crowd pleaser

For some reason I always thought that Bruschetta was a really time consuming and difficult appetizer to make.  I have no idea why I thought this, maybe because it's delish, ergo it must be tricksy to make right?

False.

It's so easy, and is pretty much ALWAYS my go-to appetizer when people come over. Hey friends...are you sick of bruschetta yet?  Don't answer that.  No such thing.

Here's how I make it.  You're going to need

- Tomato's, any kind.
- Basil (fresh or dried, but I prefer fresh)
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Bread
- Cheese (this is OPTIONAL, I usually use parmesan, or fresh mozzarella)

Chop the tomato's into little pieces, and throw them in a big bowl.  Add a clove or two of garlic, either minced, or through a garlic press.  Next, grab a handful of fresh basil, chop, and toss it in.  That's basically it! To finish, I just drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top, give a little shake of salt and pepper, and VOILA!  For some reason I have a theory it tastes better after being refrigerated for awhile, this may or may not be true.

To serve, toast some slices of your bread in the oven, (sometimes I add some parmesan cheese to the bread before I toast, so it gets all melty and fancy looking), and enjoy! Pairs well with red wine and friends.

the doughnut vault

As a girl who was born with a HUGE, oversized sweet tooth, I've always been a sucker for doughnuts AND donuts. I like them both, regardless of the spelling. Sprinkled, chocolate, old-fashioned, plain cake, cinnamon rolls...I don't really discriminate as long as they taste good.  So when Tim and I were exploring our new neighborhood (ps we moved a couple weeks ago...more on that later) and we came across this little gem, we knew we had to go soon.  

The doughnut vault only stays open until they sell out of product, which of course drives the demand for the doughnuts up to the point where standing in line for 3o minutes seems like a short wait.  It's one of those places that oozes the cool factor, and made me feel like a super chic Chicagoan who obviously knows THE place in Chicago to get the best doughnuts.  The fact that we stumbled across this place while trying to figure out how to get back to our new apartment is a little nugget of information that can stay between you and me.  

So on Saturday morning after waking up naturally, to NO ALARM CLOCK (glorious!), Tim told me to hustle my bustle because he wanted to take me somewhere.   We started walking outside, and since my guessing skills are out of this world (seriously, I'm awesome at guessing things), I knew we were headed to the doughnut vault!

After waiting in line for about twenty minutes, we actually made it into the shop...which is actually just a tiny hallway leading to an ancient cash register, one girl serving doughnuts at the speed of lightening, a huge and very full tip jar that made this barista swoon, and the sounds of 2Pac coming out of a boom-box.  We ordered one of every kind of doughnut they had left, obviously, and ended up with one chocolate glazed, one vanilla glazed, and one chestnut glazed.   Oh, and two coffees.  These dougnuts were the biggest, prettiest, and best tasting doughnuts I've ever had in my life.  Please come visit me so I can have an excuse to go there all the time.

Prepare to drool.