adventure in the kitchen

I absolutely love to cook, but I often tend to make the same things over and over (enchiladas, anyone?). But every now and then I really break out of my box and make something a little crazy, untraditional.  It's a rarity but it's always an adventure.  Last week my friend Jasmine and I made roasted grapes, thyme, and ricotta cheese on grilled flatbread.  It may have been the best combination ever.

I thought this was such a fun twist on bruschetta! This is the perfect thing to make when having friends over for wine and bad reality TV. Oh...you don't do that? Well, your loss.

Jasmine and I wanted this for our dinner, so she made a hearty salad to go with it.  I found the recipe here.  

Ingredients:
- Grapes (use red seedless)
- Good rustic bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
- Olive oil
- Ricotta cheese
- Fresh Thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Spread grapes onto a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Lay thyme leaves over top. Toss all together gently with your hands. Place pan in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until grapes just begin to burst.  Keep an eye on them throughout--it's nice when some of the grapes remain in tact.

2. Meanwhile, heat a rill or grill pan to medium-high. Brush the bread with olive oil. Grill until nice and toasty.

3. Assemble the open-faced sandwiches: spread fresh ricotta over bread. Top with roasted grapes. Discard the thyme sprigs (while the thyme sprigs look pretty, it's a little impractical to serve the sandwiches with them...they don't taste so yummy).

Enjoy your new kitchen adventure!

xo