Kim made a delicious and beautiful assortment of four bruschettas for Marissa’s bridal shower. All flavors in the variety are inspired by the bruschetta menu from the ever-popular (since its opening in 2001) Postino Wine Cafe. Kim didn’t have recipes to give me, since she just throws these babies together organically and naturally. But don’t worry, I’ve written up recipes for you. There are no specific quantities, make as many or as few as you need.

At Postino, French bread is used as the base and then the slices are cut in half after they are topped. For the shower, Kim used baguettes to make smaller, more individual-sized pieces.

Bread

• 1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
• Olive oil
• 3 peeled garlic cloves, flattened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle bread slices with olive oil and bake at 350 just until warm and slightly crisp.  Remove from oven and rub with garlic cloves let cool for a few minutes before topping.

[Read more →]

This recipe was requested by the mother of one of my former (all grown-up now) students to be placed on the blog. We made this fresh and full-flavored bruschetta during a summer session several years ago. It thrills me when people put in requests for specific posts. Moms, you know what I mean, every night you have to think of something to feed your family, sometimes it comes to you easily and other times, you struggle. Same here!

The people who request items most often are my own two darling kids. Marissa usually asks for something specific and Connor… well Connor usually wants chocolate or bacon! So to appease him, you have the option of garnishing these tasty toasts with crumbled bacon… there you go Connor, your request was not denied! Oh, and that gorgeous yellow tomato in the picture below… from my garden…I’m just a little proud of it!

[Read more →]

Bruschetta (pronounced brus ‘ketta) is a snack or appetizer from Italy. It consists of grilled or broiled bread that is traditionally rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper. There are more variations of toppings than one can count, making it a very fun and versatile hor d’oeuvre.

I love roasting cherry tomatoes that have been drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They are sweet and tangy and are like little bursts of goodness in your mouth. If possible, use different colors of tomatoes for an even more pleasing presentation. In the photo below, my daughter, Marissa, and her boyfriend, Alberto, are enjoying the bruschetta with us on New Year’s Eve.

[Read more →]