Caprese Salad

For our homemade gourmet dinner, Sarah and I made this caprese salad as an accomplice to the rest of our meal. You will only need a few ingredients for this one. I like to make this classic dish "my own" by reducing the balsamic vin over heat into a glaze and grilling the slices of tomatoes for added taste and texture. This was the first time I've used heirloom tomatoes and as a girl who gets easily squeemish about tomatoes in general, this is my new favorite kind to use.

Recipe made enough for three people, for more, increase your tomato use.

Grocery List:

• 1 heirloom tomato
• 1 red, round tomato
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil

Go ahead and chiffonade your basil by stacking 3-5 leaves of similar size on top of one another and creating a tight roll, then cut thin strips vertically across the roll of basil.

Now cut thick slices of tomato - the thicker the slice, the better they'll be on the grill, they will shrink a bit in the heat so don't be afraid of the thick chop. Such beautiful coloring!

Add your tomatoes to a grilling surface and let cook for about three minutes per side, until those handsome grill marks appear. We lost some good slices out there, this is why the thicker the slice, the better.

Now slice your mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices.

While your tomatoes are grilling, add the balsamic vinegar into a sauce pan on medium heat. Let thicken for about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful not to burn or overheat or your vinegar will stick to the sides. And... I know about this from experience....

As the tomatoes finish, begin to place them on a plate with the mozzarella slices in between, then top with basil. The mozzarella will slightly soften and melt just a tad to your tomatoes. This is called heaven.

Drizzle just a tad of olive oil and then spoon your balsamic glaze over the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil for a beautiful and sumptuous outcome. Serve as an appetizer or a side dish!