One of my very best friends turned 50 this weekend and decided to throw herself a lovely party. Here's the thing about my friend though... she loves to throw parties, doesn't really cook, but has a very specific vision for the food. The food that she would like everyone else to make. The good thing for her is that I love her and am perfectly willing to be bossed around - I mean, comply with her wishes.
Her vision for this time was a "Garden Party," whatever the hell that means. Actually, the really funny part was when it came to her "vision" for what the partygoers' attire would be for the party. Puff Daddy, I mean, P Diddy, I mean, Amy the Hostess, wanted for the men to wear collared shirts and khaki pants, and for the women to wear party dresses or dressy pants. But, how to state this on an invitation?
Sure, sure, she could have just written "business casual," but that really didn't complete her "vision" (I'm telling you, by the time the party got here on Saturday, I was ready to poke her eyes out Three Stooges Style if I heard the word "vision" one more time... nyuk nyuk nyuk). So, we (yes, I helped with this craziness) came up with the term "Garden Festive." Which no one understood. Bingo!
Okay, so back to the food. Amy really wanted only canapes served at the party. The party that was being "catered" by her friends. And one of the things she knew she definitely wanted was some kind of salad, in canape form. Of course, because I am so easily bossed around by her, this became one of my assignments. I could have gone the old endive leaf salad route, but I think those are best left to the time of year when I don't have HUGE stalks of basil growing out in my garden. My basil really needed to be harvested so it didn't go to seed, so I decided to do a caprese salad... on a stick. Besides, what screams Garden Festive more than a caprese salad on something pointy? (see attached photo)
Caprese Salad on a Stick
8" bamboo skewers1 quart grape tomatoes
2 tubs of small mozzarella balls in water
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/4 C olive oil
1 T white balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Thread onto a skewer, in the following order: grape tomato, basil leaf (folded in half, if large), mozzarella ball, another basil leaf, another grape tomato. Once you complete a platter of these, whisk together the olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, then drizzle entire platter lightly with mixture. Season liberally with kosher salt and pepper.
Comments
love this idea -my basil plants look like corn rows; i need to take them down --- a few feet. this is perfect! thanks
Jul 15, 2011 at 11:01 PM
Diffenderf-
fer-Baker
Excellent! I hope you try this, as it's a lot of fun. I sometimes make a non-pointy stick variation with all the ingredients halved, and then tossed in a bowl with the viniagrette. I usually chiffonade the basil for that one.
Also, I cut my basil plants down to just above the very bottom leaves, and in a month, they were back, doubled in size and gorgeous. I need to make this again!
Jul 16, 2011 at 1:21 PM
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