FOOD LOVE FRIDAY: Simple Bruschetta

Hey guys and gals, I wanted to see if I can make this a running theme so here it goes, the first offical Food Love Friday!

I don't know about the rest of you but I love food. I mean loooovvvveeeeeeee food. About  2years ago Brian (my husband) and I took a trip up to San Francisco for our first foodie vacation. OMG! It was amazing.

We ate at so many wonderful places. But, my favorite was the very first restaurant we went to called Scala @ the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. It was more your traditional Italian eatery. One of the first things the waitress recommended to us was the Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brus'ketta]). It was so fresh and rich, without being heavy, and it was a great starter. Our meals too were amazing. Since then I have been doing Bruschetta at home.

Now Bruschetta is one of those antipasto appetizers that's perfect for a relaxing evening by the fire or to bring to a get together. And, what makes it even better, it's completely inexpensive!

All you need is:
- 2 large fresh tomatoes (I usually buy the ones still on the vine)
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
- Fresh Basil 
- 1 Med to Lrg Baguette

Take your two large tomatoes and remove the middle just leaving the meat and skin. I usually do this by cutting them into quarters and running my knife into the inner stem beneath the seeds. Then I rinse the remaining seeds under the faucet to completely remove them. Then chop up the tomatoes into small chunks and place them in a medium sized bowl.

Thanks babe for taking pictures while I minced.

 Next I mince the garlic and the fresh basil and place it in the bowl. I try to chop them as finely as I can so there aren't heavy chunks.

 Take your 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar (you can also use a little less, sometimes 1/3 of a cup will do) and pour into the bowl. Then just stir or toss to coat the tomatoes.  Once mixed, leave in the fridge for about 15 to 20 minutes to let the mixture soak.

 While the mixture is chilling cut your baguette into half inch slices. Most times we use a sour dough baguette and leave them in a bowl. If you like them toasted, put your oven on at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.



 Once the mix has had it's time to set, serve as desired.

We usually have a little picnic in our living room with the kids with some type of cheese. When these pictures were taken when our local farmer's market grocer had an awesome sale on their brand of Brie for about $4 a wedge.

Trust me we aren't that high class.

 

I hope you get a chance to try it. 

Si prega di godere!


-Lisa