Bruschetta is a terrific dish to take to a bunco game, a book club meeting or a Super Bowl party. It's a pretty presentation that is tasty and filling, without a lot of time or money invested on your part. This is a relatively low-calorie recipe that is very versatile - you can add cheese, prosciutto, pepperoni or coat the toasts in olive oil for something more substantial, but remember, that adds calories too. 

The good news is, this recipe isn't baking or rocket science. It's really about what balance of flavors you like, but I wanted to write down my measurements since I've spent many an afternoon in the kitchen with my Nonnie (grandma), Mom or Tom trying to learn a recipe that involves "some of this, a little of that." Just know, you can't really mess it up, unless you burn it - and in finer culinary circles, they call that "blackened." So here goes...

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Makes 15-17 servings

Calories: 60

Total Fat: 2.5 grams

Carbohydrate: 8 grams

Fiber: 0.6 grams

Protein: 1.3 grams

INGREDIENTS

3-6 healthy cloves of garlic - Go heavy if you don't have to kiss anyone, or light if you want to attract vampires. I loves me some garlic!

2 cups chopped, fresh tomatoes - I look for heirloom tomatoes, Roma or Campari as they seem to have the best flavor. Freshest is best.

10 leaves of fresh basil, chopped - Usually you can get one package of basil at the grocery store. 

10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and quartered (roughly 1 ounce) - This is just for flavoring; you don't want to overwhelm it.

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

TOOLS

Cutting board

Sharp chopping knife

Mixing bowl

Spoon

Bread knife

Skillet

Serving Platter

PREPARATION

Chop the garlic as fine as you'd like. If you have a mini-food processor, I'd recommend giving it a twirl since it keeps your fingers from getting so stinky. You're already going to have garlic breath, so why have garlic fingers, right? If you don't have a food chopper, use a fresh lemon to clean off your hands after chopping.

Chop up the tomatoes into small chunks, keeping the seeds and juice. Remove stems from the basil leaves and chop the leaves in a chiffonade (thin strips) and then chop those strips in half. Quarter the kalamata olives. Dump the garlic, tomatoes, basil, kalamata, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper into your mixing bowl. Stir it up and let it sit while you slice the bread.

Use a long, thin French baguette. Slice on the diagonal for pieces that are a half-inch tall, about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide. Discard the ends - feed them to birds or save them for dipping later or make sure Tom doesn't double-dip into the bruschetta mix. 

For a low-fat option, toast the bread in your oven and set aside. For a more traditional bruschetta, coat the skillet in olive oil, to brown the bread on both sides. Lay your toasted or pan-grilled bread onto a platter and spread a heaping tablespoon of bruschetta mixture over each piece of toast. Please note that calorie counts were determined using dry toast, and not pan-grilled olive-oil covered. I'd add 100 calories to each slice if you pan grill it in olive oil. 

NOTE: If you're taking this to a party or a pot luck, take the toast and bruschetta mixture separately and assemble on site. Otherwise, it's soggy toast for you!

Enjoy - and kiss away, garlic be damned!