Bruschetta

I have tweaked and tweaked this recipe from one that I found in a magazine years ago.  I have now gotten to the point that I just wing it, so feel free to add more or less based on your own personal taste.  This would be a very virtuous Valentine's Day appetizer, and the colors are right.  This accompanies an Italian dinner, steak dinner, chicken dinner, etc. very nicely.

BRUSCHETTA

Recipe Notes

Be sure that you buy a baguette no more than a day before you plan to make this appetizer.  It will get too hard, crunchy, and stale to work with otherwise.

Ingredients

• One large beefsteak or heirloom tomato, small dice
• One medium cucumber, small dice
• Healthy handful of basil, chiffonade-cut
• 1/4-1/2 small red onion, minced
• Red wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• French baguette, sliced thin
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

1.  Combine tomato, cucumber, basil, red onion, red wine vinegar (to taste), and olive oil (to taste - this should be a very small amount).  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  Turn on broiler in the oven (low broil).  Arrange baguette slices on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. 

3.  Using juices from the bottom of the bruschetta topping bowl, paint juices over the top of the baguette slices.

4.  Broil baguette slices until just browning.  Remove from oven, top with vegetable mixture, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and possibly add more salt and pepper if desired.

5.  Serve immediately.