Bruschetta 5 Ways, Whole Foods Event & a GIVEAWAY!

Holiday cooking makes me think cocktail parties. Cocktail parties make me think appetizers and, in my world, appetizers always have to include a bruschetta! Bruschetta is traditionally a grilled piece of bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil and can have any number and combinations of toppings. Everything from the traditional tomato basil topping to sweet dessert-like toppings can be used. Since this tasty little concoction can be made pretty much any way you want, I thought why not simplify the holiday party and make it bruschetta-themed? Throwing a holiday party can be stressful if you have a lot of prepping and cooking to do. But throwing a cocktail party themed with different bruschetta can be fun and hassle-free!

I came up with 5 combinations that will rock your next bash. The best part is you can prep them all ahead of time with minimal effort and then you have more time to enjoy your guests. I got all my ingredients from Whole Foods to make these tasty treats. They have a huge selection of items geared towards helping you navigate the holiday food scene with ease. If you want, they’ll even prepare the whole meal for you! Check it out HERE. They also have a bunch of wonderful tips & recipes for holiday parties and decorations HERE.

If you live in and around the San Diego area like me then you should definitely mark your calendars for this Thursday, December 12, from 6:00-8:00 pm. Whole Foods Encinitas is having a “Dressing Rehearsal” with free in-store holiday tasting, chef demos, sampling of delicious holiday dishes and special holiday offerings. Holiday tastings? I’m there.

What’s even better? Whole Foods and I are giving away a $50 Whole Foods gift card to make all your holiday party wishes come true. Just use the widget below to enter. The gift card is good for any Whole Foods store anywhere in the U.S.!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My bruschetta combinations are:

Smoked Trout with Almond

Raspberry, Spinach & Blue Cheese

Pastrami & Olive

Persimmon, Brie, Honey & Pecan

Cherry Cheesecake

The last isn’t really a bruschetta but I had to use a graham cracker for the base in order to get that real cheesecake taste.

I encourage you to also create arrangements of your own or if you want to make it really simple, just put out all the toppings and your guests can get creative. Do you have any special bruschetta combination that is to-die-for that you want to share? Drop me some deets!

 Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Whole Foods Market Encinitas. Any opinions offered are my own.

Bruschetta 5-ways

www.barbaracooks.com

(Nutrition facts for each listed separately below)

Smoked Trout & Almond:

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 pieces • Weight Watcher Points+: 1

Calories: 94 • Fat: 2g • Carbs: 2g • Fiber: 0g • Protein: 4g

Sugars: 0g • Sodium: 107mg • Cholesterol: 10mg

Raspberry, Spinach & Blue Cheese:

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 pieces • Weight Watcher Points+: 1

Calories: 80 • Fat: 1g • Carbs: 3g • Fiber: 2g • Protein: 2g

Sugars: 1g • Sodium: 79mg • Cholesterol: 4mg

Pastrami & Olive:

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 pieces • Weight Watcher Points+: 1

Calories: 84 • Fat: 2g • Carbs: 1g • Fiber: 0g • Protein: 5g

Sugars: 0g • Sodium: 306mg • Cholesterol: 12mg

Persimmon, Brie, Honey & Pecan:

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 pieces • Weight Watcher Points+: 3

Calories: 148 • Fat: 7g • Carbs: 8g • Fiber: 1g • Protein: 3g

Sugars: 6g • Sodium: 72mg • Cholesterol: 12mg

Cherry Cheesecake:

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 pieces • Weight Watcher Points+: 4

Calories: 186 • Fat: 6g • Carbs: 28g • Fiber: 2g • Protein: 3g

Sugars: 17g • Sodium: 178mg • Cholesterol: 16mg

Ingredients:

• 1 French baguette
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

For the Smoked Trout with Almond:

• 10 roasted garlic cloves
• 3 ounces smoked trout
• 1 ½ Tablespoons slivered almonds
• Flat leaf parsley leaves for garnish

For the Raspberry, Spinach & Blue Cheese:

• 1 ounce blue cheese
• 1/3 cup baby spinach, chopped
• 20 fresh raspberries

For the Pastrami & Olive:

• 4 ounces sliced pastrami
• 2 Tablespoons olive tapenade

For the Persimmon, Brie, Honey & Pecan:

• 1 Hachiya (or 2 Fuyu) persimmons, peeled, halfed and cut into ¼ inch slices
• 3 ounces Brie cheese, cut into 1 ½ – 2 inch squares
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans

For the Cherry Cheesecake:

• 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar
• 5 whole graham crackers, each snapped into 2 pieces
• 30 (about 1 cup) canned cherries in syrup, drained

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the baguette into 40 ½ inch slices. Place them evenly on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove and let cool.

For the Smoked Trout & Almond:

On each of 10 of the bread slices, smash 1 garlic clove, Evenly divide the trout on top, sprinkle with the almonds and garnish with the parsley.

For the Raspberry, Spinach & Blue Cheese:

On each of 10 of the bread slices, crumble the blue cheese. Press some spinach on each of the pieces and then add two raspberries on each, pressing lightly to adhere.

For the Pastrami & Olive:

On each of 10 of the bread slices, evenly divide the pastrami and spoon on ½ teaspoon olive tapenade.

For the Persimmon, Brie, Honey & Pecan:

Preheat broiler on high.

Place a slice of persimmon on each of 10 of the bread slices. Top with a piece of cheese. Place under the broiler 1 minute (no longer!) Remove from oven, drizzle with the honey and top with the pecans.

For the Cherry Cheesecake:

Whip together the Neufchatel and powdered sugar with an electric mixer. Place approximately 1 ½ teaspoons of the mixture on each graham cracker piece. Top with 3 cherries.