The balsamic really wrecks the look of the salad if you dress it more than a handful of minutes before serving. I make mine with baby bocconcini balls, cherry tomatoes, torn basil, finely diced red onion, and Kalamata olives. Sort of a combined Greek/Calabrese salad!
I love to throw halved cherry tomatoes thru fresh pasta with some salmon or chicken, garlic, something green (broccoli, asparagus, spinach etc), cream and cheese. Sometimes some olives as well or anchovies or capers. Try not to pump up the salt items too much though. Also dot them thru lasagna for an interesting burst. Likewise thru spinach and ricotta canneloni.
On tv today, they did beef involtini - thinly sliced proscuttio wrapped around thin piece of beef (they used sirloin), which in turn was wrapped around a cherry tomato, piece of mozzarella and basil leaf, all secured with a toothpick. Pan fried briefly to sear with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar drizzled over it (quite a bit) and then cooked in the oven. The balsamic forms the sauce.
Also have a recipe for honey roasted cherry tomatoes.
Salmon fillet oven baked in foil with pineapple and cherry tomatoes was very lovely, both hot and cold. Presumably other fish would subby well. Chicken possibly too.
I love tomato jam but my recipe uses a can of diced tomatoes and all those lovely cherry tomatoes would be wasted in it.