(Italy posts are coming later this week. Stay tuned!) Tomatoes, cheese, basil, and bread. There is certainly nothing revolutionary about this combination, but this weekend I was determined to make dinner centered around whatever looked best at the farmer’s market and upon seeing the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes at my favorite farm stand, my mind was made up. Initially I hadn’t planned on posting about this meal, but as I started cooking and tasting along the way, I knew this was going to be more than good.
What takes this beyond the typical caprese style salad? Well, for one thing, it involves abundant slices of crusty bread spread with spiced garlic compound butter, grilled to perfection. A bed of lettuce and a handful of basil from my garden help it along. Additionally the whole mess is drizzled with a light bright basil vinaigrette. The finished dish was truly fantastic, and easily one of my favorite dinners so far this summer. Of course, this is one of those impossible to title recipes. How to choose which of the many fabulous components deserve a place in the inevitably long label? Any way you slice it, it’s going to be a mouthful. An amazing, perfect, summery mouthful.