Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Bruschetta - Give me more!

I just love going to restaurants that we have never tried before... The thing that excites me most, next only to good food is - The Menu Card. Yes... I love to spend time going through the choices the restaurant holds in store for me... Be it the mouth watering array of foods or the description of the dishes or bits and pieces of information about the restaurant(like why the Mediterranean restaurant "Dishdash" was named so,etc), I can never be tired of them.. So much so that even after ordering, I request the waiter to leave a copy of menu with us [ pretending to ignore the strange look on the waiter's face ;) ]

But if there is one item that I order, without even a glance at the menu, it must be the "Bruschetta". I just cannot have enough of them!

Easy to prepare and bursting with flavors, these bruschettas make a great appetizer. This classic Italian dish is great for holiday entertaining and contains the herb basil and the fruit tomato. So what else can be a more apt entry for Holiday Cooking with Herbs (hosted by Kalyn) from this bruschetta lover?

Ingredients:

1 medium baguette, French or Italian bread cut into 3/4 inch slices
4 tomatoes roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
8 tablespoons traditional Italian sauce (optional)
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic finely minced
3/4 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan and saute garlic for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil (oil used to saute garlic can be used).

Spread Italian sauce evenly over the bread slices (optional).

Sprinkle the sauteed garlic on the bread.

Place a slice of cheese over the bread.

Add the chopped tomatoes and basil.

Sprinkle with Salt and pepper.

Line the slices in a baking sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until cheese starts melting and the edges become a golden brown.


Note : I can see you searching for any hints of basil in my photos... Only after topping the bread with the tomatoes,did I start searching for basil (which by the way is my usual style) and to my dismay found out that I had run out of basil... but the bruschetta tasted great nevertheless! :)

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!!!

Labels: Italian, recipe, WHB

Ultimate Foodie at 2:31 PM

8comments

8 Comments

at December 19, 2006 at 4:36:00 PM PST  Kalyn Denny said...

It does sound delicious, with or without the basil. Nice photos of the process of making it!

 

at December 20, 2006 at 5:11:00 AM PST  FH said...

Love them all,I made some last week.My kids love them.It;s like mini pizzas!:D Great pics too.Thanks for that.
Happy Holidays.

 

at December 20, 2006 at 10:57:00 AM PST  Ultimate Foodie said...

Hi Kalyn & Asha, Thanks and happy holidays!

 

at December 21, 2006 at 5:44:00 AM PST  Anonymous said...

Very good site here. Bruschetta is so good: nice process photos! Always helpful.
On your question about the biscotti, I've seen recipes without oil or butter but not without eggs.

 

at December 22, 2006 at 1:09:00 PM PST  Jann said...

This looks very delicious indeed-great shots, too-enjoyed your sight!Happy Holidays to you!

 

at December 23, 2006 at 7:42:00 AM PST  Anonymous said...

I love Bruschettas...they're great on their own too...I don't need anything else to go with this!

Trupti

 

at December 25, 2006 at 9:57:00 AM PST  Ultimate Foodie said...

Glad to find so many Bruschetta lovers..Happy Holidays everyone!

 

at December 30, 2006 at 6:11:00 PM PST  booma said...

Dear Foddie
i was in search of a blog which will be giving a variety of veg food of different countries which i have never come across and try.Fortunately i was lucky enough to get urs blog.I prepared them &my people were delighted to eat such colorful &mouthwatering dishes &ofcourseI need not mention abt photos which have made me to attempt.I request u to add all the items which u prepare to ur blog bcos even though were surfing the net for a long time we haven't got got them.It seems u have special techniques to get them from the net.Ur blog will be useful to us &we can help our relatives &friends who are longing to cook different types of food to make their people delighted.Thank u bye bye

 

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