Roasted Grape Bruchetta

When my friend Kelaine hits the kitchen, magical things happen. Her side job at Seasonal Pantry has afforded her lots of new inspiration for cool dishes and she puts all of her newly acquired culinary inspiration to work every time she visits our house for dinner. This time she made bruchetta as an appetizer, but when she opened the Tupperware to start assembling it, my heart sank. Olives!! Olives are not my favorite and it would be so hard to pass up anything Kelaine made. I tried to hide my disappointment bravely, but much to my delight, they weren't olives at all. They were grapes!! Roasted grapes. Something new and innovative that I've never had before. Did I tell you that I love Kelaine? I do. This appetizer is a real winner. All of the components can be made in advance and it can be assembled and served room temperature. This is what I look for in an appetizer. Plus it has salty, sweet, creamy, and crunchy.   It hits all points and I absolutely loved it. I highly recommend it for your next party.

Roasted Grape Bruchetta
Ingredients:
2 cups seedless red grapes
6-7 sprigs fresh thyme
1 loaf french bread
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil

1.  To roast the grapes, heat the oven to 450.  In a bowl, mix together grapes, olive oil, sprigs of thyme, 1/4 tsp. salt and a sprinkle of pepper. Roast for 10 minutes and remove from the oven to cool down to room temperature.

2.  Slice the bread and toast to your liking.
3.  Slather each toasted slice with about 1-2 tsps. ricotta.

4.  Top each one with 2-3 roasted grapes.  You can drizzle some raw olive oil over too if you want to make it even yummier.  Set the platter out and watch people go nuts.  We did.

One Year Ago: Fried Fish Tacos
Two Years Ago: Grapefruit-White Wine Gelato