Caesar Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

These are cute and delicious... and a little bit of a pain to make.  I'll be honest, hollowing out tomatoes is annoying.  But the presentation is fabulous and if you can find cocktail tomatoes (I didn't even know these existed and my grocery store only has them every so often), it's a little easier.  If you can't find cocktail tomatoes, go with cherry tomatoes, the bigger the better.

Ingredients:

• cocktail or cherry tomatoes
• romaine lettuce
• caesar dressing (creamy or oil-based, your choice)
• grated parm/romano cheese
• crushed up croutons

1. Cut hole in the tomatoes and hollow them out.  Slice a super thin layer of the bottom of the tomato if it doesn't stand up on its own.  You don't want to puncture the base,  but make the base flat so it won't tip over.  You'll get the hang of it as you go, I promise.
2. Assemble the filling like you're making a caesar salad- in a bowl add lettuce, dressing and cheese.  Crush some croutons up in a food processor and add them to the salad.  You want bigger pieces rather than breadcrumbs.
3. Fill the tomatoes with the salad mix and sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.

I got the idea for stuffed tomatoes from an In Style party book that I bought years ago.  Great idea for a cookout, or to serve as part of an antipasto spread!