Al Fresco Dining in California

We are definitely experiencing what is known as Indian Summer in California. Towards the end of the summer, when the weather heats up to almost 100 degrees, we experience the last moments of summer before Fall sets in. And even though it's very hot and miserable during the day, it's all worth it to have a beautiful and warm evening to be able to enjoy the outdoors. So we take advantage of eating al fresco whenever we get these opportunities. And tonight was one of those great evenings. We started off with Tijuana Taxis - a refreshing martini made with 2 parts each of orange juice and sweet and sour, mixed with one part tequila and cointreau. Our salad was made from home grown tomatoes from a friend's garden near Sacramento, basil from our backyard, a sprinkle of gongonzola cheese, and olive oil.



And then we grilled up some "vino and formaggio" sausages and served those on toasted french bread. But the prize dish tonight was Prosciutto Wrapped Figs and Blue Cheese!!! And what a treat it was!! We have a great harvest of mission figs this year and frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of eating them as is.



So I went online and found this great recipe from Michael Chiarello!! Even my husband, who is not a fig lover, couldn't get enough of this concoction!!! And it couldn't be any simpler to make. It consists of wrapping prosciutto around a half fig and some blue cheese, and then grilling it slightly until the prosciutto just begins to crisp. A little drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper finishes off the dish...yummy!!! The salty prosciutto complements the spicy gorgonzola cheese and sweet figs to perfection.