After a weekend of sun, we are ready to settle into our apartments with a simple summer dinner to keep it light and healthy in preparation for upcoming weekends at the beach. Maybe we’re thinking too far ahead, but a Minkette must always be ready for the ‘morning after.’ We are so excited to try a Tomato Mozzarella Salad by Bethenny Frankel - one of our favorite multi-talented inspirations.
Ingredients:
- 2 fresh ripe red tomatoes
- 2 fresh ripe yellow tomatoes
- 1 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella in water
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup fresh green pesto (can be store bought)
Directions:
- Core the tomatoes, then cut into ½ inch slices. Slice the mozzarella so you have half as many slices of cheese as tomato slices.
- In one or two rows (depending on the size of your plate serving platter), layer the tomatoes and cheese alternating a slice of red tomato, a slice of cheese, and a slice of yellow tomato.
- Arrange the basil leaves over the tomatoes and cheese. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle the entire salad with pesto.
It might be summer outside, but we are still craving soup. Since it’s a bit too warm (and we’re not complaining), we’ve decided to try making chilled gazpacho. We found an amazing and easy recipe by José Andrés on PopSugar for the deliciously refreshing – and might we add, healthy – soup. Check out the steps below and enjoy – we sure will be!
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup Oloroso sherry
- 3/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
Garnish:
- 2 1-inch-thick slices rustic bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cucumber
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- Sea salt
Directions
- Combine the cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, sherry, olive oil, and 2 cups of water in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.
- Strain the gazpacho into a pitcher and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to serve, either dice or slice the cucumber into ribbons with a vegetable peeler.
- Put a few croutons, cherry tomato halves, and cucumber pieces in each bowl and pour the gazpacho over them.
- Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spring with salt, and serve.
This week we cannot wait to check out the NoMad. Located near our office in the Flatiron District, it is the perfect solution to an afterwork happy hour. NoMad consists of several rooms, including a Library for daytime coffee and nighttime cocktails, several private nooks with fireplaces imported from a French chateau, and an atrium – which reminds us of a European courtyard. Stop by tonight and pick from one of their many amazing cocktails.
We absolutely love Monday night dinner! This week, we are excited to try the brand new and uber-chic Hakkasan. Hakkasan specializes in high end Chinese food and offers intimacy with special romantic lighting in each dining area which are all separated by lattices. We are dying to try the menu, including the Hakkasan dim sum platter, lobster stir-fry in XO sauce, duck breast with king oyster mushrooms and who needs a fortune cookie when you can get a macaron instead. Yum!
Though Mondays are never our favorite, we always look forward to Monday night dinner. This week we have to recommend Hecho En Dumbo in the East Village. Hecho En Dumbo serves amazing small plates of rustic Mexican staples and contemporary Mexico City dishes. We hope to see you there for your guacamole cravings!
