Freschetta

I am obsessed with this bread. Straight up obsessed.

I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of my life. One bite and you will find yourself marveling at the complex array of flavors that it delivers. Something about the combination of toasted cheesy, garlicky ciabatta bread and red ripe fresh roma tomatoes gets my heart singing. And that tiny hint of balsamic vinegar...oh boy, you just have to taste it to believe it.

Do yourself a favor and run out to the grocery store to pick up these few simple ingredients! Start with good quality ciabatta bread from the bakery section and you can't go wrong from there. This recipe is quick and easy, but delivers memorable results!

Make this for someone you love today. I served it to my parents when they came into town a couple of weekends back and it was a big hit with my dad! He dubbed it “Freschetta,” and I think it's the perfect name! It tastes both indulgent and fresh!

Freschetta

Ingredients:

• 5 firm Roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 10 large fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled then thinly sliced (chiffonade)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 loaf Ciabatta bread
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt
• 1- 1/2 cups mozzarella (buy a block and shred yourself)

Take a stick of unsalted butter out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a half hour or so before you begin. Start by dicing your roma tomatoes, peeling and mincing the garlic and shredding the cheese. Be sure to buy an 8 oz block of mozzarella and shred a cup to a cup and a half yourself. It will make all the difference in the melty goodness! Preheat your broiler on the oven.

To prepare bruschetta topping, place diced tomatoes, garlic, sliced basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl, stirring to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Cut your bread in half and place cut side up on a large baking sheet. Spread with softened butter and season with garlic salt. Top evenly with mozzarella and then bruschetta mixture. 

Place under broiler for about 5 minutes or until bread is toasted and golden brown. Remove, cut diagonally into pizza-like slices and serve immediately. It tastes amazing warm!

Grades and I were lucky enough to tag along with my parents to Busch Gardens and Williamsburg a little while back. Unfortunately I haven't snagged the exciting theme park pictures off of my dad's camera yet, so we'll have to settle for some shots of our educational experience instead! You'll have to take my word for it that I rode the big scary roller coasters. At least until I got sick and had to sit the last couple of them out!

We were totally mesmerized by all of the colonial people, the girls dressed in heavy dresses with petticoats underneath, the men in stockings and pantaloons—in the heat of summer! They all acted perfectly in accordance with the time period and really gave us a sense of what it was like back in the day.

 

 

 

 

 We stayed in a marvelous hotel called the Crossings where there was a free breakfast and freshly baked cookies waiting for us each morning. We also took advantage of the game room and wandered around poolside a bit—although we didn't get to go in because it stormed. Which reminds me, by far the most memorable moment of our trip was getting caught in a torrential downpour just as we were wrapping up the day in Williamsburg. We tried to take shelter under a tree but got completely soaked anyway!