Summer cheese

Care for some cheese and wine? Definitely one of my favorite meals...!! I can have cheese and wine all year long but I love this summery plate with lighter and softer cheeses...leaving the strong cheddar and blue cheeses for Fall and Winter days. BTW you can get the vintage silver fork cheese markers {here}. 

Savourer..!!

On the plate: 
* PARMIGIANO REGGIANO {chisel off a few pieces, drizzle with raw honey}
* CHEVRE // SOFT GOAT’S MILK CHEESE {rolled in finely chopped lemon thyme, chives, pinch of rosemary and ground pepper}
* MANCHEGO // AGED SHEEP’S MILK {with a bit of apricot jam}
* BABY MOZZARELLA // FRESH COW’S MILK {with slow roasted yellow tomatoes, basil and balsamic reduction- keep reading for recipe}
* Marcona Almonds
* Fresh Grapes or Figs
* Crostinis
* Seeded Crackers


Here is the recipe: 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes, whether red or orange or yellow or a combination, stemmed
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon natural cane sugar or maple syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar or maple syrup, and a scant 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and gently toss until well coated. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, cut-side up, and roast, without stirring, until the tomatoes shrink a bit and start to caramelize around the edges, 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Nibble the roasted cherry tomatoes straight off the baking sheet. Or, if you aren’t using them immediately, let them cool and then scrape them into a clean glass jar along with any olive oil that was left in the baking dish or sheet. The tomatoes will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.

Balsamic Reduction
Simmer balsamic vinegar until it reduces to 1/3 of its original volume. It will thicken even more as it cools. I suggest transferring it to some sort of glass vessel before it cools, as it is quite sticky.