Caprese Salad

Whenever I'm serving to a group, it's always really interesting to me to see what dish gets the most attention, and what dish gets ignored. A few months ago I made a small plate of this caprese salad, mostly because my garden was producing an abundance of tomatoes and basil. I really didn't think people would be interested in it at all, but it was gone in a matter of minutes. It's probably been the most requested thing I've ever served. It's so good, so pretty, and not to bad on the health factor, just don't go overboard!

Caprese salad is just layering tomatoes, and fresh mozzerella cheese (it's really important to use the fresh, which is much softer and sometimes packed in water. If you use regular mozz, I might cry). After layering it, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. You can tuck your basil leaves individually between each tomato and cheese slice, or cut your basil and sprinkle on top. This is one of those dishes that is good fresh, but even better after a day or two.

Food tip: If you have any sort of inclination toward gardening, consider planting and growing your own herbs. I started doing that last year, and since we are getting ready to move, I don't have fresh herbs this year. I can't even tell you the difference it makes to have fresh herbs on hand, everything is fresher, tastes better, and even looks better. Plus, store bought herbs are so expensive that it's an insult. My favorites are basil, parsely, oregeno and mint, but there are tons out there.