It has been a truly bizarre summer, tomato-wise. Gorgeous, huge plants, lots of fruit, but almost none have yet ripened... and it's September! Oh well. Tomatoes are often finicky...
One beautiful beefsteak did appear ripe the other night. Not enough for a Caprese, but enough for panini for two!
So I split some baguette... layered tomato, salt, basil, and mozzarella... oiled the outsides with EVOO... placed them in a hot grill pan... and mashed them with a heavy cast iron pan. Three or so minutes later, I flipped them and mashed again... cooked another 2-3 minutes, sliced and served.
Alongside was my mother's oh-so-simple potato salad: small diced celery, larger diced boiled Idaho potatoes, mayo, salt and pepper. Not fancy, not herby, not German. Just basic and delicious. Happy Summer!