Buffallo Mozzarella Tomato Basil Appetizers Food

TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA BITES

Steps:

• Using a toothpick, spear a half of a tomato, a leaf of basil, a mozzarella ball, and another half of a tomato. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the vinegar and oil together in a small bowl to serve as a dipping sauce.

TOMATO, MOZZARELLA AND BASIL BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add drained tomatoes, 1 cup basil leaves, olive oil and 2 cloves garlic. Pulse until smooth, but somewhat chunky. Season with salt and pepper.
• On a baking sheet, line up baguette slices. Toast in oven for about 3 minutes or until light golden brown. Working quickly, rub the remaining garlic on the toasted side of each slice and then lay a piece of mozzarella cheese on top. Place bread back in oven and melt cheese slightly, about 45 seconds. Remove from oven and spread one tablespoon of the tomato mixture on each piece.
• Place bruschetta on decorative platter and garnish with basil leaves.

BUFFALLO MOZZARELLA TOMATO BASIL APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Mix 4 tablespoons with the garlic if using in a small bowl. Reserve the rest of the olive oil for drizzle. Cut the bread into ½ to ¾ inch rounds. Brush with the olive oil and toast in a toaster oven or preheated oven until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Top the bread rounds (crostinis) with sliced tomato. Sprinkle with sea salt. Then top with generous slices of mozzarella (boccaccini if you have it) cut to fit. Broil in the toaster oven or oven until the cheese just starts to melt. Top with basil cut into long thin slices. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve. You can use regular ingredients but the simple flavors really shine and become truly spectacular if you use a very high quality olive oil (it's worth the extra price) and a really nice flaky sea salt (eg. fleur de sel). For the photo I used Kangaroo Paw Australian Extra-Virgin olive oil with mountain pepper and Fleur de Sel sea salt. Outstanding crisp and fresh flavors. The baguette was also home-made based upon Julia Childs method outlined in the second volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I'm slowly gaining ground on making a near perfect loaf of french bread.

CAPRESE APPETIZER

Steps:

• Toss tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until well coated. Skewer one tomato and one piece of mozzarella cheese on each toothpick.

TOMATO MOZZARELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Place tomato slices, alternating with mozzarella slices, on a large serving platter.
• Combine oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake well. Drizzle over tomatoes and mozzarella; sprinkle with basil.