Note to self #2…. Do not drink Wine with Vertigo.
Last night, Jilda and Warren came over for dinner. I made Bruschetta to start and my Mediterranean Fish Packets for dinner. Dinner was followed by some yummy Cantaloupe. The Naked Grape wine was BOGO at Publix this week, so I picked up a few bottles for dinner too.
I love making my fish packets for dinner. Everything is made ahead of time, and all I had to do was cook them when we were ready for dinner. So easy. The bruschetta was a hit too. We ate a whole baguette between the 4 of us.
Bruschetta
- 3 Roma Tomatoes- Diced- Seeds and juice removed
- 1/4 Onion- Fine Diced
- 1-2 Garlic Cloves- Minced
- 1 Handful of Basil- Torn or chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Reduced Balsamic Vinegar (Recipe to follow)
- 1 large Baguette (I used and Italian Multi-Grain)
- Olive Oil
- Slice bread into 1 inch thick pieces.
- Drizzle with olive oil on one side.
- Heat a grill pan to medium heat and place bread in pan oil side down.
- Drizzle oil on other side. Do not toast bread to much otherwise they become to crunchy.
- Mix together tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, and salt and pepper.
- Top each piece of bread with a spoonful or two of tomato mixture.
- Drizzle some of the reduced balsamic vinegar over and serve.
Reduced Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 bottle of Balsamic Vinegar (I used Publix brand)
- Add vinegar to pot and heat over medium high heat.
- Once the vinegar comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot because it will reduce quickly and you do not want burnt vinegar. Also do not stand over the pot. The vinegar smell is STRONG!!!
- Turn off heat and allow to cool in pan for 10-15 more minutes. The vinegar will continue to thicken during this time.
The tomato mixture, balsamic, and bread can all be prepared ahead of time and assembled right before you are ready to eat. The bread will become soggy if you make them to far in advance. The leftover balsamic can be saved and used for salad dressings or marinated.
I wanted to add a little extra crushed red pepper to my dish. I did not realize the lid was not screwed on correctly. Fail!! Luckily Huck scrapped some off and ate it.
It was a little hot. And I’m sure the beer did not help.
The flowers they brought for me. So nice. They also brought Warren’s special Jerk Sauce. Can’t wait to use it
We sat around and talked, drank wine and beer, and just enjoyed spending with two really awesome people. They both really enjoyed our most recent beer made with Mangos that Warren brought from his back yard. I had a couple glasses of wine, but at some point in the night my ears started bothering me and I felt really dizzy again. I’m sure those handouts the PA gave me said something about avoiding alcohol. Lesson learned!! I still feel like I’m on a boat today but it isn’t as bad as it has been. Damn ear infections!!
At some point last night, we did go to downtown Abacoa for a drink. We did not stay long though.
All and All it was a great night. I can’t wait to do it again! Soon!!
And at some point today I am going to have to clean the kitchen. Either Huck or I clean the kitchen after dinner everything. I can’t stand having dirty dishes in the sink, but right now I could care less. I’m getting some much needed couch time in!!
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