever when I'm ready to serve. You will need a food mill or some way to strain the solids out.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
(adapted from Marcella Hazan)

For roughly 10 lbs. of tomatoes (I use plum, regular, or a mix). All measures are approximate and can be changed according to taste. I add fresh herbs when I serve the sauce and sometimes more garlic finely minced.

½ cup olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
10 cloves garlic
Tomatoes – stem ends cut out then tomatoes cut into large chunks (quarters, whatever). (No need to peel or seed the tomatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften a bit, 5 or 6 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook on fairly high heat for at least an hour. At this point the mixture will start to look a bit thicker, less watery, but there will still be plenty of juice. Strain the juice from the solids. Put the solids into a food mill set over a bowl and pour the juice back into the pan. Turn the heat back up to high and cook the juice for at least ½ hour at a good rolling boil. Meanwhile run the solids through the food mill until you have extracted almost everything and there is nothing left but skins and seeds in the mill. Discard the skins and seeds and add the rest back into the juice. This is the tricky part – to cook this so that it’s thick without splattering it everywhere or burning the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently so there is no sticking to the bottom. I use one of those metal mesh splatter screens so I don’t cover the ceiling with tomato sauce. Try to cook it for 30-40 minutes. Cool then freeze or refrigerate.

the glory of the internets:

http://www.google.com/search?q=san+marzano+tomato+seeds&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Are you familiar with something called "Google?"

okay I may sound like a rube here, aren't San Marzano tomatoes only grown in San Marzano Italy? I thought it was some kind of "terroir" thing not a specific tomato variety. If it's just a specific variety- that's exciting- cause the canned ones are kind of spendy, and it would be nice to grow some next year. :)

Thanks for clarifying.

Thanks everyone!

@beano - We got our plant at our local nursery, a place called Green Acres. They sure are the weirdest shaped tomatoes I've ever seen. They look like little torpedos!

@bisbee - I figured the same thing. A can of San Marzanos is around $2.50 at our supermarket. The plant (which as of now has close to 40 tomatoes on it) was only $2.99. If you have the time, space, and water, I'd say grow your own.

I think most of these tomatoes will go to sauce, since we have 6 other tomato plants for other things. Though, Neapolitan pizza does sound good....:)

bisbee, that article is what prompted me to suggest it in this thread. I'm so glad you linked it. I am a tomato paste junkie, and every summer, my mom ends up with tons of extra tomatoes and has no idea what to do with them, she threatened to plant less this spring. I told her that this year, we will make tomato paste, and to go ahead and plant as many as she wanted to...

Here's another very interesting, if much more involved, recipe, for home made ketchup. Healthy, delicious, and home made!

tomato and onion or tomato and mozzarella salad...

either way, slice tomato/onion/mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices, alternate layers on a long rectangular tray, drizzle over good olive oil and your favorite vinegar and sprinkle fresh herbs, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper to complement.