Again in January, I made a decision to observe in Eater’s footsteps and declare 2024 the Yr of the Dinner Get together. In actuality, this has led to a complete of…three dinner events over the previous eight months. However three is greater than zero, proper? And I discovered the proper excuse to throw my most up-to-date one: August marks the height of tomato season, which I at all times sit up for enthusiastically. On prime of that, I really like a theme, and seasonality at all times lends a way of event and fleeting pleasure to any food-related occasion. So I made a decision to throw a cocktail party to have a good time the tomato in as many kinds as doable: in drinks, appetizers, entrees, and even dessert.
My takeaway from my tomato get together? Extra individuals ought to throw one. Since easy dishes typically showcase tomatoes probably the most, it’s a low-maintenance, high-reward theme, and in addition nice for vegetarians and pescatarians (even when I couldn’t resist throwing bacon into one dish).
To profit from a summer time tomato get together, right here’s what I realized, and what I like to recommend:
*Kick issues off with a cocktail. Bloody marys are apparent, however my associates are extra of a martini crowd, so I gave the Molly Baz tomato martini a whirl (I’d relatively have a basic one, but it surely was a festive spin).
*An eclectic menu provides selection. Whereas it’s nice to pair programs with comparable themes (a Vietnamese soup and salad course, for instance), you don’t want to do that for the complete meal.
*Showcase the tomato in a wide range of kinds and preparations: suppose a mixture of cooked and uncooked dishes. An emphasis on recent and heirloom tomatoes is warranted, however don’t be afraid so as to add tomato sauce or paste to the combination. Poaching, roasting, grating, and marinating all add completely different dimensions.
*It’s nice to incorporate a nod to no less than one iconic tomato dish in your menu. Pasta’s a no brainer; I considered including panzanella however as a substitute improvised a recipe for a BLT in bruschetta kind.
*Don’t complicate your life looking for a farmers market open on the day of the get together — however you should definitely retailer your tomatoes correctly if you are going to buy them earlier. I mixed recommendation from the web and saved mine stem-side down on paper towel-lined baking sheets, with every stem eliminated and lined with tape, and had barely any casualties. While you’re shopping for tomatoes, do your greatest to plan forward: I like to recommend doing a tomato stock of what number of every dish will want.
*Dessert is doable! I used to be intrigued by old-school recipes for tomato soup cake, however that felt like sufficient of a chance that I as a substitute tried a sundae within the spirit of the sungold sundae at Caffe Panna (my husband made the gelato from scratch), and it was most likely my favourite course.
*You don’t should get too bold. I made a decision on the final minute to make my very own baguettes for my crostini. Present-offy, certain — but it surely added much more problem and last-minute prep work when a bakery baguette would have tasted simply pretty much as good (and possibly appeared higher). There are many much less concerned dishes that also look spectacular — suppose tomato tarts with frozen puff pastry, and so on. And ensure to stability any a la minute dishes with these you may make forward; even dishes requiring some cooking within the second needs to be totally prepped earlier than your company arrive.
It is probably not the 12 months of the feast in your family, however you possibly can nonetheless make it a tomato get together summer time (it’s not fall ‘until late September, proper?). Simply begin your planning spreadsheet (sure, I like to recommend a planning spreadsheet) quickly, earlier than these tomatoes — and the summer time — disappear.
