Bruscetta

I love bruscetta. It's quick, easy and pretty darn tasty. I grabbed a couple of slices of sourdough bread, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled them with a little spice (I don't know how I cam into possession of a bottle of Mrs Dash, but it came in handy) and laid them face-down on my countertop grill, on high heat. While those worked, I grated a little Lincolnshire poacher (I can't believe I haven't run out yet) and diced up a little fresh red bell pepper. When the bread was nice and toasty and grilled, I pulled it off and sprinkled it with the cheese and the bell pepper.

See how easy that is? I know, I know... when a lot of people think of bruscetta, they think of something like a baguette, brushed with olive oil and garlic, topped with tomatoes tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and basil and Parmesan cheese. And that's okay too. As it turns out, a) I don't currently have tomatoes, basil or Parm, and b) it's a pretty open-ended concept. If you feel like going with frangipan or Nutella and fresh berries, on some kind of Sally Lunn bread or English muffin, that's cool too. You don't even, technically, have to toast or grill the bread first. The key is to keep it simple and beautiful, just like everything else in Italy.