Tag Archives: appetizer

Recipes

Bruschetta

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Ingredients

  • 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

  1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
  2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
  3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

    Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.

  5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Link to original recipe.

Recipes

Spicy Tomato Sauce Shrimp Apetizer

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A great appetizer that can be prepared quickly if the tomato sauce is made ahead of time.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 1/3 cupfinely chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced and then chopped
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika (El Rey De La Vera is a good brand)
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or a dried red chile pepper such as Spanish guindilla or guajillo
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons minced parsley
  • Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
  • 2 pinches sugar
  • 1 pound shrimp with shells and tails removed
  • A baguette, sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds (cut on a diagonal for a better presentation)

Instructions

  1. Add half the oil to a skillet or saucepan heated over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute
  2. Add the flour and paprika to the onion and garlic mixture. Stir until well combined
  3. Add the tomato sauce, wine, chicken broth, chile pepper, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. (note that you can do everything up to this point ahead of time)
  4. Heat a separate skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then add the remaining oil. Add the shrimp and stir fry quickly, about a minute on each side or until fully pink on the outside. (you can also cook the shrimp on a barbeque)
  5. Add the shrimp to the tomato mixture (heated to simmering if you prepared it ahead of time), and stir to coat. Cook over low heat for about five minutes or until the shrimp is fully cooked.
  6. To serve, spoon a single shrimp onto a toasted baguette slice, then add a bit more tomato sauce if desired. You can also arrange toast slices around a bowl of the tomato sauce and allow guests to spoon the shrimp onto the toast themselves.

Based on an appetizer at Pasta Pomodoro and a recipe by Penelope Casas