BRUCHETTA WOULD BE A GREAT START... GOT A GREAT RECIPE FOR THAT?

Start with the best baguette you can find. No need to make it from scratch. Any bread will do. I really like Chiabata.

Slice the bread thin, 1/2 inch or so. Drizzle with best Extra Virgin Olive Oil you can afford. Walmart sells plenty. I sprinkle kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Toast these off until they are browned and just a little dry.

For the topping, I start with Fresh Roma tomatoes. I use only romas when making this, their flavor is always consistent. To these Choped tomatoes, I add kosher salt, pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and as good as I can afford Balsamic Vinegar (@ 2 Tablespoons). I add minced garlic to tase and usually throw in FRESH(not dried) basil that I have.

On the Basil, pile several leaves one atop the other and roll them as if you were rolling a cigar. Then slice across the "cigar" and you will end up with nice ribbons of basil. Also known as Chiffonade.

I place the topping in a bowl, and surround with the croutons (toasted bread you have made).

You can take this same simple topping and toss is with some pasta you have just prepared and it is wonderful. Especially with fresh ground Parmesean.

I am gonna copy and print this out and make it tonight... I am in love with bruchetta and spinach-artichoke dips...to me it is the best dinner that one can have. a little side salad maybe...with Good seasonings tomatoe pepper salad dressing....Mmmmmmmmmm

thanks I apreciate the recipe

for garlic fans: when you take the bread out of the oven, rub garlic across the top lightly... the air pockets act like a grater and the warmth releases a lot of the garlic essence.

for the lazy and if you have a trader joe's near you, their brushetta is very yummy and makes a good topping for lighter pastas.

YPC.. I love salmon, but I don't think I"m making it right.  I like to do a quick stovetop sear and then stick it in the oven.  How can I make it such that it doesn't stick to the pan and/or burn on the bottom? 

This is like cooking counseling.. :) 

Cathy Diem: Walmart wells it. Barillo is a common brand.

Carebear: Use a nonstcik pan and spray the fish. When you see color change just around the bottom edge of the filet, it is ready to turn. Also, you can get it very fresh, so don't spend alot of time in the oven once you sear.

Since I've gotten by most of my life not cooking.  Yes I am that guy who ate Ramen in college (only in the microwave) because macaroni and cheese had too many steps.

Tomorrow is mother's day.   Any good recipes that I can help my kids (9 or 13) make for their mother?  Or am I better off taking her out. ;)

Perfect.. the non-stick worked better.   Going deeper with the salmon.. I really like sweet flavors.  What are some marinades that work well?  (but don't burn) :)

Fried Chicken= How do you bread the chicken? Tell me your steps.

Lasagna= let it cool when it comes out. It the restaurant, you usually reheat it in its own dish, but what makes it pretty is when you top the lasagna with additional sauce and a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Unless you make it drier, it's going to slide.

My wife and I ate a couple of times at a restaurant called Semolina's. They had a great Chicken Enchilada Pasta. We were wondering if you might have nay recipes that might be similar.

Awesome blog by the way.

i haven't cooked salmon in a while, but one roommate used to sear it, then put a rosemary/mustard/mayo crust for the oven.  i normally went w/ the pouch method: season w/ salt & pepper on both sides, make a lemon & fresh rosemary & olive oil bed on some foil, then put the salmon on top, put some lemon zest on top, seal and bake at 325 for about 15.  you get a softer texture, but the flavors marry and infuse really well... do-able on a grill over indirect heat, too

and believe it or not, i've never deep fried a thing in my life.  i was traumatized as a kid watching my father make pork rinds >.<

Zach: I'm going to bet it was some sort of cream sauce... ? If it was, you can add enchilada spice to alfredo sauce, or cut the alfredo sauce with enchilda sauce. Give me a description of the sauce.

Aaalllen: Be careful with the lemon and the aluminum foil. The acid from the lemon juice will react with the Al and cause off flavors. A cheap fix is to use brown paper bags. If you will spray the bags with some type of pancoating, they will work fine. The mayo-crust sounds fabulous.

Aaalllen: I like using chicken in most of my pasta dishes. Buy some thigh meat, it's cheaper and has more flavor (fat). EVOO, Salt and Pepper and saute in a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot. I like my LeCreuset. Cook your penne to your taste - al dente. I don't know where you live but tomatoes are only in season during the summer. I know we can get things all year, but only use fresh in the summer. Can tomatoes are picked at the peak of their freshness and the are canned to preserve that freshness so use them. Render off the fat from about 1/2 lb of bacon. Reserve the bacon and dice it up. Caremelize one yellow onion diced, half as much celery and green peppers so that your ratio is 50% onion, 25% celery, 25% green pepper. Once you have caramelized the vegetables, I deglaze with enough really good balsamic vinegar that all the brown bits come up off the bottom of the pot. Reduce, then add about two of the bigger (can't remember the size) of diced tomatoes. reduce them by 1/3 on medium heat. You are concentrating the flavors so cook them a good 20 minutes or so. Then add your diced bacon and the diced cooked chicken. I use fresh herbs when possible, but you can (until you get the hange of it I would do this) add premade/store bought pesto by the tablespoon full until you have a flavor you like. I also add oregano. Remember to ALWAYS add fresh herbs at the END of cooking. The oregano is to taste. Check salt and pepper. You can add sugar if the sauce is too acidic. Just a little, then taste. Remember, once it's in there it is not coming out. I like olive in my sauce and would add these to the end of the caramelizing process, just before tomatoes. Green and black olives. Toss the sauce with your pasta and place in baking dish. Top with shredded mozzorella that is the best you can afford. Bake in a pre-heated oven- say 400F until cheese browns and is bubbly. Remember to spray your pan/dish before you place the pasta in it and the cheese will be easier to scrap off should it stick to the pan. Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley and some fresh grated Parm cheese (buy a wedge of this and shave it off with a veg peeler). I top all of my dishes with a sprinkling of Kosher Salt and Pepper. There should be no need for s & p on the table. That's my philosophy.

Thanks Chris.  I love the summer heirloom tomatoes as they're generally really tasty.  But usually I can find green house grown tomatoes that taste well most of the year.

I guess baked ziti is about the sauce.  I'll have to try yours sometime minus the bacon and chicken =) I recognize the almost mirapowa (sp?).   What's it called called w/ the peppers instead of the carrots?  The pesto and balsamic sound really good.

I normally semi-homemake my baked ziti:  half a pound of under-al dente penne + a full jar of arrabiata sauce in a deep baking bowl + fresh mozz & parm in diff layers and on the top.

i really like this thread.  i thought a long time ago that if the programming thign didn't work out, i'd go into massage therapy or culinary.

WHo's up for midnight snack?