you say tomato…

I’m in the midst of a summer love affair with tomatoes. Can’t tell you how excited I get when I try something new and absolutely adore it. This happened at my husband’s surprise birthday breakfast for his entire office at our home. I usually don’t hire caterers. But because this party was at 8 AM, at my house, AND a surprise I knew I needed professional help.

Now I don’t recommend throwing a surprise party at the waking hours, especially when the one to be surprised is sleeping upstairs. This morning the rain was falling against the windows and while my hubby kept rolling over and hitting the snooze bar my agitation increased. The caterer was already parked at the neighbors waiting for my call to say the coast is clear. Business associates were parking at nearby establishments, again waiting for the all clear. The only thing that was clear was that Larry the Loafer was taking his sweet time getting up and adam. At 7:40 I couldn’t stand it anymore. In a voice I hoped was sweet I said, “hon don’t you have an important breakfast meeting today??” He yawned, stretched and made slow progress toward the bathroom.

Finally he pulled out of the drive. I dashed around like a crazy person brining out my centerpiece, the paper products and old dog towels to cover the floors as the caterer and his helpers trekked in from the rain. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to rally. I despise feeling rushed and out of control when I’m throwing a party. Then Rick Schaefer from Brock Mastersons uncovered a platter of his BLT rounds. Instantly my frown turned upside down. These delectable little bites started with a croissant round, then a slather of bacon spread, a slice of perfectly ripe cherry tomato and finally a leaf of Italian parsley. Uh-yum. It didn’t hurt that he handed me a warm scone and a spoonful of coddled cream to go with my cup of coffee. In a flash I was beaming brightly as the guests arrived. As we waited for the birthday boy to return to his roost I had already turned on my food detective radar to help me recreate this positively delicious appetizer. Now I have to admit the BLT round I conjured wasn’t quite as good as Rick’s but it comes in for a close-second.

The first hurdle was to figure out how he made the croissant rounds. They looked like flattened croissants. But flattening a croissant isn’t as easy it sounds.

After pulverizing a whole one I opted for cutting one in half. Roll the croissant flat with a rolling pin.

Choose a fluted round cutter the approximate size of a cherry tomato.

Cut the flattened croissant into rounds.

Place on a tray.

Meanwhile cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels.

Finely chop (I’m guessing Rick makes a large batch and uses a cuisinart).

Combine equal parts of softened butter and mayonnaise.

Whisk until smooth.

Stir in the bacon (again I bet Rick’s has more butter and is combined in the cuisinart).

Slice the cherry tomatoes. Discarding each end piece.

Spread each round with a generous slather of bacon spread.

Top with a cherry tomato slice.

Then a leaf of Italian parsley.

You won’t need a detective to figure out why these delectable bites disappear.