What's Baking: Angel Food Cupcakes with Strawberries & Whipped Cream

These angel food cupcakes, topped with strawberries and whipped cream, are the quintessential summertime treat. 

 

Organically-grown strawberries have finally reached a price point that my wallet agrees with, and I can't help but buy a pound (or two, or three...) every time I make a grocery run. And while I am perfectly fine with eating them as they are, or quartering several as a topping for a bowl of yogurt, my favorite way to eat strawberries is with a generous slice of angel food cake. 

Mashed strawberries (with a little bit of sugar) and angel food cake was a common summertime dessert in our house when I was growing up. It's so simple, and yet so delicious. And given that a major component of angel food cake is egg whites, it's a relatively healthy dessert as well.

I've made angel food cake before, so I thought I would change things up and make angel food cupcakes. These cupcakes get a delicate burst of citrus flavor from the addition of orange extract and orange zest. If you don't have orange extract on hand, you can substitute vanilla extract, but don't skip the zest. These individual angel food cakes would make a delicious dessert to share at any summertime get-together. 

Angel Food Cupcakes (printer-friendly version)

makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup cake flour 

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon orange extract (or vanilla extract)
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

For the strawberry topping:
1 pint strawberried, hulled and quartered
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1. Make the strawberry topping: In a small bowl, combine the quartered strawberries and sugar. Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Use a potato masher or pastry blender to mash the strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners and spray each lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Add the granulated sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Process until super-fine (powdery) sugar forms, 1-2 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, 1/2 cup of super-fine sugar, and sea salt. Set aside.
5. Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until frothy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on, slowly add the remaining powdered sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat in the orange extract and orange zest.
6. Remove the bowl from the electric mixer. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture on top of the eggs, and gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining flour mixture in three additions, being very careful not to overmix.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepped cupcake cups in messy mounds that slightly tower over top the liners. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 14-16 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 3-5 minutes, then remove and set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
8. After the cupcakes have cooled, carefully remove them from their paper liners. Top with freshly whipped cream (recipe below) and the strawberry topping before serving.

(adapted from this Food Network recipe)

Sure, you could use the stuff from the can, but you can't beat (ha!) the taste of freshly whipped cream.

Freshly Whipped Cream

1 cup organic heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Chill your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
2. Pour the heavy cream into the chilled mixing bowl, and whip at high speed. When cream begins to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Continue to whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

What's For Dinner: Pork Belly Roast

 As I mentioned last week, pork is going to be on the menu a bit more often in the coming months. Why, you might ask? Meet the newest additions to Orange Dog Farm.

We're no longer just chicken farmers, as we recently added three pigs to our little farm. Our pigs are Tamworths — a heritage breed that originated in central England. Tamworth pigs first arrived in North America in 1882. They are a hardy breed that are meant to forage in the great outdoors. They are highly sought after for their great-tasting, lean meat. Oh, and they are also super-cute. (Uh-oh.)

A couple of months ago, D took a whole-hog breakdown (butchering) class at Underground Meats in Madison, Wisconsin as a way to educate himself about pork cuts, sausage making, and dry-curing. Since we will be selling our pork (I think we only have one half unaccounted for at this point), we wanted to be able to talk knowledgeably with our customers about the whole process. (Due to USDA requirements, in order to sell the meat, our hogs will be processed at a USDA-inspected butchering facility.) Long story short, in addition to gaining plenty of knowledge about primal and sub-primal cuts of meat, D also came home with a coolerful of pork.

First up? Pork belly, a cut of meat that's becoming rather popular in the farm-to-table restaurant world. This was the first time I've ever cooked pork belly, and I think it turned out quite well. The cracklings, seasoned with peppercorns and fennel, were particularly tasty and made for an excellent addition to a quiche I made later in the week. Though I served the pork belly roast with gravy, it is also quite delicious with a little bit of your favorite barbecue sauce. (You can't go wrong with pulled pork sandwiches made from any leftovers.)

Pork Belly Roast (printer-friendly version)
makes 4-6 servings

2-3 pound boneless pork belly, skin on
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons Maldon flaky sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped into 2-inch segments
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-inch segments
4-5 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup white wine 

For the gravy:
2 cups white wine
1-2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
2-3 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
2. In a dry skillet, toast the fennel seeds and whole peppercorns over medium high heat until fragrant, about one minutes. Place them into a mortar and pestle along with the salt and thyme leaves and grind until the fennel seeds and whole peppercorns are smashed. 
3. Use a sharp knife to score the skin down to, but not into, the meat in segments about 1-centimeter apart.
4. Drizzle about half of the olive oil over top the scored skin of the pork belly. Use your fingers to work half of the fennel seed mixture into the skin, taking special care to get it into the skin and down to the meat. Repeat on the bottom side of the meat.
5. Place the chopped carrots, chopped celery, and smashed garlic cloves into the bottom of a Dutch oven or roasting pan. Place the prepped pork belly on top of the vegetables, skin side up. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the skin is golden and bubbly. Then reduce the heat to 350 and continue cooking for 90 minutes.
6. After a 1.5 hours has passed, pour 1 cup of the white wine into the roasting pan and cook for an additional hour.
7. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven to check to see if the meat easily falls apart. If so, remove the meat and place it on a wooden cutting board to rest. If not, continue cooking until the meat is tender.
8. Place the roasting pan on the stove top over medium heat and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of flour. Continue stirring until the gravy has thickened. Stir in 2 cups of white wine. If the gravy is thicker than you like, stir in 1-2 cups of vegetable broth. Use a potato masher to mash the vegetables into the gravy. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes over low heat, then pass the gravy through a fine-mesh sieve to strain. Remove the crackling from the pork belly, then pull apart the meat and serve with the warm gravy.

(adapted from this Jamie Oliver recipe)

What's For Breakfast: Blood Orange Marmalade Candied Bacon

Later this month I will be attending the Eat Write Retreat in Chicago. As part of a VIP registration, I received a box of selections from the gourmet line of Golden Door Artisan foods. Golden Door Spa, located in Escondido, California, is a full-service resort focused on the mind, body, and spirit. Fresh, wholesome, clean, and flavorful foods are a key part of the Golden Door spa experience, and the Golden Door Artisan food product line allows consumers to bring the spa experience to their kitchen. This line of gourmet foods is the result of a collaboration between former Golden Door Chef Michel Stroot and current Chef Greg Frey Jr. The products are organic, vegan, gluten-, and soy-free. Additionally, 100% of Golden Door’s profits go to select charities across the U.S. dedicated to transforming the lives of children.

My preview box included:

• Golden Door Organic Fig Preserves
• Blood Orange Marmalade
• Zazen Rice Medley
• Zen Meditation Rice Medley With Forbidden Rice
• Spiced Bean Soup
• Moroccan Hariri Soup Mix

I was immediately drawn to the blood orange marmalade, which is the consistency of apple butter, and has just the right amount of tang and sweetness. I thought the sweetness of the blood orange marmalade would pair quite nicely with the saltiness of bacon.

Pairing spa food with bacon? Is that blasphemy? Perhaps, but I'm all about all things in moderation. And while bacon might not be on our menu every day of the week, it's a nice treat to have every now and again. (I'm looking at you, Sunday brunch.)

And of course, true to form, I didn't use just any bacon. Our most recent batch of bacon came from Black Earth Meats via The Conscious Carnivore in Madison. This uncured smoked bacon is made from pastured Berkshire pork and is nitrite and nitrate free. You're going to be seeing a lot more pork recipes on my blog in the near future. We're currently raising three Tamworth pigs on our little farm up here in the Northwoods. And they are living the good life on pasture in the sunshine (and shade), making all sorts of mud pies as they nose through the soil.

  

While the bacon is rather delicious on its own, the addition of blood orange marmalade seasoned with fennel seeds and peppercorns adds a whole new level of flavor.

While tasty on its own, this candied bacon, when crumbled, would also make a flavorful addition to a quiche, salad, or dare I say it, scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Blood Orange Marmalade Candied Bacon (printer-friendly version)
makes 2-3 servings

6 strips thick-cut, preservative-free uncured smoked bacon
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons blood orange marmalade, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over top the layer of foil. Place 6 strips of thick-cut bacon on the wire rack. Use a pastry brush to brush about 1/4 teaspoon teaspoon of blood orange marmalade over top each slice of bacon.
2. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook the bacon until brown and crispy, about 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use tongs to carefully flip over each slice of bacon.
3. While the bacon is baking on the first side, prep the fennel seed and peppercorn mixture. Add the fennel seeds and whole peppercorns to the bowl of a food processor. Process until most peppercorns are pulverized, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Place 1/4 cup blood orange marmalade into a small bowl. Stir in the fennel seed mixture. Brush the marmalade-fennel seed mixture evenly over top each slice of bacon. Bake in the oven for another 20 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

What's For Dinner: Broccoli Quiche with a Puff Pastry Crust

When you have a whole lot of laying hens (we have 20 at the moment), quiche becomes a popular item on the dinner menu. I usually make a crustless quiche, but the other night I was feeling fancy, so I opted to use a puff pastry crust.

This quiche is chock full of vegetables, just how I like it. In addition to mushrooms, scallions, and broccoli, I also added in a handful of chopped bacon that I had leftover from another meal. But if you're vegetarian, or don't happen to have leftover bacon (typically an anomaly in our household!) on hand, feel free to omit it.

Since the puff pastry crust gets pre-baked before adding in the rest of the ingredients, this quiche takes a little longer to cook than others I have showcased on this blog, but I think the extra time is worth it. Sometimes you just need a little puff pastry in your life, you know?

Broccoli Cheese Quiche with a Puff Pastry Crust (printer-friendly version)
makes 6-8 servings

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
1 cup chopped scallions (green and white parts)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon [optional]
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the puff pastry slightly to fit in a 9-inch pie dish. Carefully place the crust into the pie dish and fold over the edges, cutting off any excess. (You can use the excess to fill any edges that are sparse.) Use a fork to prick the crust all over, including the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
2. While the pastry is baking, prep the filling. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned and softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the scallions and cook until slightly softened, 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broccoli florets and cook until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the pre-cooked chopped bacon, if using.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, and half-and-half. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, and herbes de Provence. Then stir in the shredded cheese.
4. Carefully transfer the cooked vegetables to the pre-baked crust. Then top with the egg mixture, covering the vegetables evenly. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top has set.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

What's For Breakfast: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pancakes

Looking for a sweet and tangy way to start your day? Look no further than these mouthwatering strawberry-rhubarb pancakes. 

Those ruby-red stalks have finally found their way into the marketplace up here in the Northwoods. And while I typically reach for a dessert recipe when it comes to this tart ingredient, this time around I was in the mood for a breakfast treat.

Enter these strawberry-rhubarb pancakes with strawberry-rhubarb sauce (I'm all in when it comes to the strawberry-rhubarb flavor combination). The base of this recipe is my standard buttermilk pancake recipe. To each round of pancake batter on the skillet I added a teaspoon each of chopped strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Then, right before serving, everything gets slathered in a scrumptious strawberry-rhubarb sauce, still warm from the stove.

What is your favorite way to use rhubarb?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pancakes (printer-friendly version)
makes 12 pancakes

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the skillet
1/2 cup finely chopped rhubarb, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries, divided

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Then stir in the melted butter. Do not over stir!
4. Melt the butter in an electric skillet heated to 350 degrees. Add about 1/3 cup of batter in rounds to the skillet. Top each pancake with about 1 teaspoon each of the chopped strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Flip when the pancakes when bubbles form and the batter looks matte in appearance. Cook for an additional minute or two. Serve immediately with warm strawberry-rhubarb sauce (recipe below) or keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce (printer-friendly version)
makes about 1 cup

1/2 cup chopped rhubarb
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Add the rhubarb, water, and sugar to a small sauce pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Continue simmering for five minutes.
2. Add the strawberries and continue cooking over medium-low heat for another five minutes, or until the strawberries are tender. Lightly mash the strawberries and rhubarb with the back of a spoon. Stir in the vanilla. Keep warm until ready to serve.

What's On the Side: Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Bacon

What makes oven-roasted asparagus even tastier? A generous topping of crumbled goat cheese and bacon, of course. 

I probably shouldn't admit this, given I'm a food blogger and all, but I cooked my first steak last week! I was craving a little red meat, so I thawed out two venison steaks during the day. I typically hand red-meat cooking duties over to D, but he was busy fixing some fencing in the farmyard, so it was up to me to get the meat onto our dinner plates. And surprisingly to me, it was actually quite easy. And I nailed it! After searing the seasoned steaks on all sides on a hot cast iron skillet, I transferred the skillet to the oven, where I continued cooking the steaks for about 10 minutes, until their interior temperature reached between 135 and 140 degrees. Five minutes of rest-time, and they were ready to eat. 

Alongside the steaks, I served up garlic mashed potatoes and this roasted asparagus dish. I love asparagus that has been roasted in a hot oven, and this asparagus is made even better with a generous sprinkling of crumbled goat cheese, bacon, lemon juice, and lemon zest. And you could easily make this a vegetarian side by omitting the crumbled bacon.

The asparagus is just gettin' good up here in the north; I'm definitely planning to make this yummy side dish again as soon as I get my hands on another bunch of plump asparagus spears!

Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Bacon (printer-friendly version)
makes 2-3 servings

3 slices bacon
1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper
fine sea salt
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

1. Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp and browned. Blot on a paper towel, crumble, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place the asparagus in a single layer atop the prepped baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and gently roll the asparagus to evenly coat the asparagus spears. Season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Roast the asparagus in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Place the asparagus on a serving platter in a single layer. Top with the crumbled goat cheese, then bacon, then drizzle with lemon juice, and sprinkle with lemon zest. Serve immediately.

(adapted from this Bon Appetit recipe)

What's Baking: Baked "Funfetti" Donuts with Chocolate Icing

Happy National Donut Day! To celebrate this food holiday, I baked up a batch of "funfetti" donuts with chocolate icing.

 

I am a big fan of donuts. I'm particularly fond of donuts that come from mom-n-pop donut shops. We had a favorite donut shop back when we lived in Laramie. And I still kick myself that we never tried the donuts at Federal Donuts back in Philly. When we first moved to Rhinelander, there was a small cafe that sold delicious donuts, but three owners later and the donuts are gone. Now, if I want a tasty donut treat from an independent shop, we drive down to Wausau to pick up delicious treats from Kreger's Bakery. They have a huge selection, which means we often end up with a half-dozen donuts between the two of us, because choosing one flavor over another is just too difficult! 

Because making the hour's drive down to Wausau on a weekday morning isn't really the most practical option, I had to bake my own donut treats this morning to celebrate National Donut Day. These "funfetti" donuts get their colorful appearance from a handful of sprinkles thrown into the batter. And to top these donuts off, you can't go wrong with a decadent chocolate icing.

Food blogger confession time: these donuts took a little doing to get exactly right. I originally planned to use a vanilla icing, but the glaze didn't set up exactly how I wanted it to. So, goodbye batch one. For batch two, I opted to change things up and make a chocolate ganache to go on top. But, long story short, the chocolate ganache did not turn out either. (See, not everything in my kitchen turns out magically perfect the first time around!)

So, I finally decided to use a tried-and-true recipe for chocolate icing that adds a little corn syrup for shine, and voila, the donuts were finally ready for their picture-perfect moment. And rest assured, these donuts taste just as delicious as they look.

If you haven't already invested in a donut pan (and they are quite inexpensive), what are you waiting for? This recipe would be a great place to start your own donut-baking adventure.

Baked "Funfetti" Donuts with Chocolate Icing (printer-friendly version)
makes six donuts

For the donuts:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

For the icing:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

additional sprinkles for decorating

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. Add in the yogurt, milk, egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. Stir in the sprinkles.
4. Carefully spoon the donut batter into the prepared baking pan. Fill each cavity about 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the donuts just spring back when touched.
6. Remove donuts from the pan and let cool completely.
7. While the donuts are cooling, make the icing: In a small sauce pot over low heat, stir together the butter, corn syrup, skim milk, and vanilla extract. Once the butter has melted, add in the chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Whisk in the powdered sugar and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.
8. Use the icing immediately to coat the top of each donut. Decorate the donuts with sprinkles if desired.

Need more #nationaldonutday inspiration? Here are a few more donut recipes from my archives.

Crème Brûlée Stout Donuts with Chocolate Stout Glaze 

Blueberry Donuts with a Lemon Glaze

Baked Strawberry Donuts

Baked Chocolate Donuts

What I'm Drinking: A Pimm's Cup

As the temperatures warm up, a refreshing Pimm's Cup will cool you down.

 

After a long day of work (or play) I like to cool down with a refreshing cocktail. The Pimm's cup is the perfect cocktail for a hot summer's day.

The Pimm's cup gets its name from Pimm's No. 1, is a gin-based liquor made in England that features flavors of herbal botanicals, caramelized orangem and delicate spices.

A traditional Pimm's cup is made with muddled citrus and cucumber, Pimm's No. 1, and lemonade (or lemon soda). Other versions replace the lemonade with ginger ale. Feeling rather egalitarian, I opted to make mine with both. Sliced strawberries and a sprig of mint wouldn't be a bad idea, either. The Pimm's Cup is a pitcher-friendly cocktail, making it a great option for a get-together with friends.

Pimm's Cup

makes 1 cocktail

4 thin cucumber slices

2 thin orange slices

2 thin lemon slices

ice

2 oz Pimm's No. 1

1 oz lemonade

3 oz ginger ale  

1. Ring the bottom inside edge of an 8-ounce mason jar with alternating cucumber, orange, and lemon slices. Or if you're feeling less fancy, place the slices in the jar haphazardly.

2. Fill the jar with ice. Pour 2 ounces of Pimm's No. 1 into the jar. Top with lemonade and ginger ale. Add a whimsical straw, and serve!

What's For Dinner: Bucatini with Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil

When it comes to summertime dinners, I want something fast and fresh. This bucatini with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil does the trick. It literally takes less than 15 minutes to get this meal on the table, which means there is less time stuck in the kitchen and more time to enjoy the warm temperatures and longer days of the summer season.

Of course, we've had frost/freeze warnings the past two nights and I've been wearing sweaters during the day of late, but that comes with the territory when you live in Northern Wisconsin.

This pasta dish gets a boost of flavor from garlic that is lightly fried in olive oil; the garlic-infused olive oil serves as the sauce. Once the pasta is cooked, it is tossed with the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and garlic-infused olive oil, and then seasoned with black pepper. And, without much effort, dinner is ready to be served. It doesn't get much easier than that!

Bucatini with Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil (printer-friendly version)
makes 2 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 ounces dry bucatini pasta
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine), halved
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
freshly cracked black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until light golden, about one minute. Remove the sauce pot from the heat and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the bucatini and cook until al dente (about 9 minutes). Drain the pasta (but do not shake dry) and add to a large bowl. Add in the halved tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil leaves. Toss to combine. Add the garlic oil and toss to evenly coat the ingredients. Season to taste with black pepper and serve immediately.

(lightly adapted from this Dinner was Delicious recipe)