Caprese Salad

I mentioned some new toys that I have, one of them the camera, I look around at some of my friends posts and I see these beautiful pictures of their meals or cutting boards adorned with mouthwatering ingredients.  Mine well...

I do get a little jealous... My old camera was about done, once you are holding something like that together with duct tape and worrying every time that  you turn it on it is about time to look for a new one.   Luckily Kris got me the new camera for Christmas, another Kodak Easyshare but the NEW version, and with a whopping 15 megapixels I get the option of taking a step back and then cropping to the size that I want and maybe a little bit of play with Photoshop (or Photoshop's inexpensive cousin) to finish it off.

The picture above is one of those pictures, me trying to get one that I like, where the colors pop and it just looks good the one below is a more practical version of the same dish.  Along with our other activities on our anniversary weekend we had a "pot luck" at church on that Saturday night.  I threw together a couple of salads, this one is a Caprese Salad.  It isn't as elegant looking as the one above but it goes farther, isn't as fussy and it looks really good in its own way.

 

Big bowl of Caprese

2 Balls of fresh mozzarella cheese

2 Containers of grape tomatoes 

1/2 Cup pesto sauce 

5-6 Basil leaves cut in a chiffonade

Some shredded Mozzarella to garnish

Put your Mozzarella cheese in the freezer for about five minutes to firm it up a bit then chop into small bite sized pieces put those in a bowl.  Cut cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise add them to the same bowl then add the pesto sauce, I usually make my own but just bought some this time.  Toss them all together pour the salad into a fancy pants bowl (or one that you picked up from the dollar store) then add the fresh basil and the bit of mozzarella cheese to the top.  There you have it a bright refreshing salad that is just a little different.

Shrimp in Paper

This is one of my favorites,when I was updating the menus at a little Italian restaurant that I friend of mine owned this is one that I put onto the menu. When the package of dinner comes to your table it is like opening a present. You tear open the parchment and and the scented steam pores out it is a fun experience. It is really a beautiful dish too I couldn't do it justice in my pictures, I may have to sign up for a photography class... anyway the effect in real life is cool you open up the parchment and think something like "wow that is cool... it smells great" you see the picture and think "bag of garbage" sorry.

It it really simple to make, on the bottom is Cous cous that is really simple for the two I made:

3/4 cup Cous cous
3/4 cup boiling chicken broth

Put the dry Cous cous in a bowl add the chicken broth cover and let sit for about 5 minutes then fluff with a fork.

Take a 12x12 inch piece of parchment, spray the bottom with a little pan spray then, on each sheet put:
3/4 cup Cous cous
2 TBS Diced Onion
2 TBS Diced Bell Pepper
5 ounces of raw peeled Shrimp
2 TBS Pesto Sauce (I just bought some at the grocery store, I like to make it myself, but that wasn't happening this week)Pull up the sides like a big Hershey's kiss tie it up and put into a hot oven for 20 minutes. The shrimp is perfectly done, everything is infused with the Garlic and Basil flavor and odor, The cous cous comes out with a little bite to it but flavorful and light. It is great.

It makes me a little sad, because it really is
a cool dish, I just couldn't get the right picture