Fresh Tomato Bruschetta

Tomato Bruschetta Tomato Snob

I love tomatoes, but this love is not unconditional. In my mind, there is nothing worse than a watery, bland tomato. As a card-carrying food snob, I require full tomato flavor—which means that for most of the year, I don’t eat tomatoes. Frankly, an out-of-season tomato doesn’t taste as good.

Now that it’s July, things are lookin’ up.

In an effort to capitalize on the very best tomatoes possible, I planted some in my garden. However, I planted them late, so I’m not sure how well they’ll do. The fruit on the vine is taunting me, but they are not quite ready. So, I continue to wait. Meanwhile, the heirloom tomatoes in the market are fantastic, and I am able to get my fix while I wait for my plants to start producing.

Because home-grown, summertime tomatoes have so much flavor on their own, I like to serve them simply sliced up with a little vinaigrette, or on a toasted slice of French bread–bruschetta style. Throw on some fresh mozzarella and you have a tasty light lunch. I have been known to add goat cheese (or Bellwhether Farms Frommage Blanc for people with a goat cheese aversion).

Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
I use this as my base recipe, and improvise. Read more…

Streamlined Baked Manicotti

Baked ManicottiEasy Peasy Manicotti

The temperatures as of late have had all of us feeling as if we are living on the face of the sun…and pasta is probably the last thing you want for dinner. But I’m making this tonight for a couple of good reasons.

My mother made Manicotti when I was young—it was super-tasty. We loved it. It was also a pain in the butt to prepare. You gotta boil the noodle tubes, keep them from sticking  together, make sure they don’t break, fill them carefully with the cheese, set them in the dish…yada yada yada. When I saw this streamlined recipe (while living the life of leisure up at Tahoe), I knew I had to give it a try. No-boil lasagna noodles turn this time-consuming task into something that can be done mid-week for dinner. Crazy!

The other bonus, and the real reason I wanted to make this Manicotti dish, is that it is easily freezable. Make two batches, and freeze one for later. Perfect! As our back-to-school days rapidly approach, and the schedule goes wonky, it is nice to know that I will have something for dinner that has at least some redeeming nutritional value. (No. Cereal does not count.)

This recipe comes from a collection that Cook’s Illustrated put out for Fall called All-Time Best Make-Ahead Recipes. It’s on newsstands now, and I am planning to try a number of possibilities, for stocking our freezer.

Streamlined Baked Manicotti
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated All-Time Best Make-Ahead Recipes Read more…