Butternut Ricotta Ravioli

I vowed never to make pasta again after my horrific attempt to make these with pasta dough from scratch for a dinner party a few years ago. Bad bad idea. They all ripped apart and all the filling stayed in the boiling water while I was left with empty pockets. That is, until I discovered these wonton wrappers. They are so versatile! From dumplings to egg rolls to rangoons to ravioli. These pre-made wrappers made a world of difference. They stuck together with just a dab of water and didn't fall apart. The trick is to put just an inch or two of water in your pot, not covering the ravioli's entirely, and watch them closely over a slow boil. I boiled them in batches and only put 4 or 5 ravioli's at a time in a single layer until soft, 3 or 4 minutes. The filling is roasted butternut squash blended with ricotta, parmesan and lemon juice. You can put any type of filling, the combinations are endless. Enjoy!

Butternut Ricotta Ravioli

1 package wonton wrappers

1 medium butternut squash

1 cup ricotta, I used light

1/3 cup parmesan

juice of half lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1 Halve the butternut and scoop out the seeds. Roast in 400 degree oven, skin side up for about 30-45 minutes until tender.

2 Once cooled, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta, parmesan, lemon juice and mix all together until uniform.

3 Take two wrappers and lay them side by side on a clean surface. With a dab of water on your finger, outline the edge of one of the wrappers and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Take the second wrapper and place on top of the filling, pressing around the mound of filling gently to get all of the air out. The water acts as a glue, so press the edges of the wrappers so they will stick together without any air trapped inside. Repeat this process until all the wrappers are filled.

4 Bring a few inches of water in a pot to a slow boil. Gently place 4 or 5 ravioli's into the water and cover. Watch them closely so they don't tear apart. Check on them every few minutes, you will be able to tell when they are done. With a slotted spoon, carefully remove each ravioli one at a time onto a pan where they can be on a single layer, not overlapping. I used a roasting pan.

5 Finish with your favorite sauce. I used parmesan and parsley as a simple garnish and it was delicious!

The Bran Muffin

I've been searching for a bran muffin that I can freeze and pop in the microwave for breakfast on the go. All the ones I've tried have been dry, too sweet, not sweet enough, or hard as a rock. After making this one, I have died and finally gone to bran muffin heaven. It is SO delicious and the texture is perfect. The first trick is toasting the what bran which adds another dimension of nutty flavor. The second is pureeing the raisins, which adds even more softness and moisture. The grated orange zest adds a nice hint of citrus and the brown sugar is the perfect amount of sweetness. It really is the bran muffin to end all bran muffins. 

Bran Muffins
adapted by Alexandra Cooks via Nancy Silverton

2 cups wheat bran
1 1/2 cups dark raisins
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup buttermilk
zest of one orange
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or butter or oil.

2. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for six to eight minutes, stirring a few times so it cooks evenly. Let cool.

3. While the bran is toasting, heat 1.5 cup of the raisins with 3/4 cup of the water. Simmer for ten minutes. Puree the raisins in a food processor or hand blender until smooth.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the toasted bran, buttermilk, 3/4 cup water, then mix in the raisin puree, orange zest, and brown sugar.

5. Stir in the whole egg and egg white.

6. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and sift directly into the wet ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined.

7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Eggplant Parmesan

When it's cold and rainy like it was today, all I want to do is hibernate inside my tiny kitchen and cook comfort food. Normally, comfort food is heavy and high in fat. This eggplant parmesan (which has no parmesan in it, by the way) is light and healthy. I used light and fluffy farmers cheese instead of mozzarella and baked the eggplant slices in the oven instead of frying them. It was so easy and such a snap to put together. You could easily add more eggplants to have a higher stack but I prefer a two eggplant maximum for my stacks. I also like to add toasted pine nuts on top for a nice crunch.

Eggplant Parmesan
1 eggplant
cheese of your choice, I used Farmers cheese
handful of basil

tomato Sauce, I use Mids tomato basil sauce
toasted pine nuts

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet in one layer. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender. It will go in the oven again at the end so it doesn't have to be cooked all the way through.

2 Spoon some sauce to cover the bottom of a baking dish. Next, arrange half the eggplant slices in one layer. Then some sauce, then some cheese, then basil. Repeat until all eggplant slices are used up.

3 Bake all together again in a 400 degree oven until cheese is soft and cooked down. Garnish with more basil and toasted pine nuts.

Avocado Hummus

Hummus is the type of food that makes you feel so good and healthy. I try to eat meatless a few times a week and this was my dinner the other night. I was surprisingly full! I love pairing hummus with raw vegetables like cherry tomatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, etc. I used avocado and greek yogurt to get a really smooth texture with the nutty chickpeas. You can always use toasted pita as well.


1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
half avocado
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1 lemon, juiced
olive oil, enough until desired consistency
chopped parsley for garnish
olive oil for garnish

1 Process all ingredients in food processor along with olive oil until desired consistency.
2 Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley.

White Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Candies

Sunday was very cold and windy. I was determined not to leave the house. Nope! Not going anywhere. But, I still wanted to feel productive while indoors. These chocolates did the trick! And all I had to do was stare at my pantry. Left to right, up and down, up and over, behind and in front. This took a while...The result were these little candies. It was the prefect treat to use up leftover odds and ends.

These little chocolate candies will melt your heart – mostly because they are SO easy. I took scraps of nuts, dried fruits and chocolates and made quite an amount of bite-sized little candies. It's amazing how much you can make with very little ingredients in your very own pantry.

The dark chocolate has chopped dates and pecans while the white has sliced almonds, dried pomegranate and coconut flakes (same ones from the soba noodle recipe). You could do any combination you'd like. My favorite part was throwing out all the empty ingredient bags in the trash. I really felt like I accomplished something on a Sunday morning!

Basic Instructions on chocolate candies:
1 Melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.
2 Mix in assortment of nuts and/or dried fruit with the melted chocolate.
3 Spoon little spoonfuls onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
4 Stick in fridge for 30-45 minutes until hard.

Coconut Soba Noodles with Spinach and Almonds

Some of you might be wondering where I've been, or maybe you're not ... either way, I'm really glad to be back and blogging.

I currently have a crush on Vietnamese cuisine. I say crush because I normally go through phases with different cuisines and then get tired of them and move on to the next, but, I am still in love. My sister and I go to this little hole in the wall restaurant at least twice a month. We even have a song we sing every time we go (actually, we just repeat the name of the restaurant over and over to a weird beat we made up.)

It's very calming and quiet inside. We always start off with the Chrysanthemum tea. It's one or two large Chrysanthemum flowers (just the heads) which are steeped in hot water to produce a mild flavored tea. You even see the flower petals on the bottom of the mug which are delicious as well. Next up is the "Fresh Signature Salad." Kind of mysterious, right? Let me tell you, it is the most delicious salad you'll ever have. Its a heaping pile of shredded crunchy fruits (Jacima, Mango, papaya, and apple) served with a fish vinaigrette sauce, which you will want to drink all on its own. Topped with crushed peanuts and crispy fried scallions. While my sister has tried the Pho, curry chicken, and several other dishes on the menu, I have only tried the flounder. I can't get passed it!

This is a dish I made up with all the ingredients I got at the asian farmers market. I explored every aisle up and down, every bottle, can and package. I came home with fish sauce (more on this later) soba noodles and thai basil (I prefer this over regular basil). The soba noodles were actually precooked, I really liked the nutty flavor but the texture was slightly off so next time I will probably buy dried soba and boil them myself. I also found "vegetable pasta" thats made with spinach, broccoli and celery which was homemade, you can even see the residual flour that was used on the noodles. I started by taking some thai basil leaves and steeping them in light coconut milk (Trader Joe's is the only place I know that carries light). I also threw in some minced garlic and a splash of lime and let the flavors marry. Then comes the spinach leaves which wilt down and become tender. This is my base for my creamy pasta sauce. Then comes the crunchy topping of shredded coconut and almond slices. Don't use sweetened shredded coconut, instead use unsweetened thick shreds which are healthy and pretty too, from Whole Foods. Combine the coconut/spinach mixture with the soba noodles and top with the crunch. I licked the plate.

1 package soba noodles

1 can light coconut milk

4-5 Thai basil leaves

1 lime, juiced

10 oz baby spinach leaves

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt to taste

1 handful of sliced almonds

1 handful of coconut shreds

Grated parmesan

1 Heat coconut milk in saucepan until steamy with thai basil leaves, garlic and lime juice.

2 Place spinach inside milk and stir occasionally until wilted and soft. Salt to taste.

3 Meanwhile toast the almonds and coconut in a dry pan until fragrant

4 Combine the milk mixture with the noodles and toss until evenly combined. Top with crunchy topping and grated parmesan cheese.

Roasted Butternut Soup

I'm not a huge fan of soup, but I honestly could not stop eating this! The key is to roast the butternut first before you puree it with all the other goodies. The end result is a darker colored soup, not those bright orange traditional butternut soups you've had before. This one is smoky and so flavorful!!

Roasted Butternut Soup

1 medium butternut, peeled and cubed

olive oil

salt 'n' peppa

1/2 cup carrots, cubed

1/2 cup celery, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or enough to cover vegetables

1 Roast cubed butternut with olive oil and salt 'n' peppa at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

2 While the squash is roasting, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a pan with some olive oil.

3 Once the vegetables are getting soft, place the roasted butternut in the same pot and cover with stock.

4 Close and simmer for about 20 minutes until all vegetables are soft. Use a stick blender to blend everything together until smooth. You could go the extra step and press it through a siev, but I didn't.

5 Serve piping hot and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Smoothie

Good Morning! Breakfast smoothies make me feel so good and give me a jump start on my day. This one is so smooth and creamy, you can even add chocolate chips for your sweet tooth.

I started with 2 chopped bananas.

I ground up some oats and threw in a tablespoon or so for some healthy bulk. You could add ground oats to almost anything — soups, yogurt, ice cream, and meatballs for example.

Then I added 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (chunky or creamy is fine) and 1/2 cup of milk (I used skim).

And there you have it! There are millions of ways to make smoothies with bananas as the base. Avocado and banana smoothie anyone? Try it! It's delicious.

Brown Sugar Biscuits

I'm on my day off from work and I haven't been able to leave the couch because of Bravo's evil marathon of Real Housewives. Why? Why must they do this ALL week long?! I can't resist to watch, even if I know I've seen that episode a million times...ughgh. BUT, I did get up once to make these biscuits because I wanted to wake up the next morning and have fluffy biscuits for breakfast. These were sooo good smothered with mascarpone and strawberry jam.

Brown Sugar Biscuits

adapted by Joy the Baker

makes about 12 biscuits

3 cups flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick and a half)

1 large egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.

2 In a mixing bowl, sift flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.

3 Grate cold butter and incorporate into flour with your hands until it resembles coarse meal.

4 In another bowl, combine egg and buttermilk and beat lightly with a fork.

5 Add to flour mixture all at once and mix until incorporated.

6 The dough is very sticky so dump it on a floured surface and knead a few times until is comes together.

7 Pat the dough into 1 inch thickness. Cut into a 2 inch rounds, reuse scraps to make more biscuits.

8 Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.

Baked Shrimp with Feta

I found this photo when I was going through my old recipe photos and I can't believe I never posted it! I love shrimp so much and am almost always in the mood for it. It's such a hearty meal with just a hunk of bread to soak up the sweet nectar at the bottom of the pan. It also makes an impressive statement at the table for guests. Baked Shrimp with Feta adapted by Ina Garten heavy oven proof pan 4 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 cup white wine 1 can diced tomatoes, drained 1 tsp dried oregano kosher salt 1 lb shrimp, deveined and peeled, but tails left on good quality feta 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs 3 tablespoon minced parsley 1 tsp grated lemon zest 1 lemons 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in oven proof skillet over medium heat. Saute minced garlic until tender. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits. Cook until reduced by half, 2 or 3 minutes. 3 Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat, 10 to 15 minutes. 4 Arrange the shrimp in one layer on top of the tomato mixture in the skillet. 5 Scatter feta evenly over the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with two tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle evenly over shrimp. 6 Bake shrimp for 15 minutes. 7 Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over shrimp.

Chicken Couscous bowl

So this is another example of a random ingredients thrown into a bowl and called dinner — Israeli couscous, jerk chicken thighs, scallions, avocado and toasted cashews. It was SO tasty! The jerk chicken was spiced (jamaican jerk seasoning), grilled and cut into bite-sized pieces which gave lots of flavor to the rest of the bowl. And the avocado was the perfect balance of creamy and cool to the spice of the chicken, while the cashews gave a nice crunch.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnuts

Whoa, I'm alive. I know its been way way too long but I've been planning my wedding for the past year....oy. It was a whirlwind, to say the least, and now life is starting to feel normal again.

Tonight I felt like cooking a bunch of random things and put it on one plate and call it 'dinner.' I started with these brussel sprouts, which I roasted in the same pan as the hazelnuts. Whenever I cut the ends off of the cabbages, some of the leaves usually become loose. Dont throw those away! Those get extra crispy and are like chips after they're roasted. I like my brussel sprouts on the burned side so keep a close watch if you dont want them too black.

My next random dish was........potato salad. I know, its fall and I was craving the most summery picnic salad ever, but I couldn't help it! I needed sour cream/mayo/dijon smothered red skinned potatoes more than ever. Next was hard boiled eggs. Again, random. But so satisfying!!!

Don't be afraid to switch up your meals with random dishes that you love. Another example coming up tomorrow!

Focaccia

Hi all. Sorry the photo's aren't that great quality, It's been a while since I picked up a camera and there was so much going on at the party, it was hard to concentrate on taking good photos.

I'm here with the highlights from Meshy's birthday party. It was so much fun to get everyone together and all the food was a success. I want to focus on the focaccia's I made for the party. They are the easiest dishes to make and are also fun to eat for a casual get-together. The trick it to buy a ball of pizza dough from your local grocery store (near the baked bread section). It tastes great and saves you a ton of time rather than making dough from scratch. I made two focaccia's for the party – one topped with goat cheese and zucchini and the other pesto and eggplant. It was delicious, I think I like the zucchini one a little bit better because I looovee goat cheese but both were superb and eaten right up. I just rolled it out the dough as thin as I could (which didn't end up mattering because the dough puffed up so much anyways) topped it with the toppings and baked both at the same time for 12-15 minutes. It's the perfect party food because it doesn't take much time if you already have your ingredients prepped. I sliced and roasted the eggplant the night before, and sliced the zucchini before as well. Some other party foods on the menu was pea pesto, stuffed mushrooms, and kataifi wrapped shrimp and fennel and orange salad. What are some of your party food favorites?

I'm alive!

Hi everyone! It has been sooooooo long since I have posted. And there is a good reason, I promise. I got engaged! Adam proposed on October 17 during our vacation in hawaii. It was incredible to say the least and I still think about that special moment. Of course I've been cooking since October, but have been so busy with wedding planning. Me and my parents have been a great team and I cannot wait for the big day! September 4, mark your calendars! I figured this would be a great time to post because I'm hosting my dog's birthday party this sunday! She is turning 5 years old and we're having my parents, sister and future in-laws over for lunch. Just a good excuse to get everyone together and nosh. I'm planning a great menu, just have to get it all done. I will post photos and recipes soon after the party. Can't wait!

Zucchini Carbonara

I was planning on making zucchini bread for brunch this weekend and I misread the amount for zucchini's and bought way too many! 3 too many to be exact. So what did I do? Combine my favorite pasta dish, pasta carbonara, with soft luscious zucchini's. I was out of turkey bacon so I left it out but added plenty of garlic to make up for it. I just cubed up 3 zucchini's, sautéed them with garlic and salt and pepper, and added them to the pasta. Then at the end, hit the pasta and zucchini with the egg/parmesan mixture. Delicious!!!!

1/2 box of pasta, any shape

3 zucchini, cubed

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Boil water for pasta. Beat 2 eggs in a separate dish and mix with parmesan.

2 While water is boiling, heat olive oil in deep skillet and throw in minced garlic and cubed zucchini and cook together for about 7-8 minutes until softened.

3 Drop pasta into boiling water. Cook until al dente and drain.

4 Once zucchini is softened, mix the drained pasta into the deep skillet with the zucchini.

5 Pour egg/parmesan mixture over the pasta and zucchini and quickly, using tongs, mix thoroughly until egg sauce is shiny and thickened. Serve with more grated parmesan on top. Enjoy!

Caramel-Spiced Apple Butter

I am so happy Fall is here! I love autumn flavors and colors and the bright crisp in the air. Recently, my co-worker was telling me about her canning equipment. "That sounds so cool!" I said, "I would love to make my own apple butter..." The next day she brought me her canning pot, rack, tongs and a great recipe book by Ball. I was so excited to experiment! I ended up making a caramel-spiced apple butter, perfect for sunday morning toast.

I used a recipe from Ball Jar's Blue Book. Here is a similar one. It is exactly the same except I used 3 lbs of apples instead of 4, and cut the rest of the ingredient in half.

It yielded 3, 1/2 pint jars. These are great holiday gifts for friends or family. Enjoy!

Butter Bean & Artichoke Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like the smell of homemade tomato sauce. You really feel like you made a gourmet healthful meal pus it is SO easy. The stuff in the jar works for last minute meals but if you have some times please please try making your own. You will love yourself for it. All you need is high quality crushed tomatoes in a can (I used an Italian brand from my local grocery store), garlic, salt and thats it! The rest is up to your imagination. I dumped in a can of artichoke hearts and a can of butter beans. The butter beans gave sort of a smokey undertone which I liked. I also threw in some sliced kalamata olives. Absolutely delicious!

Simple Dessert: Honey Figs

I was perusing the farmers market during my lunch break the other day, as I often do, and spotted these gorgeous juice-filled figs. They are wonderful sweet or savory. A great savory party appetizer could be a grilled fig topped with goat cheese. However, for a simple dessert you don't have to think about, halve the figs and drizzle with honey. It's is a refreshing, sweet summer dessert without the oven heat.

What is your favorite oven-less dessert?

10-minute Asian Soup

I was grocery shopping with my sister this past weekend and saw her grab a smallish bag of soba buckwheat noodles. Thats a good idea, I thought, so I grabbed a bag as well. When I think of soba noodles I instantly think of the soup that you would get in sushi restaurants. Salty flavorful broth with slurpy noodles and fresh slivers of spinach. Absolutely satisfying. I recreated it at home and it tasted exactly the same! I couldn't believe how easy and quick it was. You can also put some bok choy or cubed tofu in as well. You really won't believe how this tastes!

Soba Noodle Soup

adapted by savvy vegetarian

1 bundle of soba noodles (usually comes 3 bundles in a package)

4 cups broth

1 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

few handfuls of fresh spinach

fresh ground pepper

1 Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the noodles. Buckwheat noodles cook rather quickly, so about 4-5 minuter for a bundle should be enough. Drain and rinse with cool water. Drain again.

2 While the noodles are cooking, combing the broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ginger in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

3 Stir in fresh spinach until wilted but still bright green. Stir in noodles and add about 2 cups fresh water. Season with pepper to taste.

White Bean Dip

I recently had an extra-small dinner party of 4. There was a mediterranean theme going on and I wanted to start off the meal with a dip and some homemade spanakopitas (not pictured). This white bean dip is packed with flavor and is hard to stop going back for more. I like that it has some color from the herbs and is not only white, which is not as attractive, especially next to a beige cracker. This would also be great with pita chips rubbed with garlic and dried oregano. I just opted for simple seeded crunchy crackers that I had at home. It was a hit!

White Bean Dip

adapted via Giada De Laurentiis

1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup parsley

1/4 cup greek yogurt

salt

black pepper

1 Combine all ingredients in the work bowl of the food processor. Pulse until smooth, but still a little bit chunky.

2 Serve with pita chips or crackers.

Oh, and here's a peek of what I served for the dinner party: Lamb and shrimp kebabs, bell pepper salad and israeli couscous salad with olives and roasted tomatoes.

Pizza Bake-Off!

A few weeks ago, my friend Amy and I planned a pizza bake-off party. Each of us would bake our own pie's at her and Michaels place while the boy's played with the dogs, drank beer and took some shots of us prepping. It was so fun!!

Here's how it went down:

This is Amy. She is sweet, kind and a fantastic cook.

This is me stretching out my dough.

This is amy stretching out her dough. She split hers in two to make two different pizza's: one she was going to grill and the other to bake. Just for kicks!

This is me brushing my dough with garlic infused olive oil. Mmmm.

Oh. I should probably introduce the pooches. This is my dog, Meshy. She is hyper, loves food, and loves to snuzzle.

This is Maddie, Amy and Michael's dog. She is super affectionate has the sweetest smile!

This is Amy's baked pizza with sauteed mushrooms and onions. Delicious!

This is Amy's grilled pizza with homemade tomato sauce basil and mozzarella! The tomato sauce really made it special.

This is my pizza with roasted tomato, basil and goat cheese. I loved the warm golden goat cheese on top. Next time I might add tomato sauce or pesto instead of tomato slices.

Overall it was a great night and so much fun making dinner with friends. What pizza would you make for your own pizza bake-off?

Tomato-Gorgonzola Bruschetta

Me and my friend were talking about bruschetta the other day. We were wondering — is bruschetta referring to the bread? or the topping? Should this post be named bruschetta with tomato & gorgonzola instead of tomato-gorgonzola bruschetta? If one of you knows, do share!

Either way, this is fantastic finger food. I especially love the tomatoes warm and collapsed on the crispy bread. Right before serving, I crumbled gorgonzola on top and lightly tossed so it'll slightly melt the cheese. Amazing!! As for the bread, I used up the ends of a sourdough loaf I use for sandwiches. Any bread will work. I put a pat of butter on each slice and sprinkled it with rosemary (I only had dried) and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. Please try this, its quick, delicious and definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Tomato-Gorgonzola Bruschetta

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil

salt 'n' peppa

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash tomatoes and drain. Halve each tomato lengthwise and place on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Toss all together.

2 Bake for about 15 minutes until tomatoes have collapsed. Right before serving, crumble gorgonzola on top and lightly toss. Arrange the crispy bread around the tomatoes and serve.

Crispy Rosemary Bread

1 Slice bread and arrange on baking sheet. Put pat of butter on each slice and sprinkle with rosemary.

2 Broil for about 5 minutes until golden brown.