A Little Taste of Summer

Nothing says summertime like a barbeque grill and an evening with friends. Even though we're not even halfway through Spring, this weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity to have some friends over, bring out the webber and make one of my favorite sides- Panzanella, or bread salad. Panzanella is definitely a seasonal dish because it requires fresh veggies and herbs that you won't find in the colder-weather months. It is traditionally an Italian dish of soaked, stale bread, tomatoes, onions, and basil. Almost like a deconstructed Bruschetta. My favorite recipe is inspired from Ina Garten, Food Network Chef and TV Host. I like hers because she doesn't require using stale bread, something I don't have the patience for. When I say patience, I mean I eat the loaf of bread before allowing it to stale. Any good, crusty loaf of bread will do. You want to make sure the crust of the bread it thick enough to stand up to the dressing you are going to soak the salad in. Cut the load into 1/2-1" size chunks and saute in a couple tablespoons of olive oil with some salt for about 10 minutes. The bread should start to brown and take on the consistency of soft croutons. Meanwhile, cut up large chunks of tomatoes (I like Roma tomatoes), bell peppers (any color but green), red onion, and cucumber. I use about 2-3 tomatoes, 1-2 peppers, 1/2-1 red onion, and 1 cucumber. Toss the veggies into a bowl along with a couple tablespoons of drained capers and a good handful of chopped or torn basil. You can add the toasted bread at this point too. In a separate bowl, mix up a dressing of about a tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons vinegar (white wine, white balsamic- something light in color that you would normally dress a salad with), 1 clove pressed garlic, and salt and pepper. Taste the dressing and season as necessary. Toss the veggies and bread with the dressing and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the veggies and bread marinate and soak up the dressing. The bread takes on a great consistency with this salad. The outer crust stays hard while the inside becomes soaked with the dressing. This one is even good one day leftover. We grilled up some steaks on the side- just a basic grill rub or even salt and pepper is enough. Michael's grill tip of the week- use a spray bottle of water to keep the flames down. This will prevent charring the outside and leads to a perfectly cooked steak! Enjoy with a good bottle of wine and some even better friends. Cheers to summertime (almost...)!