tomato

Caprese Salad

| mrscheryllacy

OK, so it’s November and in most of the country you no longer have the luxury of fresh vegetables from your garden. I know, but… I woke up this morning to just a small amount of rain and was nostalgic for my Summer garden. While I live in Southern California and still have fresh basil and a few tomatoes in my garden, it’s not enough to make this dish without supplementing from the farmers market or the organic section of the grocery store, I still had to have some caprese salad. Sometimes we have to go out of our way to remind ourselves that Summer will be back and we will be wondering what to do with all of those tomatoes then anyway. And, of course, if you didn’t come across this post outside of fresh vegetable season where you live, then great. Ignore my earlier ramble.  Happy Eating!

Ingredients

  • 3-5 tomatoes20150728_185244
  • 1 small red onion
  • mozzarella cheese
  • 1.2 – 2/3 cup of fresh basil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • olive oil
  • orange juice
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Wash tomatoes, remove the greens/core, and slice into 1/4″ thick pieces.
  • Arrange slices in a layer on a large plate.
  • Slice mozzarella cheese into 1/4″ thick pieces and arrange on top of tomatoes.

20150728_185718  20150728_190818

  • Cut red onion into small, bite size slices and place around tomatoes.
  • Wash and press dry (with a paper towel) the basil. Separate pieces and arrange around the tomatoes and onions.
  • In a separate bowl, make approximately 1/3 cup of dressing.
    • Fill glass measuring cup to a little below 1/3 cup line with about 1/2 of this height coming from olive oil and half from balsamic vinegar.
    • Add 3 T of orange juice.
    • Add salt and pepper amounts to your preference. About 1/2 tsp each minimum.
    • Mix well.
  • Pour dressing over plate with tomatoes, cheese, onions and basil.
  • Serve now or chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes

20150728_191417  20150728_190510

20150728_190519  20150728_191532

And your final plate should look something like:

20150809_173037

 

Ideas

  • Orange juice – If you have fresh oranges, this is even tastier when you squeeze them for your juice. You could (and should) add some orange zest (up to 1 T) to the dressing mix.
  • Tomatoes – for an even more beautiful display and extra flavor, use different colored tomatoes like yellow and orange or heirloom tomatoes.
  • Salt and Pepper – if you have them, always grind fresh. I use at least 12 revolutions of ground pepper and salt in my dressing.
  • If you chill the plate before serving, the flavors are more pronounced and the tomatoes have had time to absorb more of the dressing… additional flavor. Yum!

Go back

Your message has been sent

Roasted Tomato Salsa

| mrscheryllacy

Who doesn’t love a really good salsa? The problem is that it’s not always easy to actually find a really good salsa. Many are pretty good and have good flavor, texture and colors, but many are extremely disappointing to the palate. I had the great good fortune to take a Mexican cooking class while I was on maternity leave. The ladies who taught this class were amazingly talented cooks and their food was phenomenal. However, in typical Cheryl-style, I’ve modified their recipe and have perfected it. This comment isn’t actually mine, but comes from my family, friends and coworkers. Try this recipe and let me know if you too believe that this salsa is close to perfection. Happy eating.

Ingredients20150907_130404

  • 12-14 roma tomatoes
  • 1 bunch of green onions
  • 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 T salt
  • 2 limes
  • 1 heaping cup of cilantro
  • 1 hot red pepper

Instructions

  • Place a skillet (cast iron is best) on the stove over medium heat.
  • Rinse the tomatoes and pepper; add to the skillet.
  • Turn the tomatoes occasionally, and cook until the tomato’s skin has split on at least 2 sides.
  • For the pepper, lightly brown on all sides.
  • Once it has split, remove from the skillet and place into a large ziplock bag.
  • Once all the tomatoes are placed in the ziplock bag, seal it and let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes.

20150816_161318  20150816_161828  20150816_162121  20150816_162801  20150816_162832

While tomatoes are cooking, prepare the rest of the salsa items.

  • Slice the green onions and add to a glass container.
  • Rinse, dry and mince the cilantro, add to container.

20150816_160550  20150816_160858

  • Add garlic, salt and juice from one lime.
  • Mix well and let sit.

20150816_161610  20150816_161738

Once the tomatoes have cooled down a little:

  • Peel the tomatoes and chop into small pieces.

20150816_171647  20150816_171906  20150816_172035

  • Add to “green” mix. Stir well.
  • Taste.
  • Add additional salt and lime (to taste).
  • Add pepper to taste

20150816_173529  20150816_173600  20150816_173738

  • Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour.
  • Serve.

20150816_174228

Ideas

  • 2 limes should be sufficient, but don’t be afraid to use a good amount of lime.
  • Tomatoes should be medium sized. Use more if they are smaller, less if they are bigger.
  • Pepper – my family likes their salsa mild, I like mine medium. I make one large batch, chill it. Then I put some in a smaller container with the hot pepper and mix for me. It’s important to let it chill all together (if you will separate as I do) to have optimal flavor throughout the batch.

Go back

Your message has been sent

Crustless Tomato Pie

| mrscheryllacy

This is one of the recipes that people either get super excited about or they think you are completely strange for making it. If the later, get them to taste it and they’ll wonder what they were thinking about. The first time I made a crustless tomato pie was about 20 years ago. I had a small garden, but a profusion of tomatoes. After I had made tomato sauce, piccalilli and too many BLTs to count, I figured I needed to find something new to make. Most tomato pies have two crusts and seem heavy to me. When it’s Summer, I prefer the idea of “lighter” feeling food. If you agree, make this pie. Many years ago, I traded this recipe for a bunch of free grapes from an amazing winery in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I hope you enjoy it as much as that owner did.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of breadcrumbs (I prefer flavored ones, Italian is my choice)20150817_185933
  • 2-3 good size tomatoes (about 3 cups), cored and sliced
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (I prefer a red onion) – after chopping heat in the microwave on high for about 45 seconds
  • 2 cups of grated cheese (Sharp cheddar or Mexican)
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper (to your taste)
  • 3-5 strips of bacon (pork or turkey) – and cut 2-3 slices into bite size pieces

Instructions

  • Preheat over to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9″ pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a skillet (or in the microwave on a paper towel), partially cook the bacon, drain on paper towels and set aside.
  • Spread 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs evenly on the bottom of the pie pan.

20150817_191113  20150817_191119

  • Arrange 1/2 of the tomato slices on top of the bread crumbs.
  • Add 1/2 of the chopped onion and the bacon pieces.
  • Put some freshly ground pepper and salt (if desired) over this.
  • Cover with 1 cup of grated cheese.

20150817_191243  20150817_191749  20150817_191806

  • Repeat with a second layer of tomatoes, onions, and cheese.
  • Pour the beaten eggs over the pie and add salt/pepper (if desired)
  • Cover the top of the pie with the remaining 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.

20150817_191939 20150817_192115 20150817_192211

  • Arrange the remaining 2 bacon strips on the top of the pie.

20150817_192228 20150817_192347

  • Bake for 45 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.

20150817_201231 20150817_201342

Ideas

  • Don’t forget to pre-heat the onions a little. It makes a huge different in the texture and taste of them in the pie.
  • This is excellent as a main meal or a side dish.
  • For vegetarians, just omit the bacon, but add some additional salt.
  • In my ingredient picture, you saw 3 extra large tomatoes. I only ended up using 2 of these because they were so big.

Go back

Your message has been sent