Bruschetta on the Grill

Jesse & I got a grill as a wedding present but just set it up at the beginning of the summer.  As a vegetarian, the grill isn't traditionally my cooking method of choice.  When we have barbecues, I usually just eat the sides or occasionally cook up a Gardenburger on the "vegetarian corner" I've mandated for our grill.

I've decided to embrace vegetarian grilling.  I made grilled corn on the cob recently and I've made a few rounds of this grilled tomato bruschetta.  This is a tasty, summery, & quick appetizer that allows you to combine rich grill flavor with fresh garden ingredients.  Looks like Jaisa and I are both into grilling bread these days, because this has a similar foundation to her Grilled Bread with Avocado recipe.

I used:

fresh tomatoes

basil from my herb garden

salt and pepper

garlic

balsamic vinegar

bread (I used a baguette)

olive oil (for brushing)

First, I sliced up my baguette and brushed both sides of each piece with olive oil.  Grilling bruschetta was a suggestion from my acupuncturist and, when we discussed it yesterday, said that she slices the bread at a diagnoal for the greatest tomato to bread area.  SO smart.  I will be trying it that way next time but this time around it's just little slices...

Then I chopped up my tomatoes, julienned my basil, and sliced up my garlic.  I tossed together and added a splash of balsamic vinegar, plus salt & pepper.

Here's where I decided to use the grill as much as possible (here in New England, while it feels like summer will last forever, it'll be full-on fall before we know it).  I took a sheet of tin foil, rolled up the edges to fashion a makeshift cookie sheet (but thinner, so the tomatoes would grill better), and put the tomato mixture on top:

I left it on the grill for about 20 minutes at medium heat.  It smelled UNREAL when I took it out:

While the tomatoes cooled, I carefully grilled my bread pieces.  Checking periodically to make sure they didn't burn (too much), I flipped with tongs when they had grill marks:

I could have eaten these alone (when I saw Jaisa in Maine earlier this month, she said to her dad, "Caitlin is obsessed with bread") but knew there was the tasty tomato mixture waiting to top these crusty treats.

You could add cheese, but I didn't.  Weird, I know.  Maybe next time.  These are perfect without cheese, but could be a bit more substantial with a slice of fresh mozzarella underneath the tomatoes.  

I served these to my family when they were visiting and they went very quickly.  So quickly, in fact, that despite waiting patiently, Fred didn't even get a piece.  Enjoy grilling season and stay hungry!

Grown Up Italian Dunkers

My Aunt Chrissy is a riot.  And a freakish domestic goddess.  We spent Thanksgiving with her this year.  There were several late nights spent laughing and drinking and cleaning her out of bread and cheese.  EXCUSE ME AUNT CHRISSY LATE NIGHT GRILLED CHEESE PLEASE.  I'm so charming at 3am when I'm screaming for food while snapping my fingers like Queen Latifa. 

I don't even know if she'll remember this recipe.  She made this for me probably fifteen years ago.  At least.  I remember it vividly.  It was so different and so delicious.  I can't remember what day it is, or where I put my coffee, or where my freaking car keys are, but I remember this like it ain't no thang.

Yeah let's talk.

Here are our ingredients:

Italian or Good White Country Bread

Homemade Pesto (Quick recipe below)

Olive Oil 

Polenta (aka cornmeal) 

Whole Milk Mozzarella 

Tomato Sauce (optional - not pictured)

Pesto doesn't need to be complicated.  I threw in a clove of garlic, a handful of basil leaves, a small handful of pine nuts, a heavy pinch of sea salt and another small handful of parmesan.   I then added a heavy splash of olive oil.  That's all you gotta do.

Blend it all together in a food processor.  I would suggest making small batches.  Pesto loses that super bright summer flavor quickly.  Nothing beats freshly made pesto and it literally takes about a minute.

Brush some olive oil on the outside of the bread.

Then dip the bread in the polenta or cornmeal to you non Italians out there.

This is how it should look.  Doesn't need to be on every inch of the bread.  Some will come off when it's cooking so you just want enough to give this unbelievable crusty crunch to the outside.

Heavily spread one of the inside slices with your pesto.

And add some of your mozzarella.  I wouldn't use fresh mozz here.  I think it would be too watery.  Shredded doesn't work as well either.  You want a nice thick slab-o-cheese that will stay put and get irresistibly creamy.

Fry in a pan with a little more olive oil and then quarter it.  Ta daaaa - a fabulous finger sandwich that is just outstanding.

Take a big bite.  You know what this needs?

Some tomato sauce.  Oh my.  My my my.

This has Christmas written all over it!  Red, white, and green.  Look at me.  Mrs. Culinary Clause.  YUM.  Stay hungry!

Grown Up Italian Dunkers Recipe 

6 Slices Italian or Good White Country Bread

3 Tablespoons Homemade Pesto (Quick recipe below)

1/2 Cup Olive Oil 

1/2 Cup Polenta (aka cornmeal) 

8 oz Whole Milk Mozzarella 

Tomato Sauce (optional - not pictured)

Brush outside slices with olive oil.  Dip in polenta to coat.  Spread inside with pesto and add sliced cheese.  Fry in skillet with a little more olive oil until golden brown on outside.  Cut in quarters and serve with tomato sauce for dipping.  ENJOY!

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

You know what they say.  Lots of tomatoes every day keep cancer away!  Ok maybe they don't say that but they could.  Lycopene, the antioxidant component in tomatoes that make them yellow and red, has been shown in some studies to lower the risk of certain cancers.  My husband reminds me of this regularly when he's biting into a juicy cheeseburger with a skinny, anemic looking slice of tomato hanging on for dear life between the cheese and the mayo.  He's right though.  I gotta give him that.

Today's recipe is embarrassingly simple. But it's really delicious too.  This was part of me trying to be healthy and it worked, and carried me throughout the week for a couple of different dishes.  I ate them on the side with my Chicken Paillard to brighten the dish, and also used them in my turkey stuffed peppers, which I'll post next week.  Start with the following:

Red Cherry Tomatoes

Yellow Cherry Tomatoes 

Sea Salt

Olive Oil

Basil  

So the salt you use here is important.  I wouldn't even make this without kosher or sea salt, because this is the only seasoning we are using.  I mean you could make with table salt if you MUST, but it won't be nearly as good.

Give the toms a nice little rinse.  The packages that these came in already had holes in them so the tomatoes can breath so I treated the package like a little colander.  Less dishes to clean = happy husband.

Pour in your olive oil.

 

Add your salt. Doesn't it look like little tiny snow flakes?  Typing "snow" just made me cringe and frantically look at the date.  It's going to be snowing here in Chicago very, very soon.  Lord help me.

Give them a good toss

And roll them out onto a sheet pan.  Put them in a 400 degree oven and patiently wait your 15 minutes.

While roasting the tomatoes, prep your basil.  You can add however much basil you want.  I only added 5 leafs because I wanted the tomato flavor to be the headliner.  This can turn bruschetta tasting very quickly and we aren't exactly going for that.  Cut however much you're adding into thin strips. 

After 15 minutes in the oven, the tomatoes will start to burst.  Cooking them like this really intensifies their flavor.  I LOVE roasted tomatoes.

So some are going to burst, some aren't but that's how you want it.  The beauty of this dish comes from the contrasting textures and flavors.

Add your basil, and then toss.   How easy is that?

This couldn't be healthier, easier, and more flavorful.  So you can eat this as a side, you can eat this with crostini, you can toss this with some whole wheat pasta and feta for a light week night dinner.  Make a lot because you'll think of a hundred different things to do with these.  The opportunities are endless here.  Start with simple and you'll end up with magical.  Yum.  Stay hungry! 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

2 Pints of Cherry Tomatoes, 1 red 1 yellow

5 Basil Leaves 

1 Tbs of Olive Oil

1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt 

Toss every thing together in a big bowl accept the basil.  Add to cookie sheet.  Roast in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until smaller tomatoes begin to burst.  Add back into same bowl and toss with thinly sliced basil leaves. Enjoy!