Did you happen to catch the blog entry called "Recipes Gone Wrong"? It was only up for a couple of days before I deleted it. Had nothing to do with exposing myself to ridicule; I actually don't mind doing that! There are lots of recipes that don't make the grade, believe me. I could practically have a second blog just for flubs.In "Recipes Gone Wrong", I recounted how I had confidently given my friend Shaila a recipe for Roasted Fennel Nicoise. Luckily there is a time difference between her house and mine, because even as I made the salad, I thought to myself that maybe I shouldn't have given her a recipe that I hadn't made in years and even then it had been in France, where, let's face it - everything tastes better. I had boldly instructed her to make a dish for a dinner party that, when asked if he would like any of the salad, Alan's reply was, "Is that what that is?"
In the end, I caught Shaila just as she was on her way to buy the ingredients and she seamlessly changed course (Black Bean Salad with Avocado & Cilantro, Nov. '07). No harm done.
I do have a reason for bringing this up again. Last week, my sister mentioned they were having friends over for drinks and nibblies. I told her that she should turn the Nicoise mixture into bruschetta (minus the roasted fennel). They went one step further and smeared goat cheese on the baguette and she called raving about it the next day. Today, I decided to try the combination myself and it really is dynamite.
I had a few minutes of sheer bliss as I munched on the delicious bruschetta while sipping Jamie Oliver's "Creamy Rhubarb Cocktail" from his newest cookbook "Jamie At Home". It doesn't get much better than that! (Note: After having the nibblies & cocktails, I was certainly not hungry for dinner. Kids got plain baked chicken breast and not much else. Not sure what Alan had. Then I took Ellen upstairs to get her ready for bed, at which point I fell into a deep sleep and one and a half hours later, awoke to find her just coming back upstairs for bed again. Was it all worth it? You bet it was!)
Nicoise Bruschetta
1 baguette, sliced diagonally
Creamy goat cheese
2 c. tomatoes, cored, seeded & diced (fresh field tomatoes, if you can get them)
15 small black olives, preferably Niciose
1 clove garlic, minced
2 or 3 anchovies, finely chopped (or 1 t. anchovy paste)
1 shallot or white part of green onion, chopped finely
5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 1/2 T. pesto)
1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1. In medium bowl, mix the tomatoes, olives, garlic, shallot, basil leaves, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper together. Let sit for a at least 15 minutes to let the flavours mingle.
2. Toast slices of baguette. Spread a generous amount of goat cheese on each piece of baguette. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the goat cheese. Either assemble all of the bruschetta and then serve, or enjoy as you go along!
