I also prepared my favorite appetizer. Bruschetta! I switched it up this time.. instead of cherry tomatoes (which is also great!) I made it with heirloom tomatoes!! Here are my thoughts on heirloom tomatoes; A regular tomato is fine until you have had an heirloom tomato, Aside from their expense they are certainly the way to go and never the less they are gorgeous to look at! While I used the heirloom tomatoes the rest of the recipe stayed the same: tomatoes, red onion, fresh garlic, lots of basil! extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper! it is so good the simple way, where you can taste every little ingredient. :) and not to leave out the best part.. Balsamic Reduction!! All atop a crostini rubbed down with a fresh clove of garlic..Mmm!
And you know I couldn't skimp on the dessert. We indulged in a rich velvet Mango Ice Cream. I used a Thomas Keller recipe as a guide but, eventually I tweaked the recipe to my liking... and lucky for me it turned out delicious! I WILL be make this ice cream again!