Cooking Process: Appetizer

 As promised, I will be making blogs about my cooking process, separated by course.

After having made the meal, I can safely say that it was a complete success. 

The appetizer was to die for, and I will be explaining each intricate step in making the course. 

These were the initial steps I got from the recipe, however I took pictures of each step, to help my viewer visualize each step in the making process, along with proving that all the making of the appetizer was my own work. 

First I made sure to wash my hands, so that the ingredients I touch don't get germs on them.

Then I took out all the ingredients needed for my bruschetta, so that I would not be scrambling to find the ingredients. 

Then I made sure to sharpen the knife. 

This is because when cutting anything with a dull knife, there is an increased chance that the knife will slip, cutting your fingers.

I cut around the ends, so I would not be wasting tomato, but I would also not be including the rough, tasteless edge of the tomato.

I left out the seeds and white parts of the tomato, separating them from the red part of the vegetable. This is because the seeds and 'insides' of the tomato are simply watery and add a tasteless watery element to the dish, which is unwanted for the appetizer I made.

I made sure to put the excess ingredients I did not use, into compost to be environmentally friendly. 

I cut off the stems of the basil ingredient because the stems of basil add an unwanted bitter taste

I measured out 1/3 cup of chopped basil

I put the excess basil into a plastic bag, so I wasn't wasting usable ingredients

I used a cheese grater to shred my parmesan

I carefully measured out 1/4 cup of my shredded parmesan

I put the excess cheese into the baggy, so as not to waste usable ingredients

I cut the garlic open with a knife, to access the individual cloves

I used a knife to carefully peel the garlic, cutting off the ends

I used a special garlic-mincing tool to mince my 2 cloves of garlic

I cut each piece of bread for my bruschetta into 1/4 inch slices

Again, I put the excess, unusable ingredients into compost, to be environmentally friendly

I carefully lined up the pieces of bread, making sure that no piece of bread was overlapping. This is so that the bread would each be evenly toasted

I put the bread into a pre-heated (450º F) oven

I put my grated cheese, chopped basil, sliced tomatoes, and minced garlic all into a bowl and tossed the ingredients with my hands

I then carefully measured out 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

I freshly grated black peppercorn into 1/4 teaspoon, to give my appetizer a unique freshness

I measured out 1/4 teaspoon of salt

I combined all these ingredients with a spoon, being careful not to crush the delicate tomatoes

I took the toasted bread out of the oven, making sure they each had a golden-brown top. This is so the bread would have just the right amount of crunchiness

I carefully topped each piece of bread with about a tablespoon of the tomato mixture

Voila! A perfect set of beautiful bruschetta.