I literally made the biggest cake fail of my life this week, and it was Eric’s birthday cake no less. He requested a chocolate cake with caramel frosting on the inside layers, and chocolate frosting on the outside. Sounds amazing, right? But my caramel hardened too much and I ended up with caramel candy inside the cake instead of smooth creamy frosting. Also I broke the cakes trying to split each layer in half, so by the time I was finished it looked more like a glorified pile of crumbs than a gorgeous 4 layer cake.
He of course doesn’t care and was really nice about it (and I mean, it still tasted really good), but I did feel bad that I had such a cake failure for his birthday. I mean what is even the point of having a food blogger for a wife anyway?? ;) So that’s it. I’m swearing off cake and I’m just going to eat salad from now on. Ha!!
Just kidding. I’m currently eating some of the cake leftovers for breakfast.
Grilled Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Salad
But I do think that if I could pick one salad to eat for the rest of my life, it really might be this Grilled Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Salad. You know why? Grilled bread. Grilled bread is why. (You thought I was going to say grilled tomatoes? You must not know me very well!) This caprese salad recipe is perfect for summer though and I basically want it every day on repeat.
Have you ever thrown your buttered bread on the grill while finishing up your chicken or whatever your main dish is? I never think to do this (we usually toast our bread right before eating. Our family is a little obsessed with toasty bread.) But I shouldn’t have to tell you that it’s amazing. You know what grilling does to food. It gives it this irresistible, charred, smokey flavor that you really just can’t duplicate with any other method. And if the grill is already on for something else, it’s super easy.
Caprese Salad + Grilled Tomatoes and Grilled Ciabatta
First you start by soaking your skewers, if you’re using wooden ones. This will keep them from charring and falling apart on the grill. Slide a bunch of tomatoes on the skewers, leaving a bit of space around each tomato, so that they have a chance to get roasty-toasty and don’t just end up getting soggy. Add a little oil and salt and pepper, and grill on medium for a just a few minutes. Since we are using marinated mozzarella balls for the salad, I like to use the oil from the mozzarella to coat the tomatoes. It’s already deliciously seasoned and everything.
Meanwhile, cut your ciabatta lengthwise and slather some butter on the cut side. You can actually skip the butter if you want. It will char just as well without it. But. I’m just not the kind of person who says no to a little extra butter in my life. Toss it all on the grill and just a couple minutes later (seriously, it’s super quick) your salad it basically ready! Add it all to a big bowl with a bunch of romaine, basil, and mozzarella, or serve the components individually if you think you will have leftovers. Because what do you do with the leftover soggy dressed salad at the end of dinner, right?
Oh, I forgot to mention the dressing. I love a good homemade salad dressing, and this creamy lemon basil dressing is totally amazing! It’s really easy to put together, you just throw all the ingredients in a blender and voila, you’re done. I love adding tons of basil, but you can add as little or as much as you want. If you are in a hurry, you could use a store bought dressing. Look for a creamy dressing that has herbs in it. Or ranch will do just fine.
What to serve with this salad
This is the perfect salad to make when you are already grilling your dinner. Hot dogs on the grill? Toss on some tomatoes and bread. Grilled chicken? Kebabs? Steak? This salad goes amazing with them all. If you are doing chicken or steak, you could even chop it up and add to the salad itself.
Here are some ideas: Simply Amazing Grilled Chicken Marinade Slow Grilled Mustard Chicken How to Cook Tri Tip (Grilled or Oven-Roasted) Grilled Chicken with Spicy Honey Bacon Glaze « the first time I made this salad, I served it with this. The Best Hot Dog You Will Ever Eat (JDawg’s Special Sauce Copycat) Caprese Burger with Artichoke Pesto Sauce « bring on the basil. Have you planted your basil yet? I kill everything but basil in one that I can actually handle. I love planting several plants so that I don’t have to hold back for recipes like this. Gimme all the basil!! Just remember to pinch off the white flowers when you see them so that it doesn’t go to seed.
I’m heading off to Everything Food Conference this week, and I’m super nervous! Did you know there are food blogging conferences? They have conferences for everything these days! I’ll be going to classes and learning how to run my blog more efficiently, and meeting other bloggers who are in this crazy business with me. It will be fun but it’s also a little nerve wracking! Eeee! Eric is coming with me. Did you know he’s been helping me with the blog for about a year now? He does behind-the-scenes-boring-website-maintenence-stuff. It’s been such a huge help and relief for me, meaning I can focus more on content creation. (That’s code for, I get to bake more and stare at a computer less. See? He’s a dream husband.) Hopefully we come away from the conference with some good tips. Wish us luck!
More salads that will blow your mind!
Strawberry Panzanella Salad « Gimme all the mozzarella and strawberries!! Easy Broccoli Bacon Salad « This one is a crowd pleaser Apple Gorgonzola Salad (Buca di Beppo Copycat) « My favorite restaurant salad!! Greek Salad Recipe with Tons of Feta Cheese « Gimme all the Greek The Only Macaroni Salad Recipe You Need « This counts as salad, right? Crispy Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Ranch « Crunchy and fresh! Cucumber Tomato Mozzarella Salad from Foolproof Living Marinated Mozzarella Tomato Basil Salad from Wishes and Dishes Tomato, Mozzarella, and Grilled Corn Salad from Garnish with Lemon Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
