Upgrade Your Caprese

Today's post is not so much a recipe as grocery store advice.  Earlier this week, I realized we had a local grown tomato and overgrown basil plants in the garden that I could easily turn into a great caprese salad for dinner one night.  The only missing ingredient was the mozzarella.  When I went to the store, I was overwhelmed with the choices for fresh mozzarella - small bite size pieces, cherry tomato size balls, your standard large mozzarella chunk, etc.  But my eyes were quickly drawn to the container next to all these labeled burrata.  My cousin is a chef (like, an amazing chef) and I remember the first time I heard about burrata while visiting his restaurant.  The waiter described it as a very wet mozzarella cheese with a creamy inside.  We, of course, loved it that first time, but that doesn't really say much since we love every bite of food we eat when we visit him.  I was somewhat leery about buying burrata in the grocery store (there's no Whole Foods or Fresh Market here, folks), but I gave it a whirl.  The result was the best caprese salad I have ever had (at home or at a restaurant).

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  The burrata looks like a poached egg there, but trust me, when you bite into that creamy deliciousness, you won't be disappointed.  So next time you go looking for some fresh mozzarella, think twice about finding some burrata instead to upgrade your recipe!!