The weather has played tricks on us lately – making it feel like it is the middle of June and not the beginning of April. I’m not mad about it to say the least – my dream world would consist of 75-degree days with a slight breeze and a really comfortable lounge chair. Throw in a good book, a chilled glass of white wine and a crystal clear in-ground pool, and I’m in heaven for at least three-four hours. Until I get hungry.

Then I’ll take an endless supply of this bruschetta, thanks.

I recently received the best gift from our family members Janie and Harry –  a huge, yellow, larger than-life Gourmet cookbook with more recipes than I can count. Seriously – I failed Math multiple times. That’s why I chose to be a writer. Words are my friends.

I have poured/drooling over the pages of my Gourmet cookbook for weeks now, bookmarking everything I want to make. Well, I started to bookmark, but once I realized I wanted to make every recipe on every page, I stopped and figured I’d take this one slow.

This lovely bruchetta won the prize of “first recipe to make out of my Gourmet cookbook” award. (It was so shocked, it thought for sure the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie with Gingersnap Crust would win. Such an upset!) I modified it just a little bit as I did not have six hours to roast the tomatoes before our guests arrived. I could have had six hours, but of course I decided to modify the recipe even more by adding cheese, and therefore spent more time than I’d like to say in Whole Foods, debating over baby mozzarella balls or a big chunk of mozzarella.

I went with my baby mozzarella. They are just so cute! And since they are so small and cute, it is perfectly okay to snack on one or ten two while assembling your toasts and roasted tomatoes.  No one will notice. Neither will your thighs, I swear.

Slow-roasted Tomato Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 7-8 plum tomatoes
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 loaf of long crusty bread (about 22″-24″ long, cut into 1/2 inch slices)
• 1 tub of baby mozzarella balls, or one big chunk of mozzarella
• salt & pepper
• balsamic vinegar for drizzle

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice plum tomatoes lengthwise (about 4-5 slices each) and place on large baking sheet.

2) Mince garlic and stir together with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Spoon over tomatoes, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3) Roast tomatoes for two-three hours, rotating pan halfway through roasting. Tomatoes should be soft but still hold their shape.

4) Take tomatoes out of the oven and let cool slightly. Turn oven temperature up to 350 degrees.

5) Cut bread into slices. Arrange on another baking sheet and brush with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and bake until golden pale and toasty, about 10-12 minutes. While bread is toasting, cut mozzarella cheese for topping.

6) Take bread out of the over and top each with one slice roasted tomato. Top each tomato with mozzarella cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if desired.

Since I really did eat an endless amount of these this weekend, let’s just say it is a blessing in disguise that our pool doesn’t open until Memorial Day weekend. And since Mama Ro & Mama are coming to visit this weekend with trays of lasagna in tow, I’m thinking my “heaven” may need to consist of some serious bathing suit cover-ups.