Caprese Casserole

What better way to jump back in than with a winter take on a favorite side of summer......caprese salad.

To me fresh tomatoes from the grocery store are, for the most part, not worth buying in the winter unless they are going to be cooked in some way. They may look and even smell fairly ripe but when you take a bite you only get a faint tomato flavor...and that's if you are lucky. However, I've found grape tomatoes to be useful for a variety of quick vegetable side dishes when you put a little heat on them.

After several days of blah winter skies I decided we needed a fresh, simple and good meal. I splurged on a couple of beautiful grass fed Hereford filets. Grass fed beef is leaner so they got a nice brush of olive oil and dusting with smoked garlic powder and corriander and a pan sear finished in the hot oven. We both like them rare and they turned out perfectly.

I had initially thought to do a regular caprese type salad with the grape tomatoes , fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I just wanted to do more with it to go with the lovely beef. So I thought--why not use the flavors of the caprese salad and make it a bit more luscious?


You'll want an oven safe saute pan for this dish. This recipe makes 2-3 servings. You could stretch it to four if serving an additional side dish. I just made this up last night so I haven't tried doubling it but I will soon and I imagine it will with no problems.

Caprese Casserole

@1 cup sweet onion, chopped
@ 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half on a diagonal lengthwise
@1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
7 1/4 inch thick slices of fresh mozzarella
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

Saute onion in olive oil in oven safe saute pan over medium heat until it begins to sweat and get a little color . Add the peppers and a tsp of sea salt and saute until the peppers just begin to soften. Add 2 tsps(approximately) of balsamic and stir. Add the tomatoes, basil and a splash of olive oil and stir well then top with mozzarella slices and put immediately into the oven.

I let this go until the mozzarella was melty and starting to bubble. I didn't want to cook the tomatoes--just get them good and warm.

The fresh pop of the tomatoes with the warm comfort of the melted cheese and softened onions and peppers was just perfect.

Enjoy.

Do It Yourself Staples--Hummus

I think we too often buy dishes claiming 'convenience' or lack of time when we could easily make them ourselves.

I'm guilty of it.

I think there is a good part to it in that we often get introduced to different foods because they are right there and convenient to pick up.

But I also think these store bought versions almost always pale in comparison to the 'real thing' that folks have been making in their homes for sometimes centuries.

Such is the case with hummus. It's a traditional and ubiquitous dish in the Middle East but thought of here as more of a grocery store 'party dip' unless one has grown up with it in their household .

I've had incredibly good hummus----both homemade and from an excellent restaurant. After serving a decent store bought hummus at our big party in June and seeing how much everyone enjoyed that I got the idea that I should try making it because I knew the homemade version was that much better.

I found out the lovely and vivacious Crys Milligan had an excellent recipe and pushed her to share. And because she is an awesome friend she did!

Crystal's Hummus

This variation on a basic recipe contains lots of garlic, lemon and cumin. It's wonderful. If you follow the link you'll find Crys' 'how-to' video which is both helpful and entertaining.

2 cans (14oz) Chick Peas (aka garbanzo beans)
3 TBs tahini (sesame seed 'paste')
1 Tsp sea salt
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons
3 TBs ground cumin
5-6 cloves garlic, minced fine
@1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Drain chick peas and rinse well. Place in the bowl of your food processor. Add cumin, lemon juice, tahini, salt, garlic and olive oil. Process until well combined and your desired consistency, using water to thin it a bit if it is too thick ( I used about 1/3 c). Taste and adjust seasonings. At this point I wanted a little kick so I added about 2 TBs of cayenne pepper. YUM.

As Crys mentions if this gets too thick sitting in the fridge you can always toss it back in the processor and add a little water.

I did not have that problem as it maintained a lovely consistency for me. We've enjoyed it with bagel chips, cucumber slices, bell pepper, tomato and pita chips. The flavors in this go well with a lot of things.


I plan on experimenting with additions for the next batch.

If you want a smaller batch just halve the recipe.

I won't buy hummus again--I like this so much I'll eat hummus more than I have been. In making it yourself not only do you have control of the quality and freshness of your ingredients but you save money.

It's a win-win.

Let me know if you try it.


A huge thanks to Crys Milligan.

Not Your Typical Fair Fare

Last Sunday we once again headed to the Lexington Lion's Club Bluegrass Fair. We had gone last year because Brad was new to Kentucky and was intrigued with going to the local fair. I had not been in a loooooooong time and wanted to check it out.

We found the expected and typical fair food.






But we passed it up because last year we found this row of taquerias in a section of the Fair midway devoted to the Fiesta Meijicana! held as part of the Fair. This is where I got to have tacos al pastor for the first time. Oh my are they heavenly. And I really wanted them again.


But as you can see we were a little too early. Most of the taqueria stands were just starting to stir and gear up for the evening's festivities.

A tray of mangoes on sticks waiting to be peeled and turned into sumptuous 'flowers'.



But these luscious pork filled bits of goodness were nowhere to be found. (This is a pic of my plate from last year).

Disappointed that we were likely going to miss having these amazing tacos we wandered in search of food. We were starving and just about to settle for a something on a stick when I spotted this sign. Eureka!!

We walked up and were greeted by the friendliest folks who explained dishes and made suggestions.

The spread at the Nicaraguan Grill stand

My plate

The chicken was perfectly cooked and enhanced by a lovely chimichurri. The maduros --sweet ripe plaintains--were not too sweet and were reminiscent of a sweet potato but so much milder. The rolled tortillas contained shredded seasoned beef. It was a little oily but very good.

Brad's plate

Upper left corner is the gallo pinto --a beans and rice dish that is ubiquitous in Nicaragua apparently. This is a rather bland version compared to what I am used to with Cajun red beans and rice but it was good. Upper left is a cabbage 'salad'. It's vinegar based brine made it crisp and refreshing. Lower right is the cerdo asado--baked pork. It was luscious in that way that pork can be when it is allowed to bake long and slow. The seasonings were spicy without being hot. Finally lower left is the yuca--boiled cassava. Described by our cheerful server as tasting 'like a potato' I'd have to say it was interesting and good and I could get used to it quickly. The chimichurri was suggested by the server to give it a punch and we were glad we took her up on it.

We ate it all and were happy with the find. To top it off all of this food was a grand total of $13.

The Nicaraguan Grill has been in Nicholasville but they are moving to Lexington over the next few weeks. They have not quite settled on a location but as soon as I know you can bet we'll be there to try some more of their tasty dishes. And of course I'll fill you all in too!

You don't have to wait though--the Lexington Lion's Club Bluegrass Fair runs through Sunday. The Fiesta Meijicana! is on again this weekend and you can try both the Nicaraguan Grill and get tacos al pastor.

You do not want to miss it.