Italian Food

Bruschetta al Pomodoro

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

“Day-old bread, month-old oil, and year-old wine”–Italian Proverb

This saying applies to today’s recipe, Bruschetta. Bruschetta, itself, is originally just toasted bread, olive oil and garlic.  It gained in popularity in the different regions of Italy, where they each made their own version.

The most popular version includes the proud colors of the Italian flag. Green = Basil, white =  garlic, red = tomatoes.  This is referred to as bruschetta al pomodoro.

Ours isn’t quite traditional, but it certainly has the flavors of it. We like a more saucy bruschetta, so the bread can absorb some of the Italian flag goodness aka basil, garlic, and tomatoes.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

How beautiful is our little basil plant.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

What you need:

  • cutting board
  • knife
  • garbage bowl

Ingredients:

  • 5 roma tomatoes
  • 1 can of crushed tomatoes (12 oz)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • Balsamic vinegar (to taste)
  • 6 fresh basil leaves
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 1 baguette cut into slices

Step 1:

Slice tomatoes in half and de-seed. Dice into pieces. Place in a bowl. We don’t mind the skin, so we leave it on.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Step 2:

Peel the garlic and mince. While garlic is still on the cutting board, hit it with some salt here and use the side of your knife, sharp side obviously facing away from you for safety. Use the side of the knife to crush the garlic and salt until it breaks down, its like a paste. Scrape it up from the board and put it into the bowl with tomatoes.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Step 3:

Take the basil leaves and pile them on top of each other. Then roll them up together. Slice thin ribbons of basil and place into the bowl with tomatoes and garlic.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Step 4:

Open the can of crushed tomatoes and dump it into the bowl of tomatoes and friends. Gently mix everything together, adding salt, pepper and balsamic to taste.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Step 5: 

(Optional) You can toast your bread slices in the oven with some olive oil brushed on for a few minutes. We didn’t toast ours because we love the way the bread soaks up the juicy goodness. But traditional Bruschetta  is toasted or grilled.

Bruschetta al pomodoro

Happy Cooking!

Boozy Bolognese

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

One thing we really love to cook is Pasta Bolognese. We can’t tell you how many recipes we’ve tried, and even though we’ve made TONS of different versions, we still love finding, cooking, and fine-tuning them just the way we like it.

For this particular recipe, we made it for our close friend Sarah, who can’t eat dairy, or gluten, or basically air, but we still love her. We took out all the dairy and replaced it with wine (Ina approved). I mean, who doesn’t love a good red wine when having Italian? And don’t worry, all the alcohol cooks off, and it leaves this wonderful rich aroma. Trust me, I had some for lunch today, and just the smell had my mouthwatering!

Boozy Bolognese

Doesn’t that look good? Not bad for two amateur photographers! And remember as we continue posting, we continue learning and we will be adding photos with steps, as we make the food. But for now, please look at this deliciously scrumptious photo.

Boozy Bolognese 

  • 1lb ground beef (80/20 is best)
  • 1lb ground pork or sweet pork sausage
  • Olive Oil
  • 8oz carrots finely chopped
  • 8oz celery finely chopped
  • 16oz onions finely chopped
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons garlic
  • 1 bottle of red wine (Chianti is always good)
  • Two 28oz cans tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Step 1:

Use about 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and coat the bottom of a dutch oven or pot. Heat the oil over medium heat till the oil “dances”.

Step 2:

Sauté the onions over medium heat for two to three minutes or until onions are tender and almost translucent. (Variation: you can also add some chopped mushrooms to give it some extra “meatiness”.)

Step 3:

Add the meat and season liberally with salt and pepper. I use a potato masher to break up and evenly distribute the meat on the bottom.

Step 4:

While the meat is browning add the carrots. And stir everything together.

Step 5:

Continue to brown the meat until almost all the pink is gone. Add the celery and then garlic. Once garlic is fragrance, move to the next step.

Step 6:

Next add two cups of red wine, and turn the heat to low and let all the liquid cook off, stirring occasionally. The time varies depending on your oven.

Step 7:

One the liquid is cooked off, add the two cans of tomatoes and two more cups of wine and bring to a boil. Once the sauce starts to boil, lower the heat to low and add the bay leaves.

Step 8:

Let the sauce simmer on low, for three hours and remember to stir occasionally.

Step 9:

Cook a pound of pasta, until al dente and then mix some sauce on those noodles, and EAT IT. You’re welcome.

Well, there it is! Our first official recipe. And it’s not even from Pinterest, just one we made up on the spot! We hope you enjoy our first recipe, and keep a look out for many more to come!