Last of Summer: Tomato Bruschetta with Magnificent Marinade

It’s one of the most basic elements of cooking, but it never fails to amaze me: Ingredients prepared a certain way can go from being hated to loved, and vice versa. I’m talking about sometimes subtle changes, innovative uses, the things that (hopefully) really surprise and delight us.

Rosemary isn’t usually my favorite herb—in its full form, it’s too reminiscent of pine needles for my taste. The fragrance is lovely, with something homegrown about it, like a Thanksgiving turkey, but a bite of a piece of rosemary can be overwhelming. So this recipe, with a garlic-rosemary-olive oil mixture dabbed on top of toasted bread, seemed safe, because the rosemary is chopped. Suddenly an ingredient I often steer clear of seemed much more accessible.

It’s the rosemary, and the other ingredients in the mixture (I’m not sure what to call it—a marinade, I guess, since the tomatoes sit in it for a bit too) that make this dish. No offense to the tomatoes, but I could have made a meal of just the bread and the marinade. Each element contributes, but they don’t overwhelm each other. There’s the herbal tone of the rosemary playing with the stronger taste of garlic (which, as we know, works wonders on bread) and the olive oil, salt, and pepper, longtime staples of the table, holding it together. On the tomatoes it also tastes brilliant.

There’s ricotta too, spread on top of the marinade, and bits of prosciutto,  peeking out from under the tomatoes. But as tasty as those are, I’m saying they’re optional. I liked having the prosciutto and ricotta, but without them the tomatoes would feel less crowded. Whether you have fresh garden tomatoes or store-bought ones, let them sing their last song of this summer loudly. Plus, you don’t want to lose the marinade under other flavors.

This summer is almost done.  It’s hard to say goodbye to sunshine (even though some days here in the Northwest have been too hot). So you might as well give good tomatoes their last hurrah for a while.

Tomato Bruschetta with Magnificent Marinade
Adapted from Bon Appetit

6 large tomatoes, cored and quartered
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 10-ounce baguette, cut into 1-inch thick slices
About 1 cup ricotta cheese (optional)
3 ounces prosciutto, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour over tomatoes, stirring to coat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place each tomato quarter cut side down on the sheet. Reserve the marinade in the bowl for the bread. Bake the tomatoes for 35 minutes (the skin should be browned in places). Set aside to cool, leaving the oven on.
3. Place the bread slices on a second rimmed baking sheet. Generously brush the tops with the marinade, making sure to include bits of garlic and rosemary. Toast bread in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
4. Spread 1 tablespoon ricotta on each toast, if using. Top each with prosciutto, if using, followed by tomatoes (do your best to distribute prosciutto and tomatoes evenly among the toasts).

Cook to Feel Better: Chicken and Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Basil

Oftentimes, cooking is one way I express my joy in my life. But there are other times when cooking lifts me up out of a sad mood or a tough time, even if just for a little while, by giving me focus and purpose. It was with this latter mentality that I went into making this salad.

I won’t go into all the details—this is not a tell-all blog, and there isn’t much at all to tell. You know it: there’s just days when you don’t feel so great. So I took some time to lie down, talk to Thomas, and look at cute pictures on Instagram. It was my turn to cook dinner, but Thomas offered to order some Thai food instead (side note: he’s the best) and I was tempted to take him up on his offer. But something made me reconsider. “I want to cook,” I said.

I went into the kitchen and started slicing chicken, which I put in a skillet sizzling with olive oil. I cut half a baguette into cube-like pieces (it’s not as if any were perfect squares—let’s be realistic, people), tossed them with olive oil, and put them in the oven to toast. Just the smell of fresh bread and olive oil brought some peace—it reminded me of downtown Seattle restaurants where they serve good bread with olive oil and balsamic for dipping. What a revelation that was, the first time that simple delicacy was placed in front of me.

I mixed together a basic olive oil, garlic, and red wine vinegar dressing. Then I sliced basil, breathing in the familiar, delicious scent. I sliced little grape tomatoes in half, and alongside the basil, they looked like the jewels of summer. This combination goes beautifully with the toasted bread, crunchy and crisp (and now you have a recipe for homemade croutons!). The chicken makes this salad a dinner rather than a side, but it could easily be replaced by (or supplemented with) pieces of fresh mozzarella, to complete the caprese trio.

Once we sat down to dinner, I felt a sense of relief—not that my mood had changed completely, but I’d engaged my mind in something positive and, as a result, was reminded of one of the many good things in my life now. Being myself means being sad when I’m sad, but also enjoying everything that makes it great to be me.

Chicken and Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Basil
Adapted from Canal House Cooks Every Day

8 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds total), cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups bite-size baguette pieces (or other artisan bread)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
0.6 ounces basil leaves, sliced thin
10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
2. While the chicken cooks, toast the bread: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the bread pieces in a large bowl with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
3. To make the dressing, combine the garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine.
4. In the same bowl you tossed the bread in, combine the chicken, toasted bread pieces, basil, and cherry tomatoes. Pour the dressing over and toss well to coat.

Changing by degrees: Apple bread pudding

All dishes undergo some degree of transformation during cooking or baking, but few are quite as amazing as that of a bread pudding. It goes from a dish of admittedly unappetizing soggy bread, eggs, and milk to delectable puffed-up bread over a light, eggy filling. I’d made savory bread puddings before, but never a sweet one—until a couple of weekends ago, when I made an apple bread pudding for a fall potluck.

I will tell you right now that one thing you will need to make this is time. Assembling the pudding isn’t too difficult; you dip the baguette slices in butter and cinnamon and sugar before broiling them briefly in the oven. The slices go in a baking dish with apples, and you pour of mixture of milk, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla over it all. But the pudding has to sit in the fridge for an hour, and bake for up to an hour and a half, so you’ll need to plan ahead and perhaps have something to do while your kitchen fills with the smell of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. We watched Kal Ho Naa Ho, quite possibly the best Bollywood movie ever, but what you do with your time is up to you.

The original recipe describes this pudding as an entrée, but to me it’s too sweet for that and works much better as a dessert, especially if you add vanilla ice cream alongside pudding slices fresh from the oven. Underneath the crisp, sugary bread, there’s a soft filling with the slightest hint of maple. By the next day, the filling will have firmed up a bit, but the pleasing contrast remains. I used tart granny smith apples, but any cooking apple will work. The tart granny smiths lend some complexity to desserts, and a little bit of tart among lots of sugar is always welcome.

This recipe also gives the apples a lot of opportunities to shine: they offer something a bit more solid to contrast with the soft pudding, and they go fabulously with cinnamon and sugar. While apple pie can’t be replaced as the ultimate fall dessert, this is certainly right behind it. You could think of it as apple pie with indulgent add-ons, like thick baguette slices instead of crust, and pudding  for extra heft.

Or you could think of it as something entirely unique. After all, apple pie looks perfect before it even goes in the oven. Apple bread pudding—well, you will be amazed by the difference between when you put it in the oven and when you took it out. It’s a late bloomer, the ugly duckling of desserts, but worth every minute all the same.

Apple Bread Pudding
Adapted from The Vegetarian Times

2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ baguette, sliced
4 cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 eggs
2 egg whites
½ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to broil. Butter a deep baking or casserole dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar. Place melted butter in another bowl.
3. Cut each baguette slice in half. Dip each slice in the butter, then in the cinnamon and sugar mix; place slices on a baking sheet, with the cinnamon side showing. Set any leftover cinnamon and sugar mixture aside; it will be used later in the recipe.
4. Broil the bread slices for a minute or two, or until the cinnamon darkens and bubbles.
5. Spread half the apples on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the broiled bread slices, with the cinnamon side down. Repeat with the remaining apples and bread.
6. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, egg whites, syrup, and vanilla (use a whisk to stir them together). Whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth and the eggs are well incorporated. Pour the milk mixture over the apples and bread. Press down on the bread so it is fully submerged. Transfer pudding to the fridge and let sit for one hour; periodically check on the pudding and press down on the bread as needed, or weigh down the bread with a large plate. (The pudding can also sit overnight and be baked in the morning)
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of the pudding. Bake pudding 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until set in the center (meaning it wiggles only slightly when you shake the dish), puffy, and golden brown. Serve warm.