Term coined by myself and my sister Suzanne who shares the notion that mealtime doesn’t have to be a plate of three plops. I can’t always deal with the commitment of entree and two sides, so why not just have “apps” and wine. No pressure. Just grazing and sipping and commenting. Friends. Family. Chill.
Start with something easy like antipasto. Yes I realize it means before the meal, but here it IS the meal. Deal.
So here’s what we have: Oven Roasted Tomatoes, basic crudite (thats a fancy French word for vegetable platter), hummus, artichoke spread, pesto flat bread and plain all nestled into a cozy bed of wild arugula. The usual suspects line up: herbed olive mix with lemon, cashews and candied jamaica, spanish sheeps milk cheese. And some asshole put chips in my .99 store bowl. Whatevs.
Oven Roasted Tomatoes
1 lb roma tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
pinch dried oregano
olive oil
sea salt
cracked black
This is a great way to use up tomatoes, especially ones that look a bit iffy from languishing in the produce bowl. I should mention here, try at all costs to avoid putting tomatoes in the refrigerator. Totally ruins them. But hey, it’s your tomato. Back to the recipe, couldn’t be easier. Cut the tomatoes stem end to bottom in half then cut those halves into fourths, also stem end to bottom. So you have these tomato wedges, throw them on a sheet pan, smash the garlic a little, toss with olive oil, oregano, S&P and put it in a low oven, 250 degress, or gas mark 1 for those who like to pretend to be British.
Now go shopping or take a long bike ride. Few hours at least. Impossible to screw this one up at this temperature. Just remove them once they have browned a bit and given up some of their water to become jammy and luscious.
The cheese here is one of our favorites, Idiazábal from the Basque region of Spain. Rich. Buttery. Tiny hint of smoke. Sexy.
Although this badass cheese can stand up to red, for this ensemble I recommend a flinty, fruity crisp white wine with a funny label. Big House White is an amazing blend of every white varietal you can think of. And a few you never heard of. Pick up 6 bottles next time you see it. It’s about 7 bucks and totally kicks chardonnay’s ass. All the wines from Big House are consistent, drinkable and affordable.
[fblike layout_style='standard' show_faces='false' verb='like' font='arial' color_scheme='light']