Stuffed Tomatoe Salad With Smoked Salmon

Slice Tomatoe almost all the way through but stop just short.

Slice fresh Mozzarella and insert into slices in the Tomatoes.

Insert Fresh Basil leaves and Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings also.

Top with a dressing of Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil with a small amount of brown sugar for sweetness and to balance the acidity. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Let sit 20 or so minutes to achieve flavor meld.

Add some Smoked Salmon.

Consume with wild abandon.

Oh yeah, Garlic bread goes well on the side.

Camp Nacho

Ok So throw some chips and grated cheese into a Dutch Oven...

Apply some heat. For Nachos, it is probably best just on top since you just want to melt the cheese. Takes no time at all to get it all melty.

Top with chopped Onion, Avacado, Tomatoes, Sour Cream and Salsa Verde.

Delicious!

Pizza,

Pizza Dough:
1/2 c. very warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6tsp yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 c. semolina flour (italian crust)
OR 6 c. regular flour (thin crust)


sprinkle the yeast over the 1/2 c. warm water in a small bowl with the sugar and salt. Stir and wait a few minutes for the yeast to foam. Stir in remaining warm water and olive oil. Stir this mixture into the flour, making a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is too dry add more water; too wet ad flour

Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes to make a smooth elastic dough. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 'til double (1-2 hrs). If dough rises before you are able to use it, punch down, reshape and let rise again. Or, you can reshape it and put in refrigerator for up to 2 days before letting rise at room temp.

preheat oven to 425 degrees with stone in. This crust: shape, top and bake pizza at once. Thick crust:shape, cover & rise 30 minutes. You can prebake 3 minutes before topping and baking, 15-20 minutes.
makes 4 pizza crusts, or 4 dozen appetizer size.

Catacombs Antioch (above): Mozarella, spinach, kalamata olives, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, rosemary garlic white sauce


Margherita: red sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil and fresh tomatoes

Note: I do not take credit for these. (except for the pictures) Melissa made them. I just ate them.

Marinated Chicken Kabobs

We decided to marinate a little chicken and make kabobs for dinner. Here I'm grating ginger while making Miranda's Ginger Glazed Chicken marinade.

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 sesame oil
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1.5 Tbsp of minced garlic
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp black pepper

Marinating Away.

And since that marinade we made last night for the beef was pretty good, we whipped some of that up too to see how it goes with chicken.

And Mojitos!

Marinating.
Us and/or the meat.

Teamwork in action while making the Kabobs.

Looks pretty good!

David, grill master extraordinaire.

Ah, the ambiance.

It all turned out great.

Beautiful.

Chris' Flavor Saver
(for Matt)

And see!
Miranda does it too!

Marinated Sweet Onions and Tomatoes

Get some good sweet onions.
I chose Walla Walla's.

Slice your onions up. I like the greens too, that's just my preference.

The view from the countertop.

Arrange your onions in a shallow dish so you can dump the marinade over them.

The marinade is:
1 cup mild olive oil
¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender...

Blend all of the marinade ingredients for 30 seconds in a blender, or beat well with a wire whisk.
It'll look like this.

Dump the marinade over the onions and chill for 1-2 Hours.

To serve, arrange some tomato wedges in a salad bowl. Layer the onions on top and pour extra marinade over. Easy enough. Goes good with Mozzarella too.

Building a better BLT

Everyone knows that a really great BLT needs to start with a great crusty piece of bread toasted just enought to perfect the texture.

Add some Mayonaise and a few slices of Pepper Bacon...

Top it all With some Butter Lettuce, salt & peppered fresh sliced Tomatoes and you will be in business! Tasty goodness.

Quick and easy Veggie Pita

Stuff a whole Wheat Pita with Spinach, sliced Onions, a little Ketchup, sliced Tomatoes and your favorite Veggie burger patty.

And "No, I am not a veg-etable-arian!" but I do love me some Veg.

Lemon Time Cod

Take your Cod Piece, drop it on some foil, toss on some diced Shallot, some minced Garlic, some fresh chopped Thyme, diced Tomatoes, Lemon juice and zest. Top with Salt and Pepper to taste. Add 1-2 tbsp water for steam. Wrap up and bake to desired doneness.

Serve over steamed Asparagus.

Yum.

As an alternative you could put the tomatoes on fresh at the end or use Sun Dried Tomatoes...

Mom's Heirloom Tomatoes

Beefsteaks N' Green Beans