What in the world is Burrata? I had no idea until a few months ago when I was at an Italian restaurant with some friends. Now it seems that just about everyone I talk to has had it. You might be thinking, "Just spit it out Dottie. What is it?"
Well . . . Burrata is an Italian cheese made from fresh mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains another form of mozzarella mixed with real cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture and divine taste.
Here's what you'll need for this delightful (4 ingredient) appetizer:
A french baguette
Two balls of burrata cheese. (They come like regular fresh mozzarella - floating in liquid in a clear plastic container.)
Small (multi-colored) grape tomatoes
Seedless Greek (mediterranean) olives
Step 1. Slice the baguette into very thin slices (about 1/2 inch) and toast them in an oven at about 450 for about 5 minutes till they are very slightly browned. Set slices aside.
Step 2. Cover the center of a serving platter with olive oil.
Step 3. Very, very carefully cut each ball of Burrata in half using a sawing motion. (Making 4 halves.)
Step 4. Cover the bottom of each half ball of burrata with garlic salt. (Preferably very coarse garlic salt.) Next place the bottom of each half into the olive oil in the center of the serving platter.
Step 5. Slice the tomatoes and olives longwise and form any design that you want. Next pour more olive oil on top of the burrata and sprinkle generously with the garlic salt and a few cranks of coarse pepper. Serve with the toasted baguette slices. Unbelievably dee-lish!
TRY IT YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Looking Back
Last year, I got the the idea of doing an Italian appetizer called Caprese. (Of course you can't ever go wrong with anything Italian!) Caprese is very similar to our Burrata appetizer but, for whom it may concern, it is low carb. Check it out!
Fun Saying
One of the more funny sayings out there is: "I've got a frog in my throat." Of course if you actually had a frog in your throat you would have to use sign language to let someone know that they needed to do the Heimlich maneuver on you. Years ago someone had to do the Heimlich maneuver on me in the middle of a restaurant. Harv (that was really his name) had no idea what he was doing, but the rather large piece of carrot finally came flying out and the whole restaurant clapped. A moment later, a man walked up to Harv and said that he was a fireman and that Harv had done it the wrong way. At that point I said, "And where were you while I was on the brink of death--finishing your dessert?" Anyway, thankfully, I survived the ordeal, and it was just a piece of carrot that came out of my throat and not a frog!