Parmesan Crisps With Heirloom Tomatoes

For Emily's St-Germain party, I wanted to make a light appetizer that would be welcome on a warm summer evening. Summer always makes me think tomatoes, so when I saw a recipe for Parmesan tuiles with heirloom tomato salad in Food & Wine, I thought that would be a good starting point.

After I made the tuiles, I decided they didn't seem very tuile-like and were better named crisps. Because the crisps had a heavy Parmesan flavor, I wanted to keep the tomatoes on the simple side and just seasoned them with a little fleur de sel, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

Parmesan Crisps With Heirloom Tomatoes (adapted from Food & Wine)

Ingredients

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons flour
Black pepper
2 large heirloom tomatoes
Fleur de sel
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat mat.

In a medium bowl, combine the Parmesan with the butter, flour, and a generous pinch of pepper. Mash the ingredients together with a fork until a dough forms.

Form the dough into a 6-inch log, and cut the log into 18 equal slices. (I scored the log at the halfway point and then kept scoring each half until I had 18 pieces marked, and then I cut the slices.)

Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, and flatten them with your fingers. I made one batch and was a little timid about flattening them, but then I really went to town on the second batch, and those crisps came out much better.

Bake 6 to 7 minutes, turning pan halfway through baking, until crisps are golden brown and sizzling.

Let the crisps cool on the pan, and then transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate.

Set a strainer inside a bowl. Core, seed, and finely dice the tomatoes. Transfer the diced tomatoes to the strainer, and let the excess liquid drain off.

Season tomatoes with fleur de sel and black pepper, and then stir in the balsamic vinegar. Allow tomatoes to drain until ready to serve, and then transfer them to a serving bowl.

Serve the crisps alongside the tomatoes, and let everyone spoon tomatoes on the crisps as they eat them. (If you set up the crisps with tomatoes on top ahead of time, they could get soggy.)

My Parmesan crisps and tomatoes joined all the great party appetizers the other ladies brought, which ranged from a truffled ricotta cheese dip to crostini with blueberries and goat cheese to crepes with ricotta and tomato filling to fancy cheeses and sausage.

What's your favorite summer appetizer to bring to a party?

Sangria Flora

St-Germain is my absolute favorite liqueur, and I have no problem admitting that I am obsessed with it -- not in an I drink it all day every day kind of way but in an it's my drink of choice kind of way. Friends now know that if a bar or restaurant offers a drink with St-Germain in it, that's the drink I'm getting. If I can't figure out what to order somewhere, I will ask if a St-Germain Cocktail can be prepared for me. This is a mixture of St-Germain, sparkling wine, and soda water and is one of the best ways to enjoy St-Germain so you can really taste the liqueur.

If you haven't heard of St-Germain before, it is a French liqueur made from handpicked elderflower blossoms. (And a little research tells me the blossoms are put into sacks and then transported by bicycle.) The resulting liqueur is sweet, without being cloying, and floral, without being overpowering. It's often used in place of simple syrup in cocktails, adding sweetness and a little more.

I like this description of it best:

Neither passionfruit nor pear, grapefruit nor lemon, the sublime taste of St-Germain hints at each of these and then none of them exactly. It is a flavor as subtle and delicate as it is captivating. 

A little like asking a hummingbird to describe the flavor of its favorite nectar. 

-St-Germain marketing materials

So you can imagine that when Emily decided to host a St-Germain party, I had absolutely no hesitations about attending. All of the invitees were asked to bring a drink made with St-Germain and something for everyone to snack on. I went with the Sangria Flora and made some Parmesan crisps with a tomato topping and some almond, elderflower, and lime travel cakes.

Photo courtesy of Bianca

Sangria Flora (adapted from St-Germain recipes)

Ingredients

3 cups Sauvignon Blanc
3/4 cup St-Germain
1 nectarine, diced
10 to 15 strawberries, hulled and cut in eighths
1/4 cup blueberries

Preparation

Mix Sauvignon Blanc and St-Germain in a pitcher or carafe, and top with as much fruit as will fit. Let stand for at least 15 minutes (up to 3 hours), and then serve. Add more fruit as necessary. (I also ended up replenishing the sangria with the remaining wine and a splash of St-Germain.)

I thought this sangria was very balanced. It wasn't overly "winey" or overly sweet like many sangrias are. And it's fun to eat the soaked fruit. You can basically use any fruit you like -- peaches, grapes, raspberries, and so on -- but I thought nectarines, blueberries, and strawberries looked especially pretty in the drink.

Photo courtesy of Daisy

We had lots of other fun drinks to sample too. Amy whipped up St. Honore 75 cocktails to order, Meghan made a pitcher of St-Germain and basil cocktails, Emily made fresh peach syrup to incorporate in a peach and St-Germain spritzer, Bianca served up Limoncello with St-Germain floaters, Daisy made a pitcher of Left Bank cocktails (gin, St-Germain, and Sauvignon Blanc), and Elizabeth provided a palate-cleansing virgin ginger-peach drink made with homemade spicy ginger syrup.

I'll share the recipes for the Parmesan crisps with tomatoes and the elderflower and lime travel cakes in upcoming posts.

Do you love St-Germain too?

Wilson Farm Tomato Festival

I've probably already said it a million times, but one of my favorite things about this time of year is the abundance of heirloom tomatoes at local farms and markets. I love getting a bunch of different kinds, sprinkling them with a little salt, and sampling them, taking note of the differences and nuances of each variety. I also love incorporating them in fresh summer salads and sauces. Something about knowing the tomatoes have been grown locally makes them taste even better to me.

This weekend there are several tomato festivals going on in the area. We're at the peak of tomato season, so this is no surprise. While I would have liked to visit all of the tomato festivals, I had to hold myself back a little, and I chose to check out the tomato festival at Wilson Farm.

Wilson Farm is about a 20- to 30-minute drive from us, and we've stopped by occasionally ever since I learned of the farm last summer. Even though Jeff doesn't love tomatoes the way I do, he was a good sport and agreed to check out the tomato festival with me. We arrived at the farm and parked across the street in the overflow parking lot, as the regular lot was already filling up.

As soon as we walked into the farm stand, I picked out a basil plant (which I am really hoping I can keep alive) and then we were greeted by Pete, who does promotions, creative, and advertising for Wilson Farm. Realizing that Pete and I have been corresponding on Twitter and through email for a while now, I introduced myself. Pete offered to show us around and walked us through the farm stand, pointing out all the samples of tomato dishes that were set up.

I asked if Chef Todd, who I've also been corresponding with on Twitter but had never met, might be around, and Pete brought us down to the kitchen. On the way, we passed the animal barn, where goats, hens, and even a llama live. The kitchen was bustling, but Chef Todd came right over to say hi and offered to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the farm.

We started by checking out his personal garden, which he started to grow some interesting herbs for his in-the-field dinners. The garden was filled with lemongrass, lavender, a strong variety of cilantro, nasturtiums (which he used to make nasturtium butter), and more.

Next we got to check out where the produce is stored. There's even a special refrigerator set at the perfect temperature for storing tomatoes (although they tend to fly off the shelves and don't need to be stored for long).

We also saw the bakery, which was one of my favorite parts of the tour. They have a walk-in oven! I've never seen such a thing before. Basically, baking sheets are loaded on a speed rack, and then the rack is wheeled into the oven, where it clips in, and is constantly gently rotated.

Some of the bakers were decorating cakes when we walked through, and we got to see some really creative cakes that had been decorated that morning and were awaiting pickup.

I couldn't help snapping a picture of these beautiful tomato-topped pizzas on our way through.

After that Chef Todd had to get back to the kitchen, but Pete continued showing us around. We walked out to the greenhouses, which will soon be full of poinsettias in preparation for the holidays. Right now there's tons of basil out there, and the smell of basil just permeated the air.

From there we could also look out on the fields and see all the crops. Did you know that Wilson Farm sells to grocery stores like Stop & Shop and Russo's? I had no idea. The produce isn't labeled as being from Wilson Farm, but you'll definitely find their stuff there.

Pete also explained that they actually grow flowers in the field to encourage the bees to come so vegetable plants like squash blossoms are more likely to get pollinated.

That concluded the tour, and we thanked Pete for showing us around and headed back out to the farm stand to sample the tomato goodies.

I tried a few varieties of tomatoes (Yellow Brandywine, Jetsetters) and paired them with fresh mozzarella  and maple basil vinaigrette.

Then I moseyed over to the prepared foods and sampled a tomato casserole (so good I brought the recipe home), some guacamole, and tomato gazpacho.

As we wandered around buying groceries, we also sampled melon and peaches.

I, of course, had to pick up some tomatoes to bring home. I think these Costoluto Genovese tomatoes are gorgeous.

I also got a Yellow Brandywine and a bunch of cherry tomatoes.

These days, I always have flowers on the brain because that's the point we're at with our wedding planning, and I ended up snapping a bunch of pictures of flowers I might want to include in the wedding bouquets and decor.

We had quite a full morning and left with a lot of great produce and other ingredients for meals this week. I even found some fresh basil and summer squash linguine.

A huge thank you to Pete and Todd for taking the time to show us around.

If you love tomatoes and have a little free time, the Wilson Farm Tomato Festival will be running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. Wilson Farm is located at 10 Pleasant Street in Lexington, Mass.

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Also, while we're on the subject of farms and local food, the Third Annual Urban-Ag Fair will be held in Harvard Square on September 18, 2011. There will be samples of local fare, cooking demonstrations, music, a beer garden and more. Check it out if you're around!

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What local farms have you been visiting, or what local foods have you been enjoying?

Prosecco, Lobster, And Oysters At Neptune Oyster

I left the job I've been at for the past five-plus years last Thursday and gave myself a little time off before I start my new job (more on that soon), so last Friday I was free to join Daisy for her Summer Lunch Series.

It is nearly impossible to find a hot, buttery lobster roll around here, and I had heard that Neptune Oyster, located in Boston's North End, is known for that very thing, so I asked if we could go there. I won't get into how terrible I think it is to ruin perfectly good lobster with mayo, but I will tell you that not much can beat a hot, buttery lobster roll, so I was really looking forward to our lunch -- both to catch up with Daisy and to satisfy my lobster roll craving.

We met outside Neptune Oyster around 12:30 p.m. and found out we'd have to wait about 30 minutes for a table. We wandered in and out of some nearby shops and then sat on benches along the greenway soaking in a little sun while we waited.

We headed back over a little bit later, and a waitress showed us to a table right in the middle of the tiny restaurant. We were in a celebratory mood and each ordered a glass of prosecco to have with our lunch.

A waiter had dropped off menus and a slip of paper with oyster selections. We already knew we were going to split a lobster roll, so we began looking through the oyster choices. I had tried Kusshi oysters at Taste of the Nation and loved them for their small size and cucumber finish, so we ordered two of those. Daisy is a big fan of Wellfleet oysters (as am I), so she suggested two of those. The last oysters we added were the Kumamoto, which neither of us had tried before.

We expected our oysters to come out first, but we actually got the lobster roll before them. No sense letting it get cold -- so we dug right in.

Was it everything I'd hoped it would be? Oh, yes. The chunks of fresh lobster meat were generously coated with butter and piled on a soft, grilled roll. And the fries that complemented the roll were hot and well seasoned. I know where to go next time I need a lobster roll! Though I will have to save the visits for a special treat as the lobster roll costs $25.

To wash down the lobster roll, we worked our way through the oysters.

We started to the right of the lemons with the Wellfleet oysters. I spooned some of the mignonette on mine and slurped it down. It was the saltiest of all the oysters we ordered and had a buttery finish.

Next I tried the Kumamoto oyster, which I thought was way too big to be grouped in the "small" category. This oyster was described as being very creamy with hints of honeydew melon. I definitely noticed the creaminess of it, but I may have drowned out the hints of honeydew melon with more mignonette.

I saved the Kusshi oyster for last and once again loved its sweet cucumber finish.

If you're craving a lobster roll, I definitely recommend trying the one at Neptune Oyster. Just be prepared to wait, and know that the restaurant is very tiny and you'll be cozying up to your neighbors. It adds to the ambience.

Where's your favorite place to get a lobster roll?