We've mentioned tomatoes a lot this season. And, rightfully so as it’s the best tomato season I've seen in a long time. This weekend we're featuring tomatoes on a seasonal menu, used in 4 different preparations from appetizer to dessert. I'm amazed at the different flavor profiles of all the heirlooms. Here's what we'll be using for the different items on tonight's menu:

The Bradley Farm's "Vinny" (named by Ray the owner and a similar tomato to those used in San Marsano): rich, beefy almost stewed characteristic and flavors - we'll use this tonight for the chipotle tomato marinade on the steak and some in the tomato bisque.

Aunt Ruby's German Green: sweet and bright with refreshing acidity - we'll use this as the prominent tomato in the salad and a little in the sorbet for sweetness

Striped Germans: Sweet, fleshy and a somewhat silky texture - this will be added to the salad for some nice color

Rose de Beurre: Delicate with a hint of sweetness a very silky texture - this will be the main variety for the sorbet for texture and sweetness along with the German Green

Black Crimm: deep, dark beefy flavor - this will be added to the salad as an accent to add a more savory profile

Husk Tomatoes: sweet like candy, tiny little tomatoes with a husk around it like a tomatillo - we'll use these as a garnish for the sorbet

I'm very excited about the sorbet tonight, here's how it is made:



Yield: 8 - 4oz portions

4 Tablespoons Sugar

2 oz Water

8 Large Ripe Tomatoes

2 Lemons, juiced

3/4 Teaspoon Salt



1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cool.

2. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water until the skin loosens (only about 30 seconds) and cool immediately in a mixture of ice and water (an ice bath).

3. Peel and seed the Tomatoes

4. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor and combine with the sugar mixture, lemon juice and salt - puree until smooth.

5. Process in an ice cream maker or follow the next set of directions for the old fashioned way.



Old Fashioned Ice Cream Procedure: One of our chefs showed me this when our ice cream maker broke. He said this is how he did it with his family as a child in Mexico.



1. Get two bain maries, one larger than the other so they nest inside one another but not too tight (a bain marie is a tubular shaped metal vessel of different sizes)

2. Fill the large bain marie half way with a mixture of half ice, half water and 1 cup of salt so a slush forms. Set the smaller bain marie inside so the sides are in contact with the ice mixture. Adjust the amounts as necessary. What is important is that the water ice mixture is ice cold and is in contact with the small bain marie on all sides.

3. Add the sorbet mixture to the smaller bane marie and mix with a rubber spatula. You will see sorbet starting to form against the walls of the bain marie, scrape these with the spatula so new solids form.

4. Continue this until you have a nice creamy texture and then put in a container in the freezer.

With all the fuss over the tomatoes this season, I overlooked one of the best summer treats of them all: squash blossoms. These are the blossoms where the actual squash will form. They are beautiful yellow-orange flowers and delicious. I find actually I love the texture more than perhaps the actual flavor which is very delicate. I find they are great stuffed with a little goat cheese, pan-fried and served with or without a fresh sauce like tomato or roasted red pepper coulis.

Crispy Squash Blossoms with Goat Cheese & Ricotta

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup fresh ricotta (high quality ricotta, try Salvatore from Brooklyn, NY)

1 tsp fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

1/2 cup fresh goat cheese

Salt and Pepper as needed

12 squash blossoms

1 cup vegetable oil


1. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil

2. Add the garlic and sweat

3. Add the herbs and goat cheese and mix well until the goat cheese has softened

4. Add the ricotta and mix well

5. While the cheese mixture is warm (no hot), place in a piping bag and fill each blossom with about 1.5 tbsp of the cheese mixture. Twist the open end once full to seal.

6. Once all the blossoms are full, heat the vegetable oil until it just starts to smoke slightly.

7. Fry the blossoms on both sides until golden brown

8. Set on a paper towel for a minute before serving

9. Serve hot with a light tomato sauce, roasted pepper coulis or other light sauces

Does anyone remember last year's tomato blight in NY? It was awful. In August when everyone was expecting to see the beginning of great tomatoes, we had nothing. It wasn’t until September that I even got 1 tomato I thought was worthy of having on our menu, and that only lasted about a week. Well, no blight this year. With little rain and a hot summer, we started seeing great tomatoes in July and today, there were so many heirloom varieties at the market it was hard to choose between them. Of course we'll have them on our menu tonight. Here's a great recipe for a ranch style herb dressing that is just perfect with these flavorful tomatoes:



Tomato Salad:

Pick some great heirloom tomatoes, the uglier the better, as many colors as possible, slice and cut them in different shapes and sizes.

Add some of your favorite vegetables for garnishes: thinly sliced red onion or scallion, cucumber, julienne bell peppers, radish - just not too much, let the tomatoes stand out

Drizzle with the following dressing recipe.



Summer Herb Ranch Dressing:

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 lemon, juiced

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 tablespoon minced thyme

1 tablespoon minced chives

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon celery seed



Combine all ingredients and mix well. Best made 24 hours prior to using the dressing.