Fake it ‘Till We Make it
Oh, boy.
Do I have a treat for you.
Have you ever had a mild panic attack when you realize people are coming to your house – people who might expect food – people who might expect cutsie, bite-sized, appetizer-ish food – and you pretty much can’t stand the idea of going through the work of assembling a million crab-and shrimp stuffed tartlets and mini cheese quiches?
Not that you would ever do that anyway, but you get my point.
So it’s a good thing for us that we can fake it.
I’ve discovered a tasty little treat (I actually might have ripped it off from a restaurant) that is so simple and so impressive and so delicious that you might just find yourself throwing it together for lunch on a lazy, rainy, Sunday afternoon while you sip wine and watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Not that I would ever do that.
Except for maybe today and every lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon from here on out.
You only need a few ingredients to make this twist on a mozzarella caprese salad:
- Some type of French or Italian bread
- Butter or margarine
- Garlic powder
- Fresh mozzarella cheese (We’re talkin’ the ball of wet stuff – you can get it in the specialty cheese area of most grocery stores)
- Fresh basil
- Roma tomato
- Balsamic glaze (this is something I found at my nicer grocery store. I suppose you could use any brand, but I use H.T. Trader’s from Harris Teeter. I found it where they sell the balsamic and other flavored vinaigrettes.)
1. Slice and toast the bread.
2. Spread a small amount of margarine or butter over the top and sprinkle with garlic powder. (You could broil the bread with the margarine and garlic powder if you want to get all fancy, but my method works fine if you’re just making a small amount.)
3. Place a slice of mozzarella and a slice of tomato on top of the bread. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze, then sprinkle some chopped basil over the top.
Viola!
It’s that simple. And it really does taste spectacular.
Anybody can make this and seriously impress some people.
Especially if you don’t show them the bottle of balsamic glaze.