Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of my favorite things to make and to eat. It is simple, fresh, and a constant crowd pleaser. Since moving into our house we have a small herb garden. Somehow our basil is growing out of control (good job Farmer Kenny) so I am constantly thinking of ways to use it. I used to use the tubes of basil but find that fresh tastes much better, especially when it's growing in your back yard.

Ingredients:
10-13 fresh basil leaves (depending on their size)



1 container of cherry tomatoes
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese



1 loaf of French bread
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Cut the stems off the basil.


2. Chop the basil and put into a bowl.



3. Wash the tomatoes. Slice them into fourths and put them in the bowl with the basil.



4. Grate Parmesan cheese over the tomatoes.






5. Stir to incorporate. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil and stir again. Top with the remanding Parmesan in the grater.



6. Now for the toasts. Set the oven to 250 degrees F. When you buy your loaf of bread sometimes they will slice it for you in the bakery. I would suggest doing this if you're in a time crunch. Make sure it's sliced thick. When I went to buy my bread no one was in the bakery so I had to slice it myself. Slice the loaf in half to get it started.


7. Slice the bread into 1 inch slices. Make sure to use a serrated bread knife.


8. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Place the bread on the cookie sheets.



9. Fill a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Brush on the seasoned olive oil with a non-stick brush (like the one picture below).



The bread should look like this.



10. Toast the bread for 17 minutes. Place on a platter.



11. You can make the toasts ahead and serve them cool or toast closer to the time of your party and serve them warm. Put the bowl of tomato mixture out next to the toasts with a spoon. This way your guests may spoon their own amount of tomatoes on the toast. If you do it ahead of time the bread gets a little soggy.

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