CULINARY COMFORT
Sensational Summer Food (Part 1)
Cherry Tomatoes
Stuffed with Pesto
1 or 2 garlic cloves, to taste
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 pine nuts
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes
In a food processer, chop garlic. Add basil and pine nuts, salt,
pepper and olive oil. Process until smooth and creamy. Add Parmesan
and pulse until well combined.
Using a paring knife, cut thin slices from the tops of the tomatoes.
Use a small spoon to scoop the seeds and flesh from the center of
each tomato. Lightly salt the hollowed out tomatoes if desired, and
place them, cut side down, on a rack to drain for 15 minutes. Fill
with the pesto, arrange on a platter and serve. Refrigerate or freeze
any excess pesto.
Bruschetta
4 Tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pint red grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 whole baguette o r c rusty loaf
1 pint yellow grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
16 whole fresh basil leaves, plus more as needed, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stick butter
In a small skillet. heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and
stir, lightly frying for about a minute, removing before the garlic gets
too brown (it can be golden). Pour garlic and oil into a mixing bowl
and allow to cool slightly.
Add the red and yellow tomatoes, balsamic and basil to the bowl.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, and then taste and
add more basil if needed.
Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have the time.
Cut the baguette into diagonal slices to allow for the most surface
area possible. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet and
grill the bread on both sides, making sure they are nice and buttery.
Cook until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the remaining
4 tablespoons butter and the other half of the bread.
Put bread on a platter, spoon the tomato mixture on top and serve.
BY KAREN PERRY AND DEE
DEE GOIDEL
Our recent lifestyle has definitely
not been a “Picnic”
(you remember the 1955
movie with Kim Novak, William
Holden, and Rosalind Russell.).
Looking at the summer food of
past decades, your picnic basket
probably contained cold chicken
with deli coleslaw and potato salad.
The food at a barbeque was just
as lackluster. Franks were cooked
straight out of their plastic wraps. A
hamburger was chop meat blended
with a little salt, pepper, and garlic
powder. The only place to find
baked beans was in a green tin can
from Heinz.
When we talk about “sensational
summer,” the foods are innovative
show stoppers. The stars are
ingredients like summer fruits and
vegetables, with each at its peak. A
food columnist captured this love
of summer foods. The chef wrote
“…my thoughts about cooking are
running very July. I’d like to have
some fat Jersey tomatoes warm from
the sun, and I’d like to slice them
thick, douse them with brown butter
and serve them on toast.”
A great deal can be written about
the foods of summer. Therefore,
you will see them in two months of
this column. This month we focus
on the “updated picnic basket.”
You will see some surprising fare
not requiring much cooking. Our
August column will take you to a
reinvented barbeque with all the
trimmings, many of them new. In
each column the approach will be
the same. We will briefly introduce
you to a number of foods. Then we
will pick our favorite one and print
the complete recipe.
Let’s start our summer tour with
dips. Would you like some “Creamy
Corn and Chile Dip” with those
multi-colored chips? Corn kernels,
freshly picked, are sauteed with
scallions and garlic. This mixture is
given a little kick with a Fresno chile
thickened with cream cheese and
heavy cream. The next is an eggplant
dip, simple yet elegant. Once grilled
and soft, you scoop out the flesh
of the eggplant and puree it with
chopped garlic and lemon juice.
We next look at appetizers. How
about pulling “Cherry Tomatoes
Stuffed with Pesto” out of that picnic
basket? The basil might come from
the supermarket or a pot in your
kitchen. For the homemade pesto,
the basil is combined with garlic, pine
nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
Just scoop out the tomatoes with a
spoon, fill them with pesto and pass
them around. Have a lot of those
small tomatoes this summer? You
might also try making “Bruschetta.”
This topping is made from yellow
and red grape or cherry tomatoes.
Warm garlic and oil cool in a mixing
bowl. The tomatoes are added next
along with basil leaves and balsamic
vinegar. With this mixture cooling in
the refrigerator, brown slices of crusty
bread. Spread some of the tomato
mixture on each bread slice and you
are guaranteed to impress.
Back to the summer corn for
our third appetizer, “Savory Corn
Fritters.” For starters, eggs, milk, and
seasonings are whisked together.
Flour and baking powder are added
next. The final ingredients are
corn, scallions and cheddar cheese.
Do the frying at home then pop the
fritters into your basket. Excellent at
room temperature, they are a novelty
for your next picnic.
It’s time to retire that tossed green
salad. In its place, how about a
“Charcuterie Platter”? Each person
creates their own unique first course.
Be creative with what you bring
along. Hungry guests select from an
array of meats, possibly imported
salami and prosciutto. Bring along
several kinds of cheese, perhaps
Havarti, Brie or Stilton. You might
include flavored hummus with pita.
For the heart of your meal, never
bring the cold chicken of the past.
First, you should look at the offerings
of local gourmet groceries. In
this area we have Iavarone, Towers
Fruit Shop, Towers Supermarket
and Ben’s.
We opened this month’s column
with summer refrains from a film
that dated from the 1950s, but
summer is praised in every era by
all people. Today you might be
reminiscing “Under the Boardwalk”
(by the Drifters) or thinking about
an “Endless Summer” (a hit Beach
Boys album). In New York, Boston
or L.A., they think about “Summer
in the City” (a Lovin’ Spoonful hit).
In small towns or big cities, everyone
loves those “Summer Nights” (by
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-
John in “Grease”).
No matter where you are, we hope
we’ve tempted you with food ideas
for the “updated picnic basket.”
Have a big appetite next month
when you will learn about foods for
the “reinvented barbeque.”
20 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ July 2021