My Tomatoes A La Blog

I started with the 'I'm on a tomato kick blog entry I made' recipe and went on from there. I only had smaller tomatoes on day 1 (a second day at end). Be careful cutting them. If you end up with a sloped surface (like I did) it will be harder to put the toppings.

I didn't have parmesan cheese, so I experimented with two different types of cheese, kraft 2% shredded mozzarella cheese and Three Sister Farmstead Cheese from wine.woot.

On some of the tomato halves I put both cheeses, in others just one. I cut the farmstead cheese into little chunks. Any cheese will do.

After putting the cheese on the tomato halves, you can add seasoning. - - - I used a powered oregano but regular oregano is probably better. I even took out chilli powder but ended up NOT using it.

studiofood

I sprinkled parsley and ground oregano on top. I used the (blurry) sugar dispenser on the lower left filled with powered oregano -- easier to dispense.

I sprinkled coarse salt.

Added chopped onions and freshly smashed garlic. by mixing it in with the cheese.

If you don't want to use fresh garlic, powered garlic is just as good. I actually used both.

Don't forget to drizzle some olive oil over the whole thing. It adds good cholesterol and awesome flavor.

This is another photo of how they looked right before I put them inside the preheated oven.

The original 450 degree pre-heated oven for 15 minutes may be good with big beefsteak tomatoes but too high for the smaller ones I used.

Using bake (bottom heat) yields a softer more cooked tomato. Using the broiler (top heat) produces crispier drier top, and less cooked bottoms.

I experimented with both.

Here they are in the oven, cooking.

And here they are plated. I took them out after 10 min instead of the 15 called for. I wanted the tomatoes a little firmer (less cooked). I added some garnishes when I plated them. (more info next page)

Any in-season berries will do just fine.

If you are not into berries or don't have any, you can try some greek calamata olives or jumbo queen olives stuffed with red pimentoes.

For nutritional content see original recipe.

myfavefoodstudio

I used it all: strawberries, blueberries, and both types of olives. My tomatoes were firm (raw) enough to hold in my hand and chew into them. They were also soft and cooked enough to cut and eat with fork and knife. Your choice. I did both. That's My Tomatoes A La Blog. I'm on vacation, so maybe I'll post other things. Please leave comments right here (below) or in the blog with your suggestions and or experiences.

Today (next day) I made it again this time using larger (beefsteak) tomatoes.

They look the same size but are more larger than above. -- By the way 15 min at 450 like the original recipe said is way too much - I recommend less time. In fact my preference is to broil them (top element heat) - cheese gets nice and golden and the tomato stays firmer.