Thursday, December 8, 2011

Caprese Bites


Tomatoes you say?  In December?  Pssht.  Tomatoes can't be good in December.  Not in Montana, nope! 

Au contraire!  These tomatoes were almost as sweet and juicy and ripe as a July tom.  They were close enough to perfect.  As I was wandering around the grocery store today, conjuring up an appetizer to make for tonight's white elephant party (sans child, which is very dangerous for my bank account), I came across these tomatoes.  They were ripe and red and round.  They were grown in Montana.  They...wait, what?!?!  They were grown in Montana?  In December?  Pssht.  What ev. 

No really, they were.  If you are lucky enough to find locally grown tomatoes in the middle of winter, for God's sake, BUY THEM!!  They're greenhouse tomatoes, most likely, but they are going to be far superior to any tomatoes you buy that travel from Mexico or some other far off place.  Typically, tomatoes that one can find in the winter are grown in a land far far away, picked before they are ripe and will never ever reach their full potential.  I rarely even bother with tomatoes in the winter time unless they are canned.

Soooooo....since I found these far superior tomatoes I knew at that moment exactly what I would make tonight.  They're my go-to appetizer in the summer.  They bring me back to Italy where my husband and I ordered caprese salad with every meal just because it was that good.  Its almost impossible to beat.  This is caprese salad all wrapped up in one big bite, and while it looks all fancy-pants like, its actually quite easy to make.



 Its as easy as 1...2...3!  Then a little drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you've got party food!



Caprese Bites

1 pint cherry, grape or cocktail tomatoes
8 oz mozzarella (if you can find it in small ball form buy these)
1 bunch of basil
Oilve oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Toothpicks or small skewers

Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. 

Cut the mozzarella in pieces about the area of the halved tomatoes,  or in half if you are using mozzarella balls.

Cut the basil into squares approximately the area of the halved tomatoes and mozzarella (this is an art, not a science so no need to measure or be exact).

Taking one toothpick at a time, pierce one tomato half, one basil square, one mozzarella piece, one more basil square and the other tomato half (in that order) and set aside.  Repeat with remaining tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.

Arrange bites on a platter and drizzle with oilive oil and balsamic vinegar and...

Eat it!

17 comments:

  1. These would be so much fun to serve at parties! I wish I'd seen this before I wrote the menu for the one I'm catering next weekend. They'll have to show for at the next one for sure!

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  2. I love caprese salad...these are fantastic.

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  3. Who doesn't love caprese, and these are the cutest mini bites ever :) Great idea!

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  4. I love these little bites!! And with the fresh tomatoes you found I'll bet they were a hit. I made something similar a few years ago and ended up starting to make them for lunch. I just love' em!! With my basil plant on its way out I just might whip some up for lunch today and use up that plant. Nicely done!

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  5. What a cook idea! We do appetizers for Christmas Eve and most of us love Caprese so I need to give this one a try.

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  6. These are so pretty and would definitely make a wonderful appetizer!

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  7. Hi Maggie! Glad to Follow you.. :-)
    http://gharkhana.blogspot.com/

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  8. Maggie...I could easily put down a dozen of these right now! This is such an easy and festive appetizer and the colors make it just perfect for Christmas! : )

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  9. Oh Yum! I love this! I don't know why I never think to serve simple and delicious items like this! The colors are so perfect for the season too.

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  10. These look awesome! I love caprese salad so this is totally up my alley

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  11. Maggie! My mom and I just made something SO similar to that for her Christmas party. The are so good aren't they?? Love yours!

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  12. Glad you emailed this, most appetizer plates are heavy on the fat, so this is a healthy alternative. Even though healthy it is also a sure hit at parties. Yours look delicious-yum!

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  13. Those are lovely and perfect appetizer--sadly, I don't think the tomatoes in Alaska are the quality I would need for them.

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  14. I love caprese bites and I just found a large tomato (grown here) that was AMAZING! Who knew?!

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  15. Lucky you to find amazing tomatoes during this time of year! And these bites sound perfect for any dinner party =)

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