B is for Bruschetta

This....this is what life is all about. Juicy tomatoes, toasted garlic, basil, toasty french bread. Me - oh - My! As SOON as I saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's blog I just knew I had to make some of it.

I want you to have some of this in your life, so let's get started! I halved Pioneer Woman's recipe, because I wanted just enough to eat for lunch. For the larger recipe, check out her site.

Grab some red grape tomatoes and those lovely yellow grape tomatoes the next time you go to the grocery. These yellow beauties are absolutely my favorite. The first time I tried them was in a salad at our local tea room, and I've loved them fiercely ever since. Also grab some EVOO (I prefer the Extra Light), balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, kosher salt, black pepper and fresh garlic.

You'll also need some lovely French bread (baguette works too) and a few pats of butter.

Since I was halving the recipe, I used half the pint of reds and half the pint of yellows. For the whole recipe, you'll use both containers. But in any case, give these little guys a good rinse and chop them in half lengthwise. I chose to chop the larger ones into quarters, because that's how I roll. You may do as you please. This bruschetta business isn't a fine science!

Take a few cloves of garlic and give them a firm whack with a knife and the backside of your hand to release the skins. I really like doing this to garlic. There may or may not be something wrong with me.

Give them a good chop. If you have a handy chopper, fabulous. If you're like me, chop them by hand. Amen.

Heat some oil in a skillet, and dump the garlic in. You want to let them hang out for about 4-5 minutes, just enough to get a lovely toast to them. Stir them around a bit so they don't burn. Burnt garlic is no one's friend.

When they're lovely and toasted, pour them (oil and all) into a bowl to cool.

While the garlic is chillin', grab some basil and give them the ol' chiffonade. That's the fancy way of saying, chop it up and make it look purty.

 Stack about 7 leaves on top of each other

and roll them up from tip to tip. Then just cut the roll into stripes. Go here for a more detailed tutorial on the ol' chiffonade.

I prefer mine to be slightly smaller, so I just rough chopped them after I gave them the ol' chiffonade. I will now stop saying "the ol' chiffonade."

Dump your tomatoes into the bowl with the garlic and oil, and pour some balsamic right on top.

Add in the basil, a heaping pinch of Kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper, and give it a stir.

Add in more of whatever you want. Mine needed just a pinch more salt and a few more leaves of basil. I chose to make this the night before I wanted to eat it, so that it could get nice and chilled, and the flavors could all get nice and cozy together.

When you're ready to devour the delicious tomato concoction, heat up a few pats of butter in a skillet.

Toast up the bread until it looks absolutely divine. I have to work with a flat top stove, so the piece in the middle was perfect, while the pieces on the outer edges were only slightly toasted. It is the burden I have to bear.

Grab the tomatoes out of the fridge, give them stir, and pile them on top of the bread. Oh dear me.

You could cut the bread into smaller pieces or use crisply toasted baguettes for this, but I wanted to make it into a hearty lunch. So, serve it up with some sliced avocado (lime, salt and garlic please) and dig in! It is truly divine. One of the best things I've eaten.

The bits of toasted garlic and the basil go just perfectly with the balsamic and the toasty bread. Heaven on a plate right there.

This is SUCH a simple recipe, but it is just magnificent. It will definitely be put into my repertoire for parties. So, so easy.

Here's the handy printable so you, too, can have this in your life!  Go forth, eat bruschetta, and have garlic breath! :-P

-Jenn (With 2 N's)