Easy and delicious broiled tomatoes. Photo
courtesy Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Revel in the summer crop of vine-ripened tomatoes. Add them to every salad and sandwich. Make gazpacho and fresh tomato sauce for pasta.

And along the way, stick some under the broiler for a delicious first course or side. You can add dressed greens to the plate as a salad course: Consider arugula, spinach, watercress or a baby greens mix.
 
BROILED TOMATOES RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. CUT tomatoes in half. SEASON with salt and place cut side down on a rack or paper towel. Drain for about 30 minutes; blot dry with a paper towel.

2. PREHEAT broiler to medium high, with rack positioned in the upper part. Line a broiler pan with foil.

3. COMBINE the bread crumbs, cheese, herbs, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl. Grind fresh pepper to taste.

4. PLACE the tomatoes cut side up in the baking pan. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the tomatoes (cut side). Place tomatoes under the broiler for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

5. OPTION: Top with the second cheese and broil until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Garnish with additional herbs; serve immediately.
QUICK, LOW-CALORIE METHOD

1. PLACE cut tomatoes seed side up in dish or pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. DRIZZLE with olive oil; sprinkle with herbs. Broil until hot and the tops begin to brown.

If you have leftovers, enjoy them reheated or cold.

August 10 is National S’mores Day, so here’s one more recipe on top of yesterday’s s’mores suggestions. This recipe is courtesy of Christina Ferrare, co-host of “Home & Family” on the Hallmark Channel.
RECIPE: S’MORE COOKIE BARS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. CREAM together butter and sugar in a large bowl, until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. WHISK together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

4. DIVIDE dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two five- ounce Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread Marshmallow Fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

5. PLACE remaining dough in a single layer on top of the Fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms or a rolling pin to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open the bag carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up and spread the dough where it is uneven.

6. BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
 
You can see a video of the preparation here.

Passionate about pasta? How many shapes have you eaten?

If you want to dream about having it all, this wall poster features more than 250 shapes of pasta, broken down by those that are formed by machines and dies (like fusilli, penne and rigatoni) and those that are traditionally crafted by hand (like gnocchi, pappardelle and tagliatelle).

All pasta is made from flour, eggs and water; it’s the artistry that makes them different*. Both dried and fresh pasta are made in numerous shapes, with 310 specific forms known variably by more than 1300 different names†. But why are there so many different pasta shapes?

For hundreds of years, what we know as Italy was comprised of warring city-states‡, under different foreign controls.

The city-states were only united into the nation of modern Italy in 1861. Over the prior centuries, each of the city-states developed its own, insular cuisine, and there wasn’t much sharing with the others. Everything, including pasta, was made by local artisans who pursued their own culinary muses. Similar shapes (bells, flowers, corkscrews) made in different city-states have different names (yes, it’s confusing).

Marco Polo is credited with bringing “pillow pasta” to Italy—the stuffed, fried dumplings of China that evolved into Italian ravioli. The Chinese also made noodles for soup. But credit for the invention of boiled pasta is given to the Arabs. Traders from Arabia packed dried pasta on long journeys over the famed Silk Road to China. It didn’t spoil and could be easily cooked over a fire.

According to culinary historians, the Arabs first adapted Chinese noodles noodles for long journeys in the 5th century, the first written record of dry pasta. Durum wheat (semolina) was introduced by Libyan Arabs during their conquest of Sicily in the late 7th century and 8th century (source: Wikipedia). So it’s ironic that Italy, not Arabia, became the world’s pasta capital—and that pasta faded out of favor in the Arab world.

With the Plethora Of Pasta Permutations chart, you can decorate your wall with 250 varieties of pasta, from obscure variations found only in hilltop villages in Italy to those stocked on supermarket shelves around the world.

Each 24″ x 36″ poster is signed and numbered by the artists, from an edition of 500. The unframed poster is $26, with framing options available, at PopChartLab.com.

Or, you can see all the different pasta types in our Pasta Glossary for free!

*Superior qualities of flour, different minerals in the local waters, and different artisan techniques can make the flavors of fine pasta noticeably better from mass-marketed varieties.

†According to the Encyclopedia of Pasta by Zanini De Vita, Oretta, University of California Press.

‡At the start of the 14th century, Italy was a patchwork of independent towns and small principalities whose borders were drawn and redrawn by battles, diplomatic negotiations and marriage alliances. During the 14th and 15th centuries, many of these petty principalities consolidated into five major political units that precariously balanced power on the Italian peninsula: the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the Papal States and the three major city-states of Florence, Venice and Milan. The other minor city-states which co-existed with these larger powers made political stability in Italy even more tenuous as their loyalties shifted from one main force to another. The most powerful were Ferrara, Florence, Genoa, Mantua, Milan, Pisa, Siena, Verona and Venice. (Source: University of Calgary)
  

S’mores can be as basic as two graham crackers, a piece of chocolate bar and a marshmallow. This is the campfire treat first published by the Girl Scouts in their 1927 handbook.

Or you can get creative with it. If you do, today’s the day:

August 10th is National S’mores Day. So make yourself a toasty, melty treat—and consider a summer s’mores bash, maybe for Labor Day Weekend. You can serve the classics plus riffs like these, and invite guests to create their own signature s’mores:

Pastry chef Zoë François of ZoeBakes.com used her skills to create the ultra-fancy s’mores in the photo (here’s the recipe).

Here’s how to throw a s’mores party, including the recipes mentioned above.

If you invent something special at your s’mores party, we want to hear about it!

The name “smashed potatoes” has already been claimed for roughly mashed potatoes with the skins on. So this recipe is called Potato Smashers.

We love smashing the potatoes (or the kids will enjoy doing it for you). And the prep time is just 5 minutes, cook time 30 minutes.

RECIPE: POTATO SMASHERS

Ingredients For 8 Servings

1. PLACE whole potatoes into a microwave-safe covered dish. Do NOT puncture for steam escape. Microwave on HIGH for 3 to 4 minutes.

2. CUT peppers into small (1/4-inch) slices. Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat to medium. Add peppers and sauté until they start to brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. REMOVE potatoes from microwave and, using a layer of paper towels to cover the potatoes, smash them on a cutting board until 1-3/4-inch thick. You can use the side of a coffee cup or a flat cooking utensil to smash the potatoes.

4. SPRAY sauté pan with cooking spray; heat on high and add smashed potatoes. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until potatoes start to brown.

5. PLACE potatoes on a plate and layer with sour cream or yogurt, peppers and cilantro. Dust with salt, chili powder and pepper to taste. Serve warm.