Late Summer Tomato Party

I’m a person who struggles with transitions, such as after big life events, fun-filled weekends, or even moving between seasons. I specifically remember feeling down after graduating from high school and again when leaving college. I’m melancholy after having a house full of family for a holiday and even when one of my adult children pulls out of the driveway after a short but perfect visit. I get sad when summer ends but love how the angle of the sun changes. I’ve determined that transitions need celebrating. As such, as this summer started dwindling, I decided to celebrate the end of summer with a tomato party!

Tomato, tomahto

To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to. However you say it, the humble tomato has been having its day in the spotlight. “Tomato Girl Summer” became a viral sun-drenched aesthetic on social media back in summer 2023 and is still going strong. I’m not sure I even knew this was a thing until I stumbled across photos on Instagram. Apparently I’m a couple years behind, but I knew when I saw photos of tables in full tomato regalia on social media that I wanted to create my own. For me it was mostly about creating a tomato-themed table and sharing tomato-forward dishes with friends to say goodbye to the season.

Tomato Tablescape

I started planning weeks in advance in my head and began gathering items for my tablescape. My house décor and kitchenware are predominately neutral or blue, so I was trying to figure out how to make the plates and linens I owned work. When I came across these DiNapoli tomatoes — available in a light blue can — I was a little giddy. I envisioned the blue and sun gold colored cans full of low flowers in tomato-y tones. They were perfect. And, yes, I have a freezer full of tomato products now. I also found a tomato linen table runner at an extra 40 percent off the sale price at Anthropolgie. Score. Linen is my fabric of choice for the table.

The light blue DiNapoi cans were my jumping off point for my tomato tablescape.

I love how all the colors came together and coincidentally coordinated with my artwork in the dining space.

Thinking about flowers, I talked with Autumn at River City Flower Farm near me to line up flowers in the right tones. She also offered to cut tomato vines for me. I wanted to line the table runner with tomatoes, so started collecting tomatoes in different shapes, sizes, and colors from the farmer’s market and grocery store. Just a couple days before the party, I stopped by Wild Coast Goods in Nehalem and found a tomato-shaped (unscented) candle to add to my growing collection of real tomatoes. That same day, Buttercup Ice Creams and Chowders across the street had a bowl of golden yellow tomatoes on the counter marked “free.” It was my lucky day!

Whenever hosting a dinner party, I try to set my table the day before or at least first thing that morning. The natural colored linen tablecloth is from Quince. I layered the tomato runner and gingham napkins with an aqua blue border. I used natural seagrass placemats and clear glassware. Then I randomly added my collection of tomatoes and added in my “fake” tomato with the flowers and candles. Originally I was going to use the tomato vines down the length of the table, but a couple days before I realized that the scent would overpower everything so nixed them.

I blended the linens I owned in shades of natural and blue with a new tomato runner, colorful tomatoes, votives, and flowers in blue and yellow-colored tomato cans.

I spy a tomato candle amongst the real tomatoes.

Tomato Party Menu

I started collecting ideas for tomato dishes weeks in advance. I had a list of ideas for the menu, but I ended up deciding to make gazpacho, a chicken and tomato main course, and dessert. Then I invited a few friends to bring a tomato-forward dish to share, figuring that I would fill in any culinary blanks.

Brushetta and Caprese Salad

First things first. Naturally we let the wine pour. We had chilled Rosé (appropriately chosen blush color with a red label), Sauvignon Blanc, and a light Pinot Noir.

We started with bruschetta (what’s a tomato party without bruschetta!) on toasted baguette slices and a cute “Ladybug” Caprese Salad, recipe courtesy of the Fred Meyer catalog,. 🐞😂 both brought by my guests.

Tomato Peach Gazpacho

Then we sat down to the Tomato Peach Gazpacho that I made from Feasting at Home with garnishes including chopped cucumber, diced peaches, avocado, burrata and basil. Sylvia at Feasing at Home’s version was much prettier … she may have used orange tomatoes to get the color.

Tomato Peach Gazpacho with cucumber, red onion, diced peaches, avocado, burrata and red pepper flakes.

I made the gazpacho the day before and chilled in fridge. It will keep three to four days, but make sure to chill at least two hours before serving. The recipe says it serves four. I scaled the recipe one and a half times for eight people, and still had leftovers.

Ingredients for four:

• 2 large peaches, save 1/4 cup for garnish

• 3 large tomatoes (same size as peaches), save 1/4 cup for garnish

• 1/3 of an English cucumber, about 1 1/2 cups– save 1/4 cup for garnish

• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced, plus 1/4 cup for garnish

• 10 basil leaves, plus more for garnish

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 –1 teaspoon salt

• 1–2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar (or Apple Cider vinegar)

• cracked pepper to taste

Garnish ideas: Finely diced peaches, tomato, cucumber, red onion, basil leaves, red pepper flakes. You can add one or more of these: drizzle of olive oil, sliced avocado, burrata cheese, croutons. I recommend croutons!

The full recipe is here.. But basically you quarter the peaches and tomatoes and place in blender or food processor. Be sure to save some for your garnish. Blend the fruit with the onion, cucumber, basil, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Blend until smooth but you still want some texture. Taste it and add more salt if you’d like. It should be tomato forward with hints of peach

Heirloom Tomato Tart

For the “main dishes,” my friend and her husband made a beautiful Heirloom Tomato Tart from NY Times Cooking with tomatoes grown in their backyard. A lovely little shortcut secret: the crust used is available frozen from Grand Central Bakery (locations in Portland and Seattle).

I love me a tomato tart and was happy to let a guest make this!

Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans and Chicken

I made Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans from Smitten Kitchen and added chicken thighs to give the meal more protein. This was great because iI could basically make it in advance and keep it warm in the oven. In the spirit of making ahead, I also served a marinated Cucumber Salad to offset all the tomatoes. A mixed green or Caesar salad would have also worked nicely.

Roasted tomatoes with white beans and chicken thighs, mopped up with more baguette. I’d definitely make this again.

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• Very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved

• Lots of garlic cloves, peeled

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• Canned cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed

• Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

• Boneless chicken thighs

Follow the recipe for prepping the tomatoes and garlic, but place the chicken thighs on top and roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Then take it out of the oven, add the beans, and roast for about 10 more minutes or until the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant meat thermometer. When ready to serve, sprinkle with chopped basil and serve with baguette slices.

Lemon Basil Olive Oil Cake with Candied Tomatoes and Tomato Gelato

Time for dessert! I knew I wanted to incorporate tomatoes into my dessert and was inspired when I saw Salt & Straw founder Tyler Malek talking about their August Farmer’s Market Series. My daughter brought me a pint of the Tomato Gelato with Olive Brittle from Portland, and I harbored it in the freezer until party time. Tyler sold me when he said tomatoes are a cousin of strawberries and the brittle is a butter brittle.

To go with the gelato, I made this Lemon Basil Olive Oil Cake adapted from Yossi Arefi’s Lemon Olive Oil Cake in her Snacking Cakes book. I served thick slices with candied cherry tomatoes and a small scoop of the tomato gelato with lemon basil sugar.

Okay, in all the fun, I actually totally forgot to serve the candied tomatoes, so took this photo the next day! The collective verdict was that it was delicious. The gelato was good … but I had a bit of a harder time with the brittle because, confession, I do not like olives. She looked pretty though!

Lemon Basil Olive Oil Loaf Cake surrounded by lemon basil sugar and candied tomatoes.

Tomatoes, basil, and olive oil sweetened up for dessert.

The aftermath of my party included cleaning melted red wax and tomato guts/juice off of my new table runner. I still have a few stains, but I also have the memories.

I decided that I like party themes centered around one ingredient. And also parties for “no particular reason” are always a good idea.

I can’t wait for the second annual bigger-and-better tomato party!

My tomato party by the light of the moon. Whoops, I see chocolate crumbs on the plate in the foreground … did I mention that I also made a chocolate loaf cake … just in case we wanted to cleanse our palates. We did. You know it’s a great dinner party when everyone eats both desserts.