Caprese Salad (Tomato & Mozarella Salad)

I think my favorite thing to order at an Italian restaurant is the Caprese salad. It's hard to mess up and usually tastes amazing. I like to punch mine up by making an easy balsamic glaze, instead of using regular vinegar.

First, start by buying some good mozzarella. Now is not the time to save pennies by using the prepackaged kind next to the Kraft cheddar cheese. I always go to the specialty cheese case and get the kind packaged in water. But if you do buy the kind packaged in water, make sure to use it within a few days of opening, as the water will turn sour and then your cheese will taste yucky (trust me, this happened to me one time and I had to throw a big chunk of mozzarella into the trash!). Lately, I've been buying the mozzarella logs which are really yummy, and usually a little cheaper than the kind in the water (sometimes they even come pre-sliced!).

Next, slice a few large tomatoes. Usually I eat this salad with a light dinner, so I do large portions of one tomato per person.

To make the balsamic glaze is really simple. Put some balsamic vinegar (I would say maybe a cup to start with) in a small frying pan and let simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT put your face directly over the pan to smell while it's boiling. You'll get a really strong whiff of vinegar that will probably knock you off your feet. Keep a close eye on it, you want to take it off the heat once it starts to thicken. I judge this by seeing if it'll coat the back of a spoon.

Once it's thick enough (don't let it get TOO thick though!), let it cool for awhile. You don't want to blemish your tomatoes with this hot glaze.

Make your stacks of tomatoes and mozzarella. If you have basil, use it. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It's definitely not the end of the world if you don't use it. Always make sure to salt & pepper the tomatoes before adding the mozzarella. If you want to be fancier, feel free. Or, if you want to make these as appetizers for a party, get short skewers, cherry tomatoes and the little small mozzarella balls and thread them onto the skewers, putting a small piece of basil in between each one. See this as an example of the skewers.

After the glaze has cooled, drizzle over your stacks (or skewers). Drizzle a little olive oil over them too.

Then, dig in!