simple bruschetta

i just loved the movie julie and julia... (i might have mentioned that before) and one of my all time favorite scenes is in the beginning when julie is making bruschetta for their dinner..every time i see it i drool..  that could also be from watching chris messina eating the bruschetta but let's not get picky on what was drool worthy in that movie.. a lot of it was.. i had never had bruschetta before watching this movie and i can tell you i had it that night.. i went and bought the ingredients and made it.. it was so delicious.. who knew with a few simple ingredients you could create such an amazing appetizer.. now i would be perfectly happy making this as my dinner.. however pete would not be as happy and content as i with that choice..

i  like to make it when we are having pasta in lieu of a salad.. and i will mix up the tomatoes with what looks good at the market that week.. this time they had a container of little yellow heirloom tomatoes and i when i saw them i knew i would be having bruschetta that week...

simple bruschetta

prep time:  10 minutes
cooking time: 15 minutes
serving: 2

4 slices of bread.. I used sour dough but my favorite is ciabatta
12-14 oz. of assorted heirloom tomatoes, i used yellow cherry this night but i love when i mix the red and the yellow
extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved
salt and pepper
drizzle of balsamic
chopped fresh basil

pre heat your oven to 400 degrees (f).. in a medium mixing bowl toss your tomatoes with about 1/2 tblsp. olive, salt and pepper and set aside.. take your bread and brush with olive on both sides.. place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes an remove from oven and flip the bread slices in half and bake another 5-7 minutes.. you want it a light golden brown.. remove from oven and take the half of garlic and rub it all over one side of the bread.. the roughness from the crispy bread is like a grater to the garlic and it's amazing the results.. the best garlic bread around.. now spoon tomatoes over bread, drizzle with a little (very little you don't want it soggy) of balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with your basil... I usually pile on more tomatoes but for the photo that seemed over whelming but just know you can't have to many tomatoes on it!!