Greek Bruschetta

Here's a great dish to share at your next get together or if you're like my husband and me, you'll just save it all to yourselves ;) There was once a sad time in my life where I actually didn't like kalamata olives. Like I said, sad...but this was actually the dish that converted me forever to a kalamata olive lover. Something about the combination of tangy yet sweet olives with the creamy feta is just a match made in food heaven. And the cilantro just adds an additional freshness to the dish and it somehow feels like a palate cleanser before you take your next bite ;)

On one more note, my husband and I had a debate, do you like to eat your crostini with the buttered side down or up? I believe the traditional way would be to place the bread buttered side up and place the bell pepper mix on top. But after some testing we actually liked eating the crostini with the buttered side down, placing the bell pepper mix on the butter-less side. We liked how it added a new flavor dimension to the dish. When the bread is buttered side down we actually got a really great taste of the butter on our tongue right away and the flavors were able to build upon that as the entire bite was consumed. Buttered side up, we found that the butter, although complimented it, tended to blend more with the other flavors rather than build upon it. Give it a try, have a debate of your own and tell me what you think! Enjoy!

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/4 cup Red wine vinegar

2/3 cup Flavorless oil such as grapeseed, canola, vegetable or rapeseed

3/4 tsp Salt

3/4 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Marjoram

3/4 tsp Basil

pinch of rosemary

1 clove Garlic, grated on a Microplane grater

2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp Sugar

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients in a seal-able container and shake until well combined. Set aside.

Baguette Crostini

1 Baguette

1/2 stick (56 grams) Butter (salted or unsalted)

Olive oil for frying

Slice the baguette to your desired thickness and heat a medium sized non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place several tablespoons of butter into the pan along with a bit of olive oil (this will help the butter from burning). You want the pan to be fully coated in butter and oil. Place as many slices of bread as you can into the pan, making sure the one side is evenly coated in butter. Cook until the bread takes on a crispy and golden exterior. Do no flip. Adjust heat as needed. Continue this process with the remaining bread slices.

Note: All stove tops and equipment can vary in its cooking ability so keep an eye on your heat and look for warning signs that it's getting too hot. Your pan should never smoke or the butter turns black. If at any point your heat is too high and the butter gets burnt, simply wipe the pan down with a paper towel and start with a new addition of butter and oil. You don't want to keep adding to burnt butter...

Bell Pepper Mix

1 Red, green and yellow bell pepper, minced

1 small purple onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, grated on a Microplane grater

25 Purple olives, sliced

1.5 oz (42 grams) Feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup (15 grams) Cilantro, chopped

With a medium non-stick frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers and vinaigrette and cook for 3 minutes. You want them to retain a crisp yet tender.

Remove from the heat, strain the bell peppers and place in a serving dish of your choice.

Add the cilantro, olives and feta and mix until combine. Serve with the prepared baguette.