There's been so much talk about tomatoes lately thanks to Mary-Anne and the Tomato Festival that I had to make some of my own last night. I've had tomatoes on the brain for a week now because of all the good reading, photos, and videos of them on the site. I was walking through the Fresh Market trying to get an idea for dinner and spotted a fresh batch of heirlooms sitting there calling my name. I like the FM but mostly for their meats - they will grind fresh sirloin right in front of you if that's what you want. I've never been dissatisfied with any of the meats I've purchased from them. Anyhow their only downfall is that they stick their maters in the fridge before they hit the floor. Major no no in the tomato world! I almost never buy tomatoes there but the heirlooms looked, felt, and smelled really good. My grandfather used to tell me that if a tomato doesn't smell like a tomato it's not going to taste like a tomato! He grew up on a farm and had a lot of wisdom when it came to fresh produce. Anyhow, the above is the Cooking My Way version of a tomato stack...

Here's what I did:

2 vine ripened tomatoes

1 funky green/yellow (type unknown) heirloom tomato

A few cherry tomatoes (I used the Santa Sweet Organics for this one)

Stilton blue cheese (Use any type you like - Maytag (yes the washer people) make a smashing one!)

Hand crushed walnuts (Don't crush them into dust please)

Finely diced shallot (or a nice sweet onion)

White balsamic vinegar

salt

pepper

a fresh herb of your choice - I had planned on using basil in this one but forgot to add it - they were still good!

To build:

If your mater won't sit up straight take a knife and slice off a spot on the butt end to even it out

make two or three slices in the mater for your stack

Take out the core if you have those who are apposed to haveing it on their plate

Put down your base

salt pepper

add some of the mixture

second layer

salt pepper

add some of the mixture

top it off and either stick a sprig of your herb in the hole or plop in a cherry tomato to cover the hole! You could also put in some of the mixture

To finish I hit these with a balsamic glaze just for looks...

Note - if you're going to take photos of it - don't be as lazy as I was and wipe down the plate first so it looks good for the photo!

If you like tomatoes join the Tomato Stop group!

Video coming soon...

~Nikko