Easy Party Appetizer: Bruschetta

Recipes are certainly not frequent subject matter here on my little blog (the only other one I've posted is my go-to turkey chili), but I've got a fun appetizer to share with you today: bruschetta. I made these delicious little things for a cookbook club I'm a part of, and they were a big hit. These little guys would be perfect dinner party appetizers.

Bruschetta is just a fancy Italian term for grilled bread plus a variety of toppings. They're super easy to make, and the ingredients are flexible, so even your picky eaters can find something they like. I chose eight ingredients and combined them in different ways to see what I liked best. I'll share my favorite combo at the end :).

Ingredients:

• French bread
• Olive oil
• Pesto
• Blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola)
• Sharp white cheddar
• Shrimp
• Tomatoes
• Balsamic vinegar

First, you'll need to prepare your ingredients to get them "topping-ready." 

• Cut the bread into thin slices.
• Slice or shred the cheddar cheese.
• Thaw frozen shrimp (hint: buy pre-cooked, frozen shrimp to make this step as easy as possible!).
• Dice the tomatoes - and add a little salt to bring out the flavor.

Next, spread olive oil or pesto on each slice of bread and add either cheddar or blue cheese to some (mix it up!). Broil in the oven for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Place bruschetta on a tray with a bowl of each shrimp and tomatoes to make it easy for people to add their own ingredients. Add shrimp, tomatoes, or both to the varieties of bruschetta, and pour some balsamic over top. Keep olive oil handy too in case you'd like a little more on top of your toppings :).

Finally, enjoy! The fun part is letting people choose what they'd like on their bruschettas. It's a "build-your-own" kind of event that invites people to try new things and see what they like. Even if you don't like one combination, there's low commitment since they're basically one-bite items. This makes for a perfect, easy appetizer. The possibilities are endless, and you can choose even more toppings to make things interesting. That's the beauty of bruschetta.

Ready for my favorite combination? Here it is...pesto, blue cheese, tomatoes, shrimp and balsamic. Yummy!

Hungry yet?

Oh, and one more thing to mention is a little plug for my new favorite balsamic: Robbins Family Farm Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. Ohmygosh it's so good, I think I could drink it. It's expensive, but totally worth the splurge.

---------

linking up to: House of Hepworths