Tomato season is in full swing. And we are enjoying it’s juicy goodness to the best of our abilities. There’s nothing better than a ripe heirloom tomato on a piece of crusty bread smothered in goat cheese (one of our all-time favorite summer meals), or a refreshing tomato bruschetta on a hot day.

But probably the most popular (and for good reason) use for perfectly plump, vine ripened tomatoes is the caprese salad. Something about basil, mozzarella, and tomato just works like very few things do. This particular recipe takes it a step further with a sassy basil vinaigrette to top it all off.

This is one situation where you should definitely spring for the good stuff. Get a nice ball of the freshest mozzarella you can find. If you happen to have a local artisan cheese seller like The Bloomy Rind here in Nashville, that is very easy to do. A delicate, fresh mozzarella makes all the difference here.

Tip: slicing fresh mozzarella can be tricky indeed. Rather than a knife, try using a piece of fishing line or unflavored dental floss for clean, uniform slices.

Speaking of tomatoes, this weekend just happens to be Nashville’s Tomato Art Fest. During the event last year, we devoured some tasty heirloom BLT’s, cooled down with some different and delicious tomato citrus sorbet, and saw more than our fare share of tomato-costumed folks celebrating this summer fruit. We’ll be there, NOT dressed as tomatoes (my love for tomatoes only goes so far), but enjoying the sights and tastes nonetheless.

Caprese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Makes 4 first-course servings. Recipe from Steamy Kitchen.

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes, sliced into thick slices
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into thick slices
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Basil Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) red pepper flakes
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons good white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

For vinaigrette, add the shallot, basil, water, vinegar, pepper flakes, and sea salt in a food processor or blender. Puree, slowly drizzling in the olive oil, until smooth.

To assemble, layer the tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves. Season with a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and repeat with remaining layers for each tomato. Drizzle with vinaigrette and garnish with more basil leaves.

Extra vinaigrette can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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I really hope I haven’t alienated a lot of our readers by the excess of beet posts this summer. But I have to say, if you’re the kind of person who typically doesn’t like beets, this may be the recipe to try. And if not, well, you’re in luck, as I’ve only got one more ruby red recipe to post (well, maybe two – if I can convince Taylor to write up something on his beloved beet pickles). Our CSA shares the past few weeks have been disappointingly beet-free, and I am sad to say the season is likely done for, unless there is some miraculous second coming of the beets in the fall. But for now, Taylor is a sad, beet-deprived boy.

But back to this sandwich. Sure, we’ve made our fare share of sandwiches. Most of them involving goat cheese in one combination or another (I love me some goat cheese!). But this one might just top them all. The recipe originally called for canned beets (please, don’t do it. Fresh beets are what make this sandwich truly magical), and we also substituted sauteed swiss chard for the arugula in the recipe (it’s what we had on hand). The creamy goat cheese, the earthy beet, the bite of the balsamic… perfection.

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Makes 4 sandwiches. Heavily adapted from Epicurious.

Ingredients:

3-4 medium beets
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
8 (1/2-inch-thick) bread slices country bread, lightly toasted
6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, softened
4 very thin slices red onion, rings separated
1 bunch swiss chard, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice beets into even 1/4" slices. Arrange slices in a single layer on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Brush beets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast beet slices for 35-45 minutes, or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat a splash of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add chard and quickly saute until wilted. Add balsamic vinegar and remove from heat.

Spread 4 slices of bread with goat cheese. Top with roasted beet slices, chard, and red onion, and top with remaining bread slices.

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I think I’ve made it pretty obvious I’m a proponent of eating local whenever and wherever possible. But just how often to you get to eat something, and say, I saw the farmer dig up these potatoes yesterday?

While we went to the farm to pick a few blueberries (the berries are too time intensive and scarce to deliver to CSA members, so they invite anyone interested to come pick their own), we ended up getting a full tour of the place. From fields of lettuce and beets to streams and outbuildings near onion fields, it just might be the most beautiful, scenic farm I’ve ever seen.

Those are potatoes with a view! We picked up our share the following day, and sure enough, potatoes. Always nice to know exactly where your food comes from. And I mean EXACTLY.

This is Jeff (and Taylor), enjoying some fresh blackberries right off the vine. He’s also known as The Barefoot Farmer, for obvious reasons (and yes, he even drives the tractor barefoot). We’ve been enjoying his handiwork all summer. Tasty.

The potatoes in particular have been plentiful. So along with the french fries and hash browns and mashers, we’ve been looking for more interesting ways to use them. This potato and blue cheese tart was a definite treat. An indulgence. It’s creamier than a quiche, the rich filling and sharp blue cheese surrounding the delicate red potatoes and making them the star of the show (and potatoes don’t often get that honor).

Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

Adapted from Gourmet, via Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients:

Tart Shell:
1 1/4 (5 1/2 ounces) cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter, diced
1 large egg

Filling:
1 pound small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
1/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoons finely chopped herb or herbs of your choice, such as a mixture of thyme and rosemary
Fine sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits. Add one egg and mix with a fork until a dough forms. If this does not happen easily, toss it out onto a counter and knead it together. This dough is rather tough but with a little elbow grease, it does come together nicely.

This dough can also be made a food processor, or in a stand mixer, though I’ve only tried it in a food processor.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan and press to remove any air bubbles. Level the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium saucepan, cover potato slices with water by two inches. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. If the potatoes don’t seem very dry, pat them dry with towels.

Arrange potato slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles around the tart pan. Sprinkle blue cheese over potatoes. Whisk cream and egg yolk together and pour into tart shell, then sprinkle tart with herbs of your choice and salt.

Bake tart on a baking sheet until bubbling and golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack and serve warm or cold. With a big green salad, for balance.

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I’ve always been jealous of the big city, coast to coast, food blogging event extravaganzas. There are events in New York, events on the west coast in San Francisco and Seattle, even events way down south in Texas. But for those of us stuck in the middle, it’s a long way and a lot of travel to get to any of them.

Which is why I was so excited when Food Blog Forum (a great resource for food bloggers in and of itself) announced their next forum event in Atlanta. Which is a totally doable drive from Nashville.

The September 11th event is a one-day seminar, full of great technology, branding and food photography information and fun networking for food bloggers, not to mention what promises to be a pretty awesome after party. Needless to say I’m very excited about attending.

For those of you in the area or within driving distance, you should totally come! I’m very excited to finally start putting some faces to names and avatars. For more information, a full schedule, and registration information, please visit the event page at Eventbrite.

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Well, I did it. I said I would, and by golly, I did. Beet cupcakes.

While I was hoping for a vibrant red along the lines of red-velvet cake, what I ended up with, albeit not crimson red, was by all means delicious. I think at this point I could make beets into just about anything and Taylor would declare them the best ever, (he’s already requested beet ice cream), and these cupcakes were no exception. Ok, maybe not best ever, but they were a rich and moist chocolate cake, with a subtle hint of the beet’s earthy goodness shining through.

I knew I wanted to make beet cupcakes, and when we had a bit of beet puree leftover from another recipe (which I will share shortly), I knew exactly how I wanted to use it. However, I was horrified to discover we were out of butter. Out. I’m never out of butter, yet here we were, with a fridge full of everything except butter. Ok, I lied. I had a few dollops of homemade butter (yes, I said homemade butter. But that’s for another post), but not nearly enough to do much of anything in the way of buttercream.

How does one frost cupcakes without butter? Easy. Chocolate. Chocolate ganache to be exact. But I didn’t stop there. I also decided to pump the suckers full of marshmallow filling. It’s like a mini hostess cupcake. With beets.

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Ganache and Marshmallow Filling

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

3-4 medium beets (about 1 lb)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or shortening, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

For Ganache:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap beets (skins on) tightly in a layer of parchment paper inside a layer of aluminum foil. Roast for 45-55 minutes or until tender. Remove and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub outsides of beets with paper towel to remove skins. Place beets in a blender or food processor and puree. Measure out 1 cup of puree.

Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the beet puree, coconut milk, sugar, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in wet mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not overmix).

Pour into liners, filling each with 3-4 tablespoons of batter (cups should be no more than 2/3 full). For mini cupcakes, fill each with 1 tablespoon batter. Bake 18-20 minutes (or 10-12 for minis), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For filling, with an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Beat in the marshmallow creme. Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip. Press the tip into the center of each cupcake, and fill until the top of the cupcake slightly expands. Go slowly, as it is easy to overfill. Wipe away any excess that may squirt out the top, and don't worry, it'll get covered by the ganache.

For ganache, place chopped chocolate in a small, heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan, slowly heat cream until just steamy and just barely simmering (do not boil). Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Add butter and stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Spread generously onto filled cupcakes (while still soft, you can also dip tops of cupcakes into nonpareils or sprinkles). Chill 15-30 minutes until ganache is set.

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