Guest Blogger-Tomato Bruschetta on Crostini from Lisa's Dinnertime Dish

Today is our last day on the ship and we've probably already disembarked and are on the way to the airport or in flight right about now. We're heading to Paris for a couple of days since it cost less to do a stop over in Paris than it did to fly directly from Venice to JFK. Then, we decided how can we go through Paris and not even SEE it! So we'll be here for the next 2 days taking in the sites. All Gab keeps saying is she wants to buy shoes! YES, she's 10 and I know, I know...I'm in BIG trouble with THIS one!


But, once again have no fear, my dear friend Lisa is going to take care of you today and made one of my favorites! Please give her a warm CEK welcome!

Hi!  My name is Lisa and food and cooking are great passions of mine.  I love trying and creating new recipes for my family and friends.  In addition to cooking, I love to travel with my family as much as possible and in the summer we spend as much time as we can at our cabin in northern Minnesota.  I have been married to my wonderful husband, Steve for 25 years (as of July 25th) and we have three amazing kids, Nicole, 22; Kelly, 21 and Alex, 17.

I started my blog, Lisa's Dinnertime Dish, as a way to share my recipes and to hopefully inspire others to get into the kitchen and discover the joy of cooking for themselves!

The tomato bruschetta that I'm sharing today day is a great summertime appetizer.  It has very few ingredients and comes together very quickly, but is so flavorful and delicious!  It is a huge hit every time I make it.  You could also toss this with hot pasta for a quick dinner.

Tomato Bruschetta on Crostini

5-6 Roma tomatoes

15 fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the bread

Salt and pepper

1 clove garlic

Crusty baguette, thinly sliced

Cut each tomato in half vertically.  Gently squeeze each  tomato half to remove the seeds.   Then chop into small pieces and put in a medium size bowl.  Stack the basil leaves on top of each other and roll up vertically.  Then cut across the roll into thin strips, add to the tomatoes.  Add  parmesan to the mixture and gently stir to combine.  Drizzle the olive oil over the mixture and add the salt and pepper to taste.  Stir until the oil is coating the tomatoes.  

To prepare the bread, heat broiler on high.  Put bread slices on a baking sheet and broil on each side until lightly toasted.  Peel garlic clove and slice in half.  Rub cut side of garlic on each slice of bread.  Drizzle with olive oil. Spoon bruschetta onto bread slices.

ENJOY!