Bruschetta.

I was finally able to sleep in a little late Saturday! When I got up.. the sun was out, and I was hungry! I didn’t want eggs or any kind of breakfast food; it was already too late in the day for that. What I really wanted was a fresh, crisp, refreshing snack.
What I really wanted, was... BRUSCHETTA (with a tomato and basil topping):



Bruschetta (pronounced "brusketta") is an Italian favorite. It means toasted bread, rubbed with garlic and olive oil. My mom has always made it with a tomato, basil and garlic topping - - and it's the best way to have bruschetta...


INGREDIENTS:


- Sliced sourdough bread
- about 10 Tomatoes (grow your own!)

- ½ cup FRESH Basil (grow that too!)
- 5 Garlic cloves
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1-teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt/black pepper

This recipe is simple, and you only need a few ingredients other than what you probably already have at home. There isn’t really any cooking involved; it’s just assembling some ingredients.

TOMATO/BASIL TOPPING:

1. Just add these ingredients in a bowl and toss them together:
Chopped tomatoes

Chopped basil

Chopped garlic
Lemon juice

Oil/vinegar
Kosher salt/pepper to taste

*Cover and let sit in refrigerator for about 10 minutes to marinate the tomatoes.

BRUSCHETTA (toast):
2. On a baking sheet, lightly coat bread with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and some pepper.

3. Put under broiler until brown and crispy (turn over and crisp the bottom too)

*Keep an eye on these - they can burn quickly!

4. Rub garlic clove on toast.


5. Top toast with tomato mixture, and you’ve got yourself some nice, bruschetta!




Check out this tomato trick:

BEER, dog.

There are many occasions where the combination of a couple of good friends with a couple good drinks equals some good eats. This week: BEER DOG!!


Hanging out with Jonny and some of our friends, we decided after a couple beers we were in the mood for nice, juicy, flavorful hotdogs. Jonny, being the gourmet that he is, would never settle for a normal hotdog; so of course he spruced up the evening's menu a bit. The BEER DOG turned out to be a bratwurst link and was topped with a hot cabbage slaw made with bacon, grilled onions and mushrooms. I made a little potato salad to go along.. but that's a whole other post. Not only can beer be consumed before, during, and after cooking this meal.. you also use it in the recipe!


Okay, so here's what you'll need:

- Any kind of hotdog or sausage. We used Johnsonville Beer 'n Bratwurst Links.
- 2 Bottles of beer. We used Redhook Long Hammer IPA.
- One Cabbage, shredded.

- Mushrooms, sliced.

- One onion, sliced.
- Garlic, chopped.
- Bacon, mmm...
- One can of chicken/beef/veggie stock (we used chicken).
- Stoneground mustard.
- Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes.
- Buns!


Now, let's get cookin'!

1. Bring beer to a boil and add the dogs.

2. Sauté bacon, onions and mushrooms first, then add garlic. Once the sauté becomes brown and starts to look like you want to eat it right there and then.. add the cabbage.

3. Add chicken stock, and salt/pepper/red pepper flakes/mustard to taste
*The cabbage will cook down, you might want to cover the skillet with a lid to speed up the process and allow the cabbage to cook down faster.

4. Once the dogs have been boiled, take them out and brown them on a skillet.
5. Put your dog in your bun, top with the slaw and CHOMP!

Speaking of Beer Dogs, did you know there is actually beer that is brewed for dogs?: Beer Dogs.

Cafe Bastille

To celebrate our one year mark, my boyfriend Jonny and I went out to what turned out to be a really wonderful and incredibly special meal.

We took advantage of the transit system in San Francisco and took a bus to 22 Belden Place.. A lovely hidden little alleyway in the heart of Downtown. Between Bush and Pine off of Montgomery, Cafe Bastille is among about seven other restauratns of varous cuisine. From Mediterranean to French, the alleyway is lit with hanging white sparkling lights, and the seating is very European and all outside. It's really a great place. The food was just as great as the atmosphere.




We started off with an appetizer of goat cheese with a roasted red bell pepper cream sauce, which came with two pieces of toast to dip.. It. Was. So. Good:



Then we ordered penne pasta with a light basil sauce, and bay shrimp and tomato. This pasta was probably the best pasta I've ever had:



Grilled New York steak with pommes frites, french beans and black pepper sauce. Really great steak:



To top it all off, the prices are pretty reasonable.. And to top it all off even more, Jonny paid!

first.

Married... With Dinner is a lot like a blog i want to have. There are posts about different places in San Francisco, and reviews of them. Also there are recipes for fun food and drinks. The overall design of the blog is nice and easy to navigate.
Cooking With Amy is just a nice, clean and informative blog. There are fun recipes and different posts about magazines and books about food.
Chubby Hubby is interesting and fun because there are a lot of recipes and a million links to other blogs and sites about food. I love the look of the blog, and the pictures.



FOR MY FIRST POST...
Don't you just LOVE pickles??

This recipe can be used to pickle other types of vegetables and things.. but for now...

HOT PICKLED STRING BEANS AND BOILER ONIONS!

Ingredients:


*note: quantity of ingredients depends on how many jars you want to fill, this recipe is PER jar.

2 cups Apple cidar vinegar
2 cups H2o
2 Chilis (hot whole dried)
2 Bay Leaves
1 large sprig Fresh Dill
1 clove Garlic
about 10 Boiler Onions
about 30 String Beans
1 teaspoon Pepper Kernals
1 teaspoon Salt

Directions:
1. Boil equal parts water/vinegar
2. Add garlic, pepper, salt, boil for about 20 minutes.
3. In mason jar add string beans, onions, one bay leaf, chili peppers, dill

* TIP! boiler onions are small and hard to peel, for a good tip visit Magic Valley Growers.com
4. Fill jar with boiling liquid
5. Seal jar, let stand for 2 weeks

6. Pop open and ENJOY!

*make sure the mason jars are sanitized before you use them, if they are not, it will ruin the pickles! Find out how, here!