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LATE SUMMER 2017

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Greetings, friends!

Welcome

Every summer for as long as I can remember, my dad planted a full third of our yard in Fairfield with a tremendous kitchen garden of tomato and pepper plants – and planted a love for veggie gardening in my heart! My kitchen garden at Connecticut Country House is what it is because of dear papa… and what it is right now is full of tomatoes—yay! It’s tomato season! I wait for this all year. There’s nothing like the taste of perfectly ripe tomatoes fresh off the vine, except maybe coming up with different ways to enjoy them! We have recipes that barely call for more than slicing a tomato and plating it up with something yummy, and recipes that end with tomatoes roasted and dried. I’ve never met a tomato I didn’t love, and I love how each recipe changes the flavor of this sweet summer treat! No garden? No worries. Farmers’ markets and even grocery stores are spilling over with local harvests this time of year. Enjoy these last few weeks of summer – and in the spirit of tomato season, here are a handful of my very favorite recipes. Love,

NORA MURPHY Founder and Editor in Chief

NORAMURPHYCOUNTRYHOUSE.COM

Contents Garlic Roasted Garden Tomatoes 8 Murph’s Grilled Pizza 13 Bruschetta with Pesto 16 Squid Ink Linguine Aglio e Olio with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes 21 Blackened Corn Garden Salsa 27 Rosa’s Guacamole 30 Caprese Salad 35 Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Carmelized Onion Galette 38 Country House Oven-Dried Garden Tomatoes 43 Gazpacho Mash-Up 46 Classic American Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato 50 Bridget’s Savory Skewers 55 Country House Oven-Roasted Tomato Spread 59

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Nora Murphy Founder and Editor in Chief Carol Hubner Art and Features Director Deborah Golden Copywriter/Copy Editor Criana Web Producer Nora, Rick & Conor Murphy Gardening Team Darryl Arbesman Duanne Simon Nora Murphy Contributing Photographers All design, photography, and copy on NoraMurphyCountryHouse.com is original, produced year-round at Connecticut Country House and on location.

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Garlic Roasted Garden Tomatoes 4 medium to large tomatoes (garden fresh, if you have them!) 1 large garlic clove, finely minced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Position a rack in the top half of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and and lightly coat with cooking spray. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and place all eight halves cut side up on the pan. Scatter ¼ teaspoon of garlic evenly over each tomato. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and a healthy pinch of breadcrumbs to each tomato. Top each with dots of butter. Bake the tomatoes for approximately 45 minutes. Depending on your oven and the size of the tomatoes, they may need up to an additional 15 minutes. They should be reduced in height by about half and the skin on the sides should appear loose. When the tomatoes look ready, set the oven to broil and watch closely for 2 to 3 minutes. You want nicely browned tops, so don’t let them burn! Serve immediately and enjoy! (You can also download this recipe here.)

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Murph’s Grilled Pizza Large ball of pizza dough (store bought or homemade), room temperature 4 to 5 tablespoons loose cornmeal ¼ cup olive oil (for extra flavor, simmer with a few garlic cloves) 1 very ripe large tomato, thinly sliced 1 pound good mozzarella, grated or thinly sliced A handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a gas grill to medium-high, leave covered. Cut the dough in half. Spread 2 tablespoons of cornmeal on your work surface. Flatten out each half of dough with the heels of your hands. With a rolling pin, roll the dough from the center out to the edge, repeating from several angles. It may be a bit of a workout, especially if the dough hasn’t warmed up enough. Your goal is to have two rolled-out pizza crusts about 12 to 14 inches in diameter.

Place one crust onto a cookie sheet. Brush the top with olive oil. Open the grill lid, turn the center burner off and adjust the outer burners to low. Grab the dough by the edges and place the oiled side down on the center of the grill. Use tongs to adjust any dough that may have bunched. Close the cover of the grill. Using tongs, check the underside of your dough every 2 minutes or so—on our grill, it takes 4 to 5 minutes for the dough to get to a nice golden brown. When the underside of your pizza is done, oil the top and flip it with your tongs. Now, quickly add the toppings in this order: tomatoes, cheese, basil. Rule of thumb: sparse is better. Not every square inch of the pizza must have every topping. Close the top of the grill. Check after 3 or 4 minutes, and occasionally after that. With a center burner off and the outer burners on low, it will take about 10 minutes for the pizza to come out perfectly. Using a large spatula or tongs, remove the pizza from the grill and place it onto a wood cutting board. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. One of my favorite recipes because a few excellent, very fresh ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves. Keep it simple! (You can also download this recipe here.)

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Bruschetta with Pesto 1 fresh baguette, cut into 1" slices ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup fresh pesto (recipe follows) 2 large garden tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped Sea salt

Heat the oven to 400°F. Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Brush the tops lightly with olive oil, and place in the oven.

Quickly, before the bread cools too much, spoon a tablespoon or so of the tomatoes onto each slice. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on each (we used smoked sea salt). Serve immediately. Pesto: ½ cup pignoli (pine) nuts 3 large garlic cloves 4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, stems removed

After 5 minutes, turn the oven up to broil, and toast the bread, leaving the oven door ajar. This happens quickly, so stay by the oven and watch closely.

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

When the bread is golden brown, pull out the cookie sheet and carefully spread a teaspoon of pesto on top of each slice of bread.

In a food processor, chop the nuts and garlic until fine. Add the basil and let it go until a semi-smooth paste forms. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil and keep processing until smooth. Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse to incorporate. If the consistency is too thick, drizzle in a little more olive oil and pulse again.

Slip the cookie sheet back in the oven, which should still be on broil. Again, watch closely, and as soon as the pesto starts to bubble 1 to 2 minutes, remove the cookie sheet from oven.

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

(You can also download this recipe here.)

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