Appetizers

Grilled Cheese Bruschetta – Summer Fest

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Summer appetizer, lunch or dinner for the home cook. Summer is a true treat. Our pace slows down and our energy picks up. There is more time for play and less time spent on work. The goal is to spend more time relaxing with friends and family. It is so nice to enjoy the fresh fruit and veggies that the summer sun yields. With fewer hours spent in the kitchen we crave quick, light and simple recipes. With fast and easy summer popsicles to fresh salsas, you can spend just minutes in the kitchen and loads of time outside…..where we all belong. I will include this recipe in the Summer Fest event, this week the spotlight is on Herbs, Greens and Beans. I highlight the herb Basil in this recipe.

Tomato, Mozzarella cheese and toasted bread

The fresher your ingredients are the less you need to do with them. When I think of bruschetta what comes to mind is an al fresco dinner paired with great friends and good times. Bruschetta is toasty grilled bread, fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil tossed with a fruity olive oil. Here it gets amped up and portable with gooey mozzarella. This handheld grilled cheese bruschetta makes it easy to  mingle and munch. They are mini pizza delights!

Mini pizza appetizer, lunch or dinner

Eat one and you have a snack or a mini meal. Eat two with a side salad and you have a quick and easy lunch or dinner. Beware of  cherry tomato splatters as these red beauties have lots of juice!

Light and healthy appetizer, lunch or dinner recipe

I cut the circle shapes out of the sprouted grain bread with cookie cutters. If you choose to go smaller in cutter size, perhaps an inch and a half in diameter you can have great little passed appetizers for parties. Instead of 3 cherry tomatoes on a 4 inch round you can put just one on a smaller shape.

Your taste buds will thank you and so will your tummy. These grilled cheese bruschettas will keep you satisfied and ready to take on those lazy, crazy summer days!

Telluride Colorado downtown views

A trip to the mountains helps to put everything in perspective. It’s all about enjoying time with family & friends and breathing in crisp, clean air. Experiencing everything life has to offer.

Views of Telluride in the Summer

This fresh, well balanced bruschetta pairs well with the high altitude hiking we have been doing in Telluride. There has been more rain than usual, but that does not stop us from having fun. The rain brings more green trees and grass and makes the bluebird sunny skies seem even more vibrant when they appear.

Tomato logo design by Matt Armendariz

 

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Mozzarella, Basil, Tomato Grilled Cheese Bruschetta

4 servings (with 4 inch round cookie cutter)

NOTES

  • Adjust your ratios of tomatoes. cheese and spices according to taste preference.
  • As always, use your own taste buds to determine how you want to flavor your Grilled Cheese Bruschetta. My ingredient lists are wide open for interpretation.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 pieces Sprouted Grain Bread (I use Ezekiel & Alvarado St. Bakery brands) cut into rounds
  • one pint Cherry Tomatoes
  • 4 to 8 ounces ounces Mozzarella Cheese
  • handful fresh Basil, slice thinly
  • Garlic Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste
  • Garlic Oil or Olive Oil

METHOD

  1. Pre heat oven to 400˚F with rack in the center of oven. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, garlic salt & pepper. Roast tomatoes for about 20 minutes or until the skins have popped and the tomatoes are softened.
  2. Set Broiler to low heat. Brush a light layer of garlic oil on bread. Toast bread about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oven.
  3. Top each toasted bread round with about 6 cherry tomatoes. Press a round of cheese (1-2 ounces) gently on top of the tomatoes (Wear an apron & beware of tomato splatter!)
  4. Low broil for about 6-8 minutes the bruschetta’s until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Watch carefully at towards the end of cook time that your grilled cheese bruschetta do not burn.
  5. Top with fresh basil chiffonade, cracked pepper and garlic salt.

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Bruschetta Recipe Links

~ Marla Meridith

Join the Conversation

61 thoughts on “Grilled Cheese Bruschetta – Summer Fest

  1. This Bruschetta looks fabulous, healthy and so creative! Your pictures are awesome, and you give so much fabulous information in just one post.

  2. I definitely think fresh when I think bruschetta. I’ve actually had bruschetta twice in the past couple weeks. It’s one of my favorite summer treats. The grilled cheese version looks super tasty!

  3. OMG!!!!!!!!! My mouth is watering just looking at those photos! Telluride has inspired you yet again. Beautiful place, beautiful food! You have outdone yourself yet again!j

  4. Your bruschetta looks delicious and your pics are gorgeous, Marla! The yogurt challenge sounds like a ton of fun, I’m going to have to really think about a recipe!

  5. Pingback: Maple Bacon. | FamilyCookNook.com
    1. Andrea, I wish I had cherry tomatoes in my garden. Problem is if I did they probably would not last very long with my lack of gardening skills 🙂

      Aggie, if you were closer I would stop by & bring you some!

      Faith, you must enter one of your fab recipes into this battle!

  6. Thank you very much for sharing this. I have subscribed to your RSS feed. Please keep up the good work.

  7. I’m with you, Marla. Simple, fresh, and quick really sum up what I want to cook and eat during these hot summer days. And the ingredients of your wonderful bruschetta really hit ALL of my buttons in terms of what sounds good!

  8. Great idea and cute presentation. Grilled cheese and tomato soup are such a classic that it only makes sense to combine the flavors in a different way.

  9. Okay. Grilled Cheese Bruschetta = brilliant! They look delicious! Thanks for sharing.

    For this week’s Summer Fest theme I put together a round up of Hungry Mama recipes for greens and herbs including Kale Chips, Polenta Creamed Spinach, Hand-Held Syrian Spinach Pies, Tarragon Blackberry Grapefruit pops and more!!

    Enjoy!

  10. Marla…with those photos…you made a regular bruschetta look fabulous!

    Great idea with the circular shapes ;o) The kids must be thrilled.

    Ciao for now,
    Claudia

  11. Marla,

    WOW, those look fantastic. I’ve posted on bruschetta before and on grilled cheese before, but never on this, the ultimate combination. Genius!

  12. Basil is far and above my favorite summer herb! I love this preparation…totally want it for lunch.

    The Stoneyfield yogurt battle sounds like so much fun! I’m going to start thinking about my entry…

    1. I am so excited about how many of you guys are joining in on this fun recipe battle! Everyone has such creative recipes. On Friday, August 13th I will be posting who we have on board so far. You can enter until 8/18/2010. We will have to get lots of folks to stop by and cast votes on the 20th.

  13. Hello Marla. First time visiting. I like your blog alot. It’s fresh, colorful and the recipes looks delicious. Plus I love bruschettas…… particularly this one… mmm so good..

  14. Hi Marla,
    Thank you for linking to TasteFood. It was so nice to meet you last year at BlogHer Food. I hope to see you there again this year!

  15. Just an fyi, bruschetta doesn’t have such a limited definition. If you go to Italy, you’d see the compositions of it are endless. Any number of varieties & combinations of veggies (often cooked, though never cooked *on* the bread), and yes, most certainly including mozzarella, though again, this is never cooked on the bread, it is fresh. You also want to use a thicker bread, not just regular sandwich bread. =)

    Anyhow, as non-authentic as this version is =P, it looks mighty tasty and I will definitely be trying it out at some point in the future. =D