Luscious Fall Tomato Soup

I made this last night. And tonight. I wanted to test a theory to see if a canned tomato version would be as good as a half fresh/half canned version. Since we ate every last drop of the half and half batch last night I can't do a taste test comparison, but {I can't believe my fresh tomato lovin' self is saying this} canned only is pretty fantastic.

Luscious Fall Tomato Soup

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

2 T olive oil

1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes

10 large basil leaves

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Rough chop onions and garlic. Heat olive oil and add onions. Cook over med heat, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another 3 minutes or till translucent and caramelized. Like this:

To blender add tomatoes, onion mixture and basil. 

If you are using a Vitamix, set on soup mode and cook. When cycle is complete, add cream and salt and pulse a couple times.

If using a regular blender, blend till smooth. Pour into saucepan and add cream and salt. Heat for about 5 minutes or till hot and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Tomato's Best Friend

It's summer and you know what that means...  tomatoes, fresh off the vine.  A perfect little gift from heaven.  Does it get any better?  Why yes, I believe it does!  If you've never experienced the glorious, creamy creation called burrata, you will want to do so now.

Burrata is a delicate little pouch of deliciousness - the outer shell is made of fresh mozzarella while the inside is filled with a mixture of mozzarella curds and  and cream.  The name burrata means "buttered" in Italian.  Go figure.

I'm sure there are lots of ways to prepare or serve it but we're on the, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" program.  I'll let you know if we venture out.

Here's how we do it:

Dice a few perfectly ripe tomatoes.  Add fresh basil.  Drizzle with a little good quality olive oil.  Just lovely.

 Add a splash of balsamic. Toss gently.  Just lovely. Oh, did I already say that?  Sorry.  Add a little salt and pepper if you like.

Slice some crusty French bread.  Might as well pour a glass of wine while you're at it.  You'll want to be ready when the burrata makes it's debut.

Open The Burrata.  Go ahead and make fun - the cheese will get the last laugh.  (Does it look like an old man whistling, or is it just me?)

Cut the burrata in half and gently place it on the tomatoes, add bread, and prepare to be transported to another dimension.  See how creamy the inside looks?  Yum. We generally end up eating this for our dinner, which explains the massive bowl, not to mention the fact that one burrata ball serves 2 in our house.  I guess you could share it with other loved ones.  We've convinced our children that burrata tastes like brussel sprouts.  Yucky. And being the kind and loving parents we are, we will not force our children to eat things that make them say, "yuck".  Most of the time, anyway.

Now go try this!  

P.S.  Always check the date on the burrata before you buy it.  You will be sad if you get it home and discover it's not the freshest ball on the block.  True story.