BRUSCHETTA WITH SUN DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• - FIRST: Roast the garlic and bell peppers (roasted peppers also come in a jar, soaked in olive oil).
• Roasting Garlic: start with several whole heads of fresh garlic. Cut off the tops, so that the cloves are exposed. Place on a deep baking tray/dish and drizzle generously with olive oil. Close tightly in foil, and roast in a 350° F oven for about 50 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and golden. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic head. The garlic will come right out of the peels. It should have a puréed consistency. You can also put it in a food processor, to blend more.
• - Cut 1 1/2" thick slices of the baguettes an at angle.
• Roasting Bell Peppers: Oven Roasting Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut peppers into 1/4 sections. Remove the stems, and seeds. Line a baking sheet with olive oil. Lay peppers on their sides. Put the baking sheet in the oven and allow the peppers to roast for 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet. Using tongs, give the peppers a half turn, then place back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Check to make sure peppers have fully roasted. The skin should be slightly charred and soft, and the peppers should look slightly collapsed. If they don't look ready, let them roast for a few more minutes. When they're done, remove baking sheet from oven. Let cool, remove the charred skins, then dice.
• Take a nice, relative/even assortment of the above "main" ingredients, and julienne, dice, or chop- and then set aside. Obviously, don't use too much of one of the ingredients, like the cheeses, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, or roasted peppers (unless of course, you like more of them).
• In a large bowl, mix ingredients together. Mix in: the provolone and mozzarella cheeses, shallots, red and yellow roasted peppers, roasted garlic, sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto, Tabasco sauce (if desired), salt and pepper, and herbs, but save enough cheeses and herbs to go generously on top of each baguette slice.
• ▪ Place baguette slices on a 1/2" deep oven tray that's lightly greased with olive oil.
• ▪ Spoon the sliced/diced ingredients onto the baguette slices.
• Top each baguette slice with more cheeses, saving the Parmesan cheese for last. Generously add more herbs like oregano, parsley, and basil on top of the cheese.
• Sprinkle olive oil on top. Don't use too much olive oil, or it'll get too soggy, and the bread won't be crispy.
• Bake in the oven at 400°/450°F for ten minutes or less, until cheese is nice and bubbly- and/or very lightly browned.*
• Be sure to rotate and keep an eye on it while it's in the oven, so it doesn't burn.
• To prevent the baguette bottoms from burning, turn the tray, and put a spatula under each of the baguettes while baking.
• Can Prep ingredients one to two days (before baking on baguettes with herbs and cheese toppings).