Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ever fry your bread? you should...



i am sorry blog followers, i have neglected you. there is however an old saying that goes "life is like..." wait no, not that one.... ahhh yes, "distance makes the heart grow fonder". so by that logic, you should all be quite fond of me now. this sentiment is possibly most true when the Canadian summer abruptly ends and the cold brisk Canadian fall kicks in. this transformation brings to mind another old colloquialism "holy shit, its cold outside". as soon as that cold snap kicks in i immediately think to the last days of August when the heat and sunlight were so abundant, one couldn't imagine it could possibly end... and as it has for the last 28 years of my life, i am well surprised when the warmth is quickly ushered out by the turning leaves and autumn jackets by mid October. i end up yearning to get on my bike and go to the market whenever i damn well choose, but my brown skin was not made for such weather. oh man... this is not cheering me up at all... I have chosen a recepie that perhaps has more roots in the summer due to his ingredients, but to hell with it... i miss summer and i want to eat fried bread with a tomato and pepper salad. this is where i get to be nerdy about food (yesssssssssssss!!!). most people call this bruschetta, but really burschetta is grilled bread with garlic rubbed into it and a drizzle of olive oil. this version has butter, the bread is fried, and there is no garlic. you can call it what you want - i call it a "holy shit, its cold outside" remedy. the golden brown fried bread is the star here... its what separates this dish from other burchetta... you have to be really mindfull when you are cooking it not to burn it... keep a watchfull eye.



Ingrediants

3 slices of caraway rye bread, cut into halvs

2 diced medimum sized red tomatos (i used hot house, and it worked great... you can use whatever kind you like)

1 half yellow pepper, diced

1 half orange pepper, diced

1/3rd of a red onion in a fine dice

1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, diced

1 squeeze of lemon juice

zest of half a lemon

1.5 tablespoon white wine viniger

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

butter for bread.

Directions

1. put a large pan with a heavy bottom on medium high heat and allow to get hot.

2. in a bowl, mix the tomato, peppers, red onion, lemon juice, white wine viniger, parsley, black pepper, and half the oil. set asside. do not add the salt because it will wilt the veggies.

3. butter your bread on both sides all the way to the edges and cut the bread in half down the middle. it is important to not miss any of the surface of the bread because the butter is what will give it a very nice golden brown color.

4. add the bread to the pan being very mindful no to burn the bread. you might have to adjust your temp down, but you want the bread to hit a nice and hot pan so it starts to cook right away. try to use your best judgement here... like i said, this is the deal breaker in this meal.

5. once the bread is a nice golden brown on one side, flip it. add the remaining oil to the pan. this will give the bread more flavour and some extra crunch, but wont make the bottom of the bread super greasy, so you can still eat it with your hands. once the bread is golden brown on both sides, remove from the pan and put on a plate. add the salt to the veggies, mix, and spoon onto the bread

the warm crunchy bread gives a great contrast to the fresh summery veggies. its a wonderful, and truly easy dish to make. you can eat it on its own for lunch or as an app, or serve with a nice piece of fritatta with mint an picorino

Friday, November 6, 2009

im a bad blogger

ok, so ive been retardo-danardo busy over the past few weeks, and havent posted anything, but here is something that should tide you over. my friend Ryan started his own food blog (i know, right??!!). its not bad (But really, it looks, tastes, and smells, better than mine already. bummer).

i promise i will have some good posts soon. im actually just waiting on some pictures. promise promise. for reals.

peep the saucy coq now: http://thesaucycoq.com/