Tomato Bruschetta

One word. Yum.

We made tomato bruschetta several times this summer and enjoyed it every time. I really love making this because it really lets the tomato and fresh basil shine through. And it got rid of some of the tomato and basil abundance.

I remember, early on in my cooking endeavors, thinking that bruschetta was kind of time consuming to put together. The tomato dicing must have intimidated me. But now, in all my kitchen glory and experience (ha! you should have seen the mushroom reduction sauce I tried to make last night, it looked vaguely reminiscent of cat vomit, anywho ...) I find bruschetta to be one of those easy appetizers to put together in 10 minutes. Dice a few tomatoes, chiffondale some basil, throw in some minced garlic, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Easy peasy, lemon breezy. Toast some french bread that has been lightly sprayed or brushed with olive oil. Let the tomatoes sit a minute before topping each slice of toasted french bread and you have a 10 minute appetizer! (okay, in all actuality it probably takes closer to 15 minutes, but 10 minutes sounds so much more appealing)

A fun take would also be to include a little bit of Parmesan cheese to the mix. Non-think-ahead Kara never remembered far enough in advance to grab some before all the prep work was basically done.

We've taken this to meals at a friend's house and had this as a stand alone meal when we've felt lazy. There's no reason you have to spend $8.99 to have this at a restaurant when you can easily throw this together at home - enjoy friends!