Dining outdoors...I love it.  One of the things I miss most when the weather changes after September here in N.J.  I thought it would be nice to enjoy a meal outside this evening since come the weekend we may be getting pelted by a major hurricane, Irene.  Fingers crossed that the very angry Irene decides to move out to sea and not followed the currently forecasted path.  Yikes.  Summer dining is even better when it's relatively easy and the ingredients are local and seasonal.  We had it all here tonight and I'm just dying to tell you about it. 
First of all, the local ingredients were the corn on the cob, simply boiled in water that i add a little milk to and a pinch of sugar.  Why do I do that?  Because my mother did, and I just do it too.  The other local ingredient were the tomatoes, big Jersey Beefsteaks.  By this point in the summer season I've Capresed myself to death, although, one can never tire of that salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, I just wanted to mix it up a little.  Need
I say more???  They even smelled wonderful...like the summer sun...
   I sliced the tomatoes into
thin wedges, then laid them out on a platter.  Thinly sliced one small clove of garlic and randomly
placed it around the tomatoes.  Drizzled a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil over it along with a sprinkle of
sea salt and cracked black pepper.  In the center I added some marinated artichoke hearts, just
for fun, picked some fresh basil and added that to the tomatoes and over the whole thing i took the
blade of a sharp knive and made some curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano (you know, Mozzarella isn't
the ONLY cheese   that pairs nicely with tomatoes!)
This was a nice change from the usual..the Parmigiano nutty, and the artichoke hearts were tangy.
For the chicken, i had a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry.  In a large baking pan add
chicken, 2 tbs. of olive oil, 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. oregano
and from the garden, I picked 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, stripped the leaves off and added them, and
3 tbs. of Red Wine Vinegar.  Mix all this together and coat the chicken well.  In a pre-heated oven at 375
bake the chicken for 40 minutes, check that all the juices are running clear and the skin is nice and
crispy.  It's that easy..secret ingredient..the vinegar.  I can't tell you for sure why or what it does, but it
really makes the chicken (or any meat that you add it to) taste better!~


   If you are so inclined, go dip a good piece
 of Italian bread or a roll into that juice...(i was so inclined, just sayin).  Let the meat sit for about 10
minutes, then serve this casual meal with the corn and the tomato salad.  Really relaxed and really
good.
Wishing the East Coast of the US and the Islands good luck over the next few days through Monday.
Till then, have a relaxing meal!!  And whenever possible, make it an outdoor one!
Al Fresco Rocks!