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Not Your Regular Nachos: Nachos Caprese

partysugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:15:32 -0700

At the Food and Wine Classic, I watched Jose Andres make bread chips. He froze a baguette, sliced it superthin with a mandoline, and panfried it until crisp. While Andres topped his with anchovies and other Spanish ingredients, I haven't stopped thinking about this bread chip and wondered how it would translate into a nacho. I don't have a mandoline, so I used regular white bread. However, I wish I would have found a way to use paper-thin bread. The final result was more like a cheesy bruschetta than a nacho. When I realized this, I was disappointed, but the classic Italian flavors - mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil - were so delicious that I soon forgot my sadness. I highly recommend you make this scrumptious appetizer, only instead of calling it nachos, simply call it bruschetta! To see what I did, read more.

Nachos Caprese aka Cheesy Bruschetta
Original recipe by PartySugar

Ingredients

1 small loaf thinly sliced sourdough bread
1 stick butter
2-3 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
8 ounces mozzarella, grated
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup homemade or store bought pesto
basil leaves, optional for garnish

Directions

Cut the bread into triangular pieces, removing crusts.

Since this was an experiment, I decided to fry some in butter (a la Ryan Scott) and bake some in the oven. For frying, melt one stick of butter with 2-3 peeled garlic cloves in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted add the bread, frying in a single layer. Fry until golden brown 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue to fry for 1-2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining bread.

Alternately, for baking, preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the bread triangles in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in the oven until crisp and brown 15-20 minutes.
When the bread is cool enough to handle spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Season bread generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cheese, taking care to cover each piece of bread with cheese. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted.

Remove and transfer cheesy bread triangles to a serving platter. Top each piece of bread with a heaping tablespoon of chopped tomatoes.
If your pesto is too thick to drizzle, thin with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Drizzle the pesto over the top of the tomatoes. Garnish with basil leaves if desired and enjoy!

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

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Come Party With Me: 4th Of July - Menu I

partysugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:57:30 -0700

When it comes to planning a 4th of July menu you have two options. You can either create a meal with all red, white, and blue foods, or serve classic all American barbeque dishes. I've decided to go with the latter by offering guests a delicious setting of summery eats. To start, warm up store bought gourmet sausages for mini hot dogs in croissant dough buns. Next, platter sliced raw vegetables like carrots, red peppers, and broccoli with ranch dip made from a Ranch seasoning packet mixed with sour cream. Add a homemade nacho cheese sauce to these easy grocery store items and you're set! After the appetizers offer a caprese salad and thick cut grilled french fries as part of the main course. For these tasty recipes, read more

Nacho Cheese Sauce
From Bobby Flay

1 pound pasteurized cheese (recommended: Velveeta)
8 ounces shredded Cheddar
8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 (14-ounce) can tomatoes with green chilies (recommended: Ro-tel)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ancho or chipotle (or other) ground chile pepper
Kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a double boiler and stir until melted. Season with salt, to taste.
Serve warm in a crock or fondue pot with crunchy tortilla chips for dipping.

Serves 8-10.

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Caprese Salad
From Big Oven

4 large tomatoes
1 package Fresh mozzarella cheese packed in water
4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
16 leaves Basil sliced
1 1/2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes about one quarter inch thick and arrange on a plate.
Slice thin discs of mozzarella cheese and place on each tomato. Top with a sprig of basil.
Mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour over tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4.

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Seasoned Grilled Fries
From Bobby Flay

3 pounds Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan and cook until almost tender. Drain and dry the potatoes.
Cut each potato lengthwise into quarters. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the potatoes with oil.
Combine the chili powder, salt, and cumin in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the potatoes.
Grill the potato wedges for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown. Serve with ketchup.

Serves 6 to 8.

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Nachos Caprese aka Cheesy Bruschetta

partysugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:15:40 -0700

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'Wich of the Week: Heirloom Tomato Caprese Sandwich

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:36 -0700

You can do pretty much anything with the succulent, summery caprese salad concept, from caprese skewers to caprese nachos. So when heirloom tomatoes started showing up at my farmers market, I whipped up a sandwich featuring the classic combination of fresh basil and mozzarella cheese.

I'm almost embarrassed by how easy it is to make, but that's why this sandwich is perfect for the season. At just five minutes in the oven, it doesn't require slaving over a hot stove. Be sure the tomatoes are perfectly ripe; if you really love them, add an extra layer of tomatoes and cheese. Find out how to make it.