Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

Bruschetta [(Italian pronunciation: [brus’ketta] is a hearty appetizer from central Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. ] is one of my favorite snacks to play with when I’m not in the mood for cooking a whole meal. In fact, “nibbling” is also one of my favorite ways to eat.

It’s always best with leftover ingredients.

Tonight I was in luck! I had a half of leftover baguette from our new favorite bakery Pane D’Amore, now with storefronts in Bainbridge Island as well as Port Townsend. Also, from Port Townsend,  Mt. Townsend Creamery’s Seastack Cheese with Truffles…SCORE! It happened to be leftover from the Bloedel Reserve Auction & Fundraiser that we participated in. The fridge also held some locally grown grape tomatoes & Jocelyn’s leftover cheese sauce. Jocelyn remakes the sauce from her mother’s famous cheese sauce recipe (that we normally slather over steamed broccoli or cauliflower). With some fresh basil from our kitchen garden I had what I needed.

After toasting slices of the leftover bread with some EVOO and pressed garlic I added the leftover ingredients. The first, and my favorite today, was the Truffled Seastack Cheese and Fresh Basil. I put them back in the toaster oven just to get the cheese gooey. What a treat!

Mt. Townsend Truffled Seastack Cheese & Basil Bruschetta

Next, I prepared with the leftover Cheese Sauce and Grape Tomatoes. After toasting, I sprinkled on the chopped fresh basil. My tasting partners tonight liked this one best, as it wasn’t as earthy-rich as the truffled cheese – but still cheesy good. I liked it even better than the traditional caprese combination that uses mozzarella, because the cheese sauce had more flavor.

Cheese Sauce & Grape Tomato Bruschetta with Basil

All together about 10 minutes work, maybe. With a bottle of Prosecco – a perfect summertime meal while watching the summer sun go down.

Brian MacWhorter’s BUTLER GREEN FARMS of Bainbridge Isl. and Poulsbo marked a full year of supplying the Pub and Pegasus with fresh greens this summer. “This is a huge milestone for us!” stated Chef Jeff. “A large part of the difficulty of utilizing local products is their limited supply. Brian stepped up and delivered on his promise.” Since the pub committed to sourcing organic and free-range products in 2002, the Chef’s efforts to shorten the distance from supplier to table has been stymied by growers who just couldn’t, or wouldn’t, grow year around.  Brian has  delivered his produce to several restaurants in the past and has worked in the restaurant industry as well, so he is capable of anticipating the needs of the restaurant chefs. Asked about this milestone, Brian explained that his capabilities just didn’t occur overnight. “It’s been a long road to get to this point and I’m really happy that it has worked for us both.”