Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

I love bruschetta and you've seen my recipe before. Here is a perfect appetizer to throw together when you have unexpected company. Of course, this is only going to work if you keep your pantry well stocked. In the near future I will be posting about how I stock my pantry and all the items that I like to keep on hand. This time I happened to have a niece piece of fresh mozzarella in my fridge but in a pinch you can use any type of mozzarella. My mom likes to buy a lot of items in bulk so she buys a big bag of shredded mozarella in Costco and divides them into small bags and keeps them in her freezer. I buy mozzarella and other cheeses when they are on sale in the supermarket. If you have a block of Polly-o or Sorrento cheese that's fine, just slice it thin. If you have shredded mozzarella use enough to neatly cover the bread.

The next pantry item I used for this appetizer is a jar of roasted peppers. If you happen to have a few beautiful red bell peppers to roast I would definitely recommend that. If you would like to know how to do that, see my recipe here. However, we're talking about simple today so I didn't do that this time. Drain peppers and slice them into strips and place them in a bowl. I like to dress or "fix" my peppers (as my mom would say) with cracked garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and a little salt. If you have the time let the peppers marinate in that mixture for an hour or as long as you can. If you are kalamata olive obsessed like Steve and I are you can throw in some olives. I always have some in the fridge that I pick up at the olive bar at our local Stop and Shop. So slice those in half or smaller and add them to the bowl with the peppers.

Now you're ready to make the bruschetta. Slice the bread on an angle so you have a larger surface area than you would have if you just sliced it straight down. Besides, it looks prettier this way, don't you think? Drizzle with a little oil and toast under the broiler, flip them over and toast the other side. Be careful not too cook them too long, you want a crunch but you don't want to burn them or break your teeth on them. Next add whatever type of cheese you have, fresh sliced, block sliced or shredded. Put back under the broiler just long enough until cheese melts. Arrange on a plate and top with roasted peppers and olives. That's it!

I know this isn't a structured recipe but when you're throwing something together in a pinch who has time to read a recipe, right? Hope this all made sense to you guys! If not, let me know and I will right up a "proper" recipe. :-)