Tomato Mozzarella Basil Ciabatta

oh. my. goodness. 

Allow me a quick recap of the week first, if you will, before we get into that yummy goodness.

It was already crazy crammed with appointments and the usual "to do" list when a box and a half of peaches I ordered (to support a school fundraiser) got delivered.

They are the BEST peaches BUT, holy Toledo, I had not built time into my schedule for them! 

Never the shrinking violet, I decided to forego some sleep & surged ahead, blanching, peeling, cooking, preserving, baking, etc.

Until 18 jars of peach freezer preserves, a strudel and a cobbler later, the boxes were empty. 

Whew.  I've never made preserves before.  I've been given jars in the past but what a new appreciation I have of that gift now!  Such a labor of love.

There wasn't time for back patting tho, on top of everything else, I had agreed to host a little garden party for a friend (who had a friend) who wanted to see my garden.

Follow that???

Even tho I was busy, I jumped at the chance, because I love any excuse to pull out two of my other passions ~ antique dishes & silver!!

I only own four covered bouillon cups/bowls, three in one pattern & this single one in my favorite rose pattern.  They are all Limoges, in case you're into this sort of thing as much as I am!!  :)

Don't you just love the whole idea of covering your bouillon to keep it warm??  (As opposed to ladling it into an open bowl only to have it cool off too quickly.)

Not to mention the adorable bouillon spoons.  *sigh*

I bet you couldn't guess I'm a Downton Abbey fan?!!!!!   I so dig this stuff....

My neighbor generously made the Butternut squash/chicken soup that we served in the bowls.

Now (finally) we're back to the promised Ciabatta sandwich!!!!

Inspired by a similar item seen on the menu at Starbucks.

Made using mayo, topped by ultra thin mozzarella slices on both halves of the Ciabatta, followed by a generous slice of a garden grown tomato, basil pesto & a few fresh basil leaves.

I don't own a Panini Press so I just sprayed both sides of the ciabatta with olive oil and grilled it on my George Foreman grill.

I'm telling you, biting into this sandwich is like tasting a little bit of heaven.  I can think of many variations too.  Imagine adding some bacon for a start!

Melted cheese, warm bread, fresh produce, ooey goodness = my new favorite sandwich!

It makes me wish I had grown some basil this year to make my own pesto.  Since I didn't, I used the basil paste above made by Gourmet Garden which turned out to be a delicious alternative.

The whole party was capped off by Peach Cobbler which was devoured quicker than a photo could be snapped!

Somehow, someway, the new vintage urn found a way to be planted.

What do you think??  Worthy of the container?? 

and now I'm ready for some "down" time.  Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

 

 

Comments

[Dana]

Yay - garden party! You always make everything so special! My mouth was watering looking at that awesome sandwich - I must make them sometime. Was so happy to see another awesome post tonite!

[Dana]

And the urn looks absolutely gorgeous with the plants you added!

[Donna May]

Just beautiful!! I live up in Westminster and absolutely love your blog. I'm an avid gardener, also a Master Gardener with CSU extension, but still learn so much from your posts! Thank you.

[Kathleen]

Dana ~ come up & I'll make you one!!!

Donna May ~ thank you for your very kind comment. That made my day & makes me feel so good. I bet you have a fantastic garden too??

[Joy]

Kathleen girl this post is one of the prettiest I have seen with the topics of fruit, Limoge (which I was so lucky to buy a huge dinner set while we lived in Holland .. so I appreciate your pieces very much!)recipes,gardening all of it!
The eared urn is such a head turner .. I love it and wish I could find one like it too!
It is beautiful and you planted it wonderfully!
You asked about my mirror and the chance of birds flying into it .. I would be crushed if something like that happened .. so no, it doesn't since it is on ground level (I always knew if I found the right one it would be ground level in the dry stream bed).. in fact you are the first one I have heard from that read birds had hurt themselves doing that .. that would bother me so much !
In any case .. I got off track, I wanted to say this post was such a pretty one with a blend of beautiful photos!
Well done you .. now get some rest girl !!
Joy : )

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

Oh my goodness you're food looks tasty! All of it. The urn is perfect with the plants you added to it! And, yes, I'm a Downton Abbey fan, too. Can't wait to see the next season. I wish we could watch it at the same time as the Brits, but that would be too easy, I guess. ;-)

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

Ooops. Typo. Should be "your food looks tasty" ... can you tell I'm in a hurry this eveing? Off to make some homemade salsa ...

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

evening ;-)

[Jan Barron]

I love everything about this post! Your garden party sounds perfect!

[Kathleen]

Thank you Beth & Jan!!!

[Jennifer]

The new urn looks great planted up. The peach preserves looks so jewel-like and I can just imagine how wonderful it would be on buttered toast. That sandwich looks amazing too.