This time of year is always useful to haul at least one thing out of the garden, and this time it was radishes. They were tasty, but they weren't the highlight of the meal. Actually, there were several highlights, and this leads to another reason to make creative things when inviting friends over: I like to write down the recipes that I think are exceptional. Additionally, I like to include in the back of my recipe book the menu, with the date and occasion.
This is something that has several benefits: I get a great memory lane from it. I get ideas for future meals. It is sort of a journal of passing time, in a different way. I am no Nigel Slater, but I get a kick out of it. Only the meals where I really felt like the food was exceptional, and the whole menu hung together nicely are included. One of the things that I noticed while adding this menu was that the interval from the last was an appalling year. Too long. I need to cook for friends more. It is a great charge for my creative juices.
Here was the menu:
5/26/18 Memorial Weekend Dinner with the Bosses
Appetizers of: Fresh veggies
Salami
Cougar Gold cheese
Pistachios
(Rose)
Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad
Shaved Carrot Salad
Grilled Chicken Cutlets
Grilled Pita Breads with Israeli Za'atar and Hazelnut Dukkah
(Sauvignon Blanc)
Eton Mess/Raspberry -Pistachio Meringue with Spiced Whipped Cream
In truth, all of it was excellent. What stood out: the tomato salad, the chicken and the dessert. The dessert is compliments of The Milk Street Kitchen, and it was so good that we made extra to eat out of the communal bowl. Someone (not me) made more for breakfast the next day.
What I am including here is the tomato salad. Wow oh wow. I 'blame' (perhaps credit is more accurate) Food 52 for this, as I saw a photo that they had posted of this salad on Facebook, and found it to be massively inspiring. The idea is that tomatoes are often a little less than flavorful until summer really gets going. In order to give them a kick, they recommend roasting them. You then add lots of basil and burrata. Amazing idea. They didn't include a recipe but it was easy to figure out. While the recipe below is really more of a method, easily increased based on the number of guests, and quite simple, the results are entirely worth it. It is clearly more than the sum of its parts. And beyond that, it is great reminder that utilizing my creative juices needs to happen more often. Message received.
Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad
serves 2-6+
For every 2 servings:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 container (containing at least 2) burrata
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Fresh basil, coarsely chopped, 1/4-1/2c.
Reduced balsamic vinegar (see notes)
Preheat oven to 400F. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle fairly generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast 20-25 minutes, until slightly wrinkled. Let cool, although serving this on the lukewarm side is great. (I would definitely want to serve the tomatoes no cooler than room temperature.)
Arrange on a platter or shallow bowl: Tomatoes, burrata, generous basil layer, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Note: reducing balsamic vinegar is a great way to improve a so-so but less expensive bottle. Take 1 cup of vinegar and heat to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let reduce until it is somewhat thickened about 10 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon. Keeps for a long time and is infinitely useful over everything from your next salad to asparagus, to the sky is the limit.
