I LOVE birthdays!  It is a perfect time to celebrate and of course, cook.  Today it was time to celebrate Chris.  William and I whipped up a four course meal fit for our king.  After consulting various cookbooks and notes, our menu was filled with his favorites.  I will be sharing all four courses over the next few days.

Birthday Menu

Our first course started with Caprese Skewers.  These bite size appetizers made it easy to mingle and make casual talk about the day.  Chris loves the combination of tomato, basil, and mozzarella.  The drizzle of a balsamic vinaigrette completes the taste.

Caprese Skewers

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T + 1 t extra virgin olive oil

1/4 t ground black pepper, divided

1/8 t kosher salt

12 small mozzarella balls

24 grape tomatoes

24 small to medium leaves of fresh basil

24 toothpicks

Cut the mozzarella balls in half. In a small bowl, toss mozzarella with the 1 t of olive oil and 1/8 t of the pepper. Set aside to allow the mozzarella to absorb the flavors.

In another small bowl create a vinaigrette by whisking together balsamic vinegar, remaining 1 T of olive oil, 1/8 t pepper, and kosher salt. This vinaigrette will be brushed on the skewers, once assembled.

Create skewers:

Slide 1 grape tomato onto a toothpick. Fold 1 basil leaf in half; pierce with toothpick and slide up to the tomato. Slide 1 mozzarella piece onto the toothpick.  Continue assembling skewers laying them on serving plate.
Once all skewers are assembled, brush them with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Cover until serving.