Caprese Salad w/ Heirloom Tomatoes and Balsamic Glazed Grilled Chicken

Right now, as I'm typing this at 8:30 at night it's 95 degrees. No, I didn't type that wrong... the numbers are NINE and FIVE as in ninety freakin' five degrees at 8:30 at night. The last couple of days its been over 100. Didn't someone get the memo upstairs that it's September? There should be a rule once the football season starts, the weather cools down. When I think of football season, I think of crisp weather and yelling. Yeah, that's also not a typo. My husband is a yeller... at the TV, no less. Rich yells so loud I think, he thinks the refs, coaches and players can hear him by the sheer force of how loud he gets. Like that will get the Forty Niners to play better. Ha. I'm genuinely surprised the cops haven't came to our door asking if there's some sort of domestic disturbance and if I need the number to the local woman's shelter. One little sad fact around Stockton when the Oakland Raiders lose a football game there is an uptick of domestic violence. So now that I think about it maybe this isn't such a funny thing to joke about.

*and the award for the longest name for a dinner goes to...

Caprese Salad w/ Heirloom Tomatoes and Balsamic Glazed Grilled Chicken and Homemade Breadsticks:

There are no measurements for this dish, so sue me, it's hot. My brain is fried to a damn crisp, what the hell do you expect from me? Oh, did I ever mention when it gets hot I turn into a raving mean ass bitch. Yeah, like you don't. Come talk to me when you don't have air conditioning and it's the end of summer and four kids are constantly whining about how hot it is.

Caprese Salad:

chopped tomatoes

mozzarella cut into cubes

chiffonade basil

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

hand torn butter lettuce

A trick I learned from Ruhlman. Salt the tomatoes a half an hour before serving and toss with the basil to get the flavors going. After a half hour, toss in the cheese and a little olive oil. Serve over lettuce.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken:

I marinated some skinless boneless chicken breasts in some [a lot] balsamic glaze and some crushed garlic cloves for about an hour. I can hear you tsk, tsking at me about the chicken but as I already told you my brain is fried. Then I grilled the chicken until it's done. Slice and serve with the caprese salad.

Breadsticks:

I admit right here I am a genius dumbass. I decided that there would be nothing that would compliment this great salad better than homemade bread sticks. Shall we do the math, Einstein? A hundred degrees outside plus a 500 degree oven inside a house with no air conditioning. Do you know what that equals? The heat of a thousand suns in the fifth circle of hell multiplied by infinity. So to save you from heat stroke and me from a few lawsuits... no breadstick recipe until it cools down.