I LOVE a party! {Honey Roasted Bruschetta with Ricotta & Fresh Basil}

Honey Roasted Bruschetta with Ricotta & Fresh Basil

Oh my goodness I haven't been on since Friday.... serious withdrawal over here. I was joking with David that you guys were either saying thank goodness she has given us a break or OMG has something happened to Heidi there's been no activity on Young Grasshopper for three days... this is unheard of!

Well, here's my story Barbara and I {a.k.a. The Gourmet Girls} had there biggest catering job to date! A 40th birthday party for a good friend that consumed all of my waking time last week and so while I have been cooking up a storm and racking up pictures and recipes and potential posts I haven't had a spare minute to post.

Honey Roasted Bruschetta with Ricotta & Fresh Basil

And so, despite the fact that I have a very large trial in two days and I shouldn't be on here playing with all of you I thought I might perish if I didn't share at least one recipe and so I thought I'd pick a relatively easy one that is an awesome app. A real crowd pleaser... could be for a party, a luncheon or a book club or just your lunch and that is my honey roasted bruschetta. This recipe originally came from a Food & Wine Annual cookbook and it has been a real go to for me over the years.  A lot of time I make my own ricotta, other times I don't, I'll never admit which is the case at any given moment but it's always fabulous.

The tomatoes can be made in advance and still be absolutely delicious, I usually make them two or three days ahead of time.  Leftovers can then be frozen and I have used these tomatoes to cook fish, pork and chicken as sort of a marinara type sauce.  The bread can be made a day in advance and stored in a sealed baggie.


WHAT YOU NEED:
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 
2 tablespoons honey {I use the kind out of a bear :)}
2 teaspoons thyme 
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 medium sized baguette cut in 1/2 inch thick on an angle
1 cup fresh ricotta
6 basil leaves, thinly sliced or torn

WHAT YOU DO:
for the tomatoes:
Preheat the oven to 300°.
 Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, honey, thyme and salt. Pour the tomatoes onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 1 & 1/2 hours
Let cool {if making ahead, store in refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving}.

for the bread:
Preheat the broiler on high.
Spread out the baguette slices on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil.
Broil for about 30 seconds on each side, until the edges are golden brown.

for the ricotta:
for today's purposes let's use Sargento, making ricotta is a whole another story!

to put together:
Spread the ricotta over the baguette slices and top with the tomatoes, sprinkle with the sliced basil and ENJOY!

NOTE:  I usually quadruple this recipe {or even more}, count on at least two pieces per guest.