"insalata caprese" news and stories

Despite the cold weather and overcast skies that have suddenly turned into storm clouds, southern Californians seem to think it's...summer? The Los Angeles Times Food section today was about grilling, salads, ad margaritas.

• Charles Perry barbecues, but keeps it seasonal with Onion Burgers and Winter Roast Pork with Basil Pomegranate Sauce.
• Summer salads can be transformed into winter wonders with a few tweaks: Insalata Pontormo (Warm salad with pancetta and eggs), Winter Caprese, and Fennel, green apple and watercress salad.
• Sunny carrots are perfectly sweet for: Carrot-thyme timbales, Carrot-cashew salad, and Carrots with chive cream.
• SIV gives a half star (½*) to Scarboni, a new steakhouse near 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
• Winterizing isn't just for your windows; make margaritas work in January.
  

Technically, it's not Insalata Caprese, which is made with plum tomatoes and also has basil, both of which are grown in the Mezzogirorno. The original also uses olive oil that is from Sorrento. This is close enough. Instead of plum tomatoes, it has slightly sweeter, slightly less acidic orange tomatoes that alternate with mozzarella that is about the same size as the tomatoes. The entire plate is drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

It's also not really "light," since half its weight is cheese, but hey, it's still a salad!