scorched tomato bruschetta

     I love having good friends who are willing to be my guinea pigs. Amiable test subjects. Brave individuals who will taste what I concoct and give me an honest opinion... Yay or nay. 
     I spied a recipe for toast points with grape tomatoes on them... I didn't even have half of the ingredients. It called for fresh basil leaves, sour dough bread and making your own balsamic reduction... right. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

     So, I improvised. I did have a loaf of potato-rosemary bread, some homemade basil pesto, a lot of grape tomatoes, fresh lemon thyme and a bottle of store-bought balsamic glaze.
     Scorching the tomatoes in a cast iron skillet is the key. If you don't own one, borrow your grandmama's or your neighbor's. If you're a Southerner and don't own one, shame on you. Don't make me come over there and take away your DAR membership card, 'cause I will. Run on down to the Goodwill and get one. They've always got a few. Quick, like a bunny!

     The bruschetta turned out to be FABulously delicious. And, they were very pretty with all of the colors of the Italian flag so nicely represented. Really, it's a miracle that anyone besides me got to taste them... but I'm learning restraint and self-control.

     In the photo above, you can see the savory pesto peeking out from under a squishy, lightly scorched tomato. The balsamic glaze finished off the bite with a hint of sweetness.
     We were invited to a friend's house for dinner, so I took the bruschetta along. Trying a new app out on a crowd gives fresh meaning to Bravery in the Kitchen. Thankfully, they loved them and even asked for the recipe... Here you go, girls!

Ingredients
8 slices of sourdough or potato rosemary baguette
1-2 T. olive oil
1 T. salt
1 T. black pepper
24 grape tomatoes
2 T. reduced fat basil pesto
1 T. white balsamic glaze or reduction
fresh thyme or lemon thyme leaves
Directions
Cut bread slices into bite-sized pieces, (3 pieces per slice.) You should have around 24 pieces. Brush lightly with some of the olive oil, reserving a little for the skillet. Set on a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toast until golden brown.

While bread is toasting, place a cast iron skillet on high and add remaining olive oil to pan. When it begins to smoke, add tomatoes, shaking the pan to keep tomatoes moving. When they become blackened on outside and begin to burst, remove from heat. The aroma is amazing!

Remove bread from oven and spread a dollop of pesto onto the center of each piece. The pesto is the food glue that cradles the tomato and holds it on the toast. Place bruschetta pieces on a serving platter.
Spoon one tomato onto each bread slice. Before serving, scatter fresh lemon thyme leaves and drizzle balsamic reduction over entire platter.  

Makes 8 servings. 3 pieces per person. Weight Watchers Points Plus value: 2