Caprese Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

When I think about things that were just meant to be together (Ruth and the Yankees, peanut butter and chocolate, my wife and I) nothing hits the mark more than tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil. Those are three things that simply accent each other better than any other pairing of ingredients. And one of the simplest and most satisfying salads to make is Caprese salad. You can make it raw, but I like my tomatoes roasted.


Cherry tomatoes, when planted, grow in abundance. So when it's harvest time, pick as many as you can. I mean, clean the vines! Wash them, then cut each tomato in half. Time consuming? Yes it is. But so is waxing your car, and look how that turns out.



This might look like plenty for one serving, but remember that once they're roasted, they're going to shrink quite a bit, so cut twice as many as you think you need.



Once they're all cut in half, place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Lay the tomato halves on the sheet skin side down, then drizzle them with olive oil, some sea salt, and a sprinkle of chopped herbs (optional, but oregano and parsley are my favorites for this).



Roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes and check them. If they still look young and fresh, and not 120 years old like these, put them back for another 10 minutes and check them again. Repeat until they look like they're about to collapse. You want a little color, but not burnt. Burnt no good.



While the tomatoes are roasting, cut into a fresh mozzarella log. Slice it 1/2 inch thick and lay a few pieces on a plate. When I say "fresh mozzarella", I mean the stuff that's packed in a water solution. The stuff you buy at the deli that says "Fresh Mozzarella" in front of it - that stuff. Don't try to make this with the dry vacuum packed ball of mozzarella you find in the section of the supermarket with the packaged bologna and ricotta cheese. You'll be highly disappointed.



Drizzle those pieces of mozzarella with some extra virgin olive oil, some sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. As you can see, I like a lot of pepper on mine. I'm spicy like that. Bow-chicka-bow-bow.



When your tomatoes are done, take them out of the oven, and immediately cover the mozzarella with them. Drizzle a little more olive oil across the top, then sprinkle some freshly chopped basil over everything.




Mangiare!

A Foodie Halloween

Fresh, easy to make, and really delicious - Blood of Dracula (cold beet) Soup. Buy the beets, onion, and garlic that day from the market, and make sure you either use home made stock, or simply use water (or add a cube or two of bouillon).






The official My Life as a Foodie show pumpkin. When you carve them like this, you have to scrape the walls of the inside of the pumpkin paper thin so the candles shine through. I was scraping this thing so long, I could see the scraper through the front of it. Glad I took this picture, because it grew a bacteria beard in 2 days.






As I said on the podcast, this soup couldn't be easier. Two cups of chicken stock (or water, or water with bouillon), a few bay leaves, a clove of garlic, one white or brown onion, and about 6 beets.






Peel the beets completely, quarter them, throw them in the pot. Peel the onion, quarter it, throw it into the pot too. Drop in the bay leaves, the peeled clove of garlic, and cover it with the chicken stock. Cover it and bring it to a low boil or high simmer.






After about 30 minutes, it should look like this. Check the beets with a fork. Your fork should go into them easily, or right through them. It's done now. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a while.







Drop it into a blender in batches. Never go higher than half way. Cover, and blend it on Puree until it's nice and smooth. Dump it into a bowl, and continue until it's all blended. Let it cool, then put it in the refrigerator for a few hours.






Blood of Dracula Soup. I like a nice dollop of whipped creme fraisch or just heavy cream with some red onions right in the center. Also, make those spooky croutons and your kids will go ape shit.

Philly's Best

Everyone has their favorite sandwich. Ask anyone what their favorite sandwich is and they'll give you an answer. For some, it's the sub. Others like a Rueben. Someone else might say just a hamburger. For me - next to a sandwich of sausage and peppers, it's the Philly Cheesesteak - wit, of course. Having never actually set food in Philadelphia itself, I've been incredible close to the actual town. But have I had an authentic Philly Cheesteak sandwich? Yes indeed I have, on many occasions - thanks to the greatest restaurant gift of all time - a chain named Philly's Best. I've been eating Philly's Best for about 14 years now and it never gets old. I went recently and snapped a few photos.













Exterior of Philly's Best. Usually located in outdoor strip malls, my brother and I discovered what I think was the original location, in Irvine.







Interior of Philly's Best. Half 50's style diner, half sports memorabilia museum, the restaurant's walls are covered with jerseys from Philadelphia Eagles, 76ers, and Phillie's players, along with photos of long-time happy customers.









I believe the key too what makes these sandwiches authentically Philadelphia, as well as down-right addicting, is the freshness of the rolls. Philly's Best uses Amoroso Rolls, direct from Philadelphia.










I'm a huge sports fan, and I have a lot of respect for a city with such a rich sports history, but I have to say their fans aren't high on my list. This is the town that booed Santa Claus at a Christmas parade one year, and cheered when Michael Irvin of the Cowboys broke his leg during an Eagle's game. OK, maybe I was happy a little inside too, since I despised both Irvin and the Cowboys at the time, but at least I didn't cheer . . . . well, not out loud anyway.






The waiting is the hardest part. Since everything at Philly's Best is made to order, nothing's started until you order it. So if you're hungry when you get there, it's downright painful to wait as you smell nothing but cooked beef and cheese, and some really crispy fries. This is the Philly's Best sandwich, which comes with provolone, grilled onions, mushrooms, and peppers.









The sandwich is so soft and warm, I want to just bury my face into it, like a warm pillow. But that would burn like crazy, so I do my best to resist that urge and just eat.












If you like to eat lunch while a bigger-than-life sized image of Allen Iverson hovers above you, well then this is the place. He may have been the answer, but for some reason I forgot the question. Oh yes, I remember it now. "Who finally made it to the NBA Finals just to be dominated by the Lakers in 5 games?"