Homemade Bruschetta

Steve and I ate at Mozza Mia, one of the best pizza places in the Twin Cities, a while back and ever since tasting their fresh mozzarella, I had been craving homemade bruschetta. I ran out to buy the ingredients for it, and could not find fresh basil anywhere. The bruschetta craving was strong enough that after stopping at three stores, I eventually drove to Menard's and just bought a basil plant and stripped it of its pretty, delicious leaves. (Don't worry, the basil plant has healed and is now living happily in a large pot on my deck, with its tomato plant friend.)

As I said in my gnocchi post, bruschetta is kind of a no-brainer but everyone makes it differently and sometimes knowing the right combination of the ingredients can be tricky. Luckily, it really cannot be messed up unless you add twelve cups of basil or a whole bottle of balsamic, or whatever. It's best made to taste, but my one tip is to watch your bread in the broiler when it's toasting (step 4) because the second you look away, the slices will turn to hockey pucks (note the slice on the right side of the below picture). Oh, and some people like to tear up the mozzarella and throw it in with the tomato mixture; whatever suits your fancy.

Mmm.

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe roma tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 baguette
• Fresh mozzarella, sliced (one piece for each slice of bread)

Directions:

1. Chop the tomatoes, onions, and basil into fine pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (For the easiest way to chop fresh basil, check out this link.)
2. Preheat oven on low broil.
3. Cut baguette bread into individual slices about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Arrange pieces of bread on a baking sheet and place the sheet in the middle of the oven to toast the bread, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Top each piece of bread with a spoonful of the tomato mixture, and one slice of mozzarella cheese.
6. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven to melt the cheese, approximately 1 minute or until slightly melted.
7. Remove from oven and serve.

*If you have leftover tomato mixture, it keeps in the refrigerator for about five days. Put a slice or two of baguette in the toaster and top with the leftover bruschetta for a quick snack.

Happy eating!

Emily 

Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sauce

A few months ago, I attempted to make homemade gnocchi. Let's just say it was not as successful as I had hoped it would be. I'm not the world's most patient person (those of you who know me well just laughed at that statement) so as it got later and later, and the gnocchi was still not done, my enjoyment of cooking decreased and my irritability increased. We finally ate at about 9 p.m. and my very kind husband and mother each ate a huge portion, which was actually fairly edible thanks to the brown butter sauce and sausage it was paired with.

I attempted this dish again and it turned out much better, thanks to the store bought Archer Farms gnocchi! I promise to someday attempt, and perfect, homemade gnocchi but my first go at it proved that the right time is not when I've had a long day at work, I'm tired and I'm starving. I love making things from scratch but I've learned that it's OK to use the shortcuts every once in a while, giving me more time to perfect the rest of the dish and the fresh bruschetta I paired with it.

Check out the recipe below, which comes from a Martha Stewart magazine from way back. It has a lot of steps but once you take a whiff of the onions as they caramelize, or the butter as it browns, it's all worth it. Bruschetta is kind of a no-brainer but I'll share my recipe in a separate post.

The feast.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1/2 lb spicy sausage
• 1 package store-bought gnocchi, or homemade if you're brave
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon parsley (I used dried but if you have fresh use about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add sugar and red wine vinegar; cook until vinegar is completely evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes more.
   
2. Add sausage to skillet, along with onions, using a spatula to help break sausage up into small pieces as it browns. Cook, stirring, until sausage is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.
   
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and cook until melted; continue cooking until butter becomes lightly browned and fragrant, taking care not to let it burn, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in parsley. Turn burner to low and keep warm until gnocchi is done.
   
4. Add gnocchi to a pot of boiling water. When gnocchi begins to float to the top, let cook 2 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet with brown butter; toss to coat and season with salt and pepper.
   
5. Pour gnocchi into a large serving bowl. Top with sausage mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
   
   
   Happy eating!
   Emily

Adventures in the Windy City

A few months ago, Steve found out one of his favorite bands, Thrice, was playing a farewell show in Chicago. He bought tickets for the show and we planned to make a weekend out of it. I had only been to Chicago once before on a short road trip (and, confession: mostly to see NKOTB/Jesse McCartney in concert), and another time for work, so I was eager to do all of the touristy stuff this past weekend. 

Things I learned about Chicago:

• Walking around for hours in flip flops leads to mysterious foot pain and an embarrassing limp for multiple days in a row.
• Navy Pier = boring tourist trap with long bathroom lines.
• Davanni's deep dish is just as good as authentic Chicago-style deep dish.
• Driving to Milwaukee at midnight and getting a hotel room > pulling an all-nighter and driving all the way home. 
• Wisconsin is just as bad to drive across as Iowa.
• They (whoever 'they' is) weren't joking when they nicknamed it the Windy City.

I also learned a lot about the Red Line; mainly:

• People will ignore the 'no soliciting' recorded announcement. I'm sure you're raising money for the YMCA, sir.
• Construction work on the track = constant stop-and-go = motion sickness.
• When it is late and people want to be home, they have no problem announcing it to the rest of the train. Repeatedly.
• Don't get on the green line to the south side when you mean to get on the orange to Midway. (I actually learned this when I was in Chi. on the business trip, but felt it needed to be included.)

Other things worth mentioning:

 Driving somewhere in Wisconsin, probably near a Culver's.

Walking along the river Friday night.

Touring Wrigley on Saturday morning.

The view from the top of the ballpark, in all its glory.

Cubs dugout.

Buckingham Fountain - shortly after a gentleman tried
to sell us a free newspaper.

Being extra touristy at The Bean.

Until the next adventure,

-Emily