Say It With Me... Bru-sche-tta

About a week ago, I received a text from my department lead at school.  She was reminding us of our upcoming meeting/ lunch/ five hour chat fest. Her text instructed us to bring either an appetizer or dessert.  Yes, in case you didn't know, text messages really can tell you what to do.  I swear, I'm not crazy. Since one of my colleagues is a fabulous cupcake queen, I opted to go with an appetizer.  Now, here came the hard part... WHAT ON EARTH SHOULD I MAKE?! Well, many of you have had the privilege of tasting Postino's famous bruschettas. I decided it was about time for me to try and come up with my own version of their now-famous dish. I combined a couple of the different varieties into one.  I love the sweetness of fig jam.  Prosciutto's salty nature is delightful, and of course, Brie cheese makes everything better.  So, off I went, armed with a grocery bag of goodies from AJ's and a large loaf of freshly-baked French bread...


PROSCIUTTO AND BRIE BRUSCHETTA

Ingredients:

-1 large loaf of French bread
-1 (8 oz.) jar of fig jam, available at Trader Joe's or AJ's Fine Foods
-1 package of sliced prosciutto
-1 (8-10 oz.) package of Brie cheese
-2 T. olive oil


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the loaf of French bread into slices approximately 1" thick.  Coat each side of the bread slices with olive oil (I recommend using a basting brush, but you can also drizzle it on). Once the oven is preheated, place the bread on a baking sheet or pizza stone.  Allow the bread to toast for five minutes, and then turn each piece over.  Return the bread to the oven for another five minutes.  While the bread is finishing up toasting, take the prosciutto out of the package, and tear each slice into half, lengthwise.  Then, slice the rind off of the Brie.  The Brie should be sliced into thin slices, running down the length of the wedge.  When the bread is done, spread between 1 and 11/2 T. fig jam on each slice.  Then, place a few slices of Brie over the jam (it doesn't need to cover it completely).  Top it off with a few folded slices of prosciutto, and return to the oven until the cheese is slightly melted (between 5-7 minutes).  Brie holds its texture; so, don't expect it to be oozing all over the place like nacho cheese.  Serve either warm or room temperature.