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urmaniac13

Executive Chef
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
4,764
I have noticed there are some cooking novices in this forum. How about introducing some very easy and quick to make recipes for them to get some practice here, Along with some general cooking tips as necessary...

To get it going here is one of my suggestions...

Bruschetta (crunchy toast loaded with aromatic tomatoes)


This is a very popular appetizer in Italy, also makes a wonderful little snack or light meal!!

Ingredients:
- a big slice of crusty bread / or two medium
- 1 big ripe but firm tomato, diced
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic (you don't have to use all of it)
- some fresh basil leaves, (if not available, a sprinkle of dried basil flakes)
- salt

I can tell you two ways to prepare this. One traditional, and the second a little modified for those who are worried about the "lethal aftereffect" of eating a raw garlic.

1. Traditional = broil the both side of the bread slice golden brown*. Cut the clove of the garlic in half, rub it onto one side of the bread evenly (as much or as little as you like). Heap the diced tomato on top, drizzle the olive oil, garnish with basil and salt to taste.

(*When you cook the bread on the broil setting in the oven, it can cook very quickly, so you need to watch it closely in order not to burn it (do not walk away to do something else!!). It will give you the crunchy and well-toasted surface while the inside still remain soft, yum!!)

2. Modified = mince or chop in very little pieces the garlic, then fry it in the olive oil... make sure to remove from the heat as soon as the garlic starts to colour lightly. They continue to cook in the hot oil for a while, so it is important to turn off the heat a little early not to burn them!! Brush this oil/garlic mixture onto one side the broiled bread (see the traditional method), then diced tomato, basil and salt.

Buon Appetito!!
 
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BTW Bruschetta is pronounced as "Brusketta", not "Brushetta" or "Brus-chetta"!!
3.gif


Licia
 
urmaniac13 said:
BTW Bruschetta is pronounced as "Brusketta", not "Brushetta" or "Brus-chetta"!!
3.gif


Licia

I say 'brusketta' but I have been told that 'brushetta' is also acceptable depending on which part of Italy you are in. Is that wrong?
 
One of the big rule in the standard Italian is "CH" is always pronounced as "K". (In traditional Italian the letter K is not used) However like any languages there are many dialects which are decidedly particular to themselves (when I chat with my italian friends online, they tell me I am not learning Italian but I am learning the "ROMANO"!!) For example in Roman dialect "GLI" (which is a very soft "Li" sound in proper Italian, very difficult for us to reproduce) it becomes "Yi". In Toscana "C" sound becomes "H", thus "Coca Cola" is pronounced something like "Hoha Hola", and list goes on... so it is possible that in some region of Italy they may say brushetta, though I am not aware of it... I will ask Cristiano when he comes back....
 
Ah, of course... I just signed up yesterday so I was a bit overzealous... well that is good, we must encourage and inspire all the beginning folks!! :)
 
urmaniac13 said:
Ah, of course... I just signed up yesterday so I was a bit overzealous... well that is good, we must encourage and inspire all the beginning folks!! :)
I really appriciate this thread! I'm pretty new to cooking...well i've been around cooking my whole life but I usualy just make what i know. now im trying to learn all sorts of things, so this is really helpful.

I like how you thoroughly explained how to make brushetta. I love the stuff, but have never tried to make it at home. I'll definitely try it, as I didn't realise it is so easy!

Thanks for the tips.
 
Your welcome! The more you learn the more fun it gets that is cooking!! Whenever you have any questions don't hesitate to ask anyone here everyone is soooo nice and helpful!! Keep a creative mind and do experiment with many things, and don't let the occasional failure deter you it happens to even the most accomplished chefs!! Happy cooking!!
 
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