Now I was watching Julia and Julie last night – (ironic I know ;)) and there was a scene in the beginning of the movie where Julie and her husband were devouring these massive bruschetta toasts.  This was of course what prompted her blog in the movie, but they looked so amazing with these big chunks of tomatoes on top…I just had to run out and make them.

So forget those small delicate ones you eat at parties…today we are making massive bruschetta that men can eat too! 😉

I have made bruschetta many a time and it’s all about the fresh ingredients (even the mozzerella). Nowadays fresh mozzarella costs the same as regular hard mozzarella ( just shop compared…) so make the switch and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  The key is also toasting the bread right before serving so it’s nice and warm.

Amy’s Bruschetta (Serves Everyone!)

• 1 baguette
• fresh tomatoes chopped
• fresh basil (sliced into tiny shreds)
• fresh mozzarella
• tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove (broken in half)

In a fry pan drizzle in a mixture of half olive oil – half butter to create a nice buttery taste on the bread. Heat until nice and bubbly on med-high. Place the baguette halves face down for 3-4 min. – then flip.

To get the large toasts I cut the baguette as I would if I were making a sandwich.

In the mean time, gently combine your chopped tomatoes, basil shreds, fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar together.

Tip: to create basil shreds – roll over 4-5 leaves long ways into almost a log of sorts and slice down perpendicular.

Once your toast is ready, break a garlic clove apart with your fingers. Then with the middle part rub the garlic against the flesh to infuse the garlic into the toast – genious! I saw that one on Rachel Ray. Go Rachel!

If you really like garlic, you can just finely dice it up – even saute it for a minute in some olive oil and add it to the mixture. Next, spoon the bruschetta over top of the massive toasts and serve! 🙂

These melt in your mouth, yum!! Can’t go wrong with fresh ingredients or a glass of red wine. You can also grate some FRESH  parmesan on top, but none of that Kraft stuff, okay?

With any leftover ingredients you can make a basil pesto using both the garlic and basil. Just add olive oil and toasted pine nuts. Finish off with some diced tomatoes. 

You can also make little pizzettes with the mozzarella and tomatoes, or a bruschetta pasta using all of the above ingredients with a drizzle of olive oil. Now that sounds good. 😉

Bon Appetite!!

(Wow I guess I didn’t realize how much of an impact that movie had on me 😛 )

Love,

Miss Amy