Roasted Grapes with Ricotta Over Toasted Bread

I have an addiction to Pinterest and for a while there I was comfortable with just letting my addiction be a mindless enjoyment. But as all things do with me, I kind of got tired of letting that addiction just be pinning things to a board with abandon and really doing nothing with them. So, I decided to start making some of the things I was pinning, otherwise what was the sense? I do have some plans to make some of the DIY items in my DIY folder, I just need to find the time! Between running 2 businesses full time, writing this blog, and all the other random things that come along, finding time for DIY business is few and far between.



Not to mention, living in a 964 square foot home with no place to really call my craft space, I tend to get a bit disorganized. Not only that, but pulling everything out and then having to pack it all up and put it away again never sounds like fun. Besides, I usually don't end up putting it away. It usually sits out, this haphazard mess of papers and glue, and random instruments just lying there waiting for someone to poke an eye out for 2 weeks before I finally decide I should probably put it all away.

But cooking, now that is something that doesn't require all of that effort and I have to do it every night anyway. My first Pinterest pin attempt was this Roasted Grapes with Ricotta over Toasted bread that I got from www.alexandracooks.com

She originally grilled everything, and I like that idea a whole lot better but seeing as it has been below zero here, in a frigid Wisconsin winter I decide against that. I also chose to make this for supper rather than lunch as she did, and to be honest I recommend this as lunch rather than dinner. T wasn't exactly thankful for my idea of dinner, either. So if you have a man in the house...don't make this as dinner! I think this would also be a really great appetizer if you cut it up in smaller portions. It would be perfect for a lasagna or some type of Italian meal.

The grapes get sweet, but slightly tart and create a beautiful syrup all of their own. I would also imagine you could do this panini style if you desired to. I love the basic quality of this recipe, it's simple and easy to throw together which is why I am counting it as my Bare Kitchen Recipes installation. Ingredients are below.

grapes (about 40-50)

olive oil or butter

kosher salt

italian seasoning or fresh thyme

good bread (I used Italian)

Preheat oven on broil setting. Once oven is ready, put grapes on pan and broil until grapes have reached your desired texture, I liked mine nice and softened with a few still in tact, not very many though. In the meantime, slice bread in about 1" thick slices. Put some butter or olive oil on each slice and place on baking pan.



Bake until golden brown, do not leave unattended. Burning can happen very quickly if you leave the oven unattended!



Pull bread and cover with Ricotta and grapes. I then popped mine back in the oven for about 5 minutes. The ricotta got a little brown on top and the grapes released a little more of their juice. Once done, add some italian seasoning or thyme, and salt and enjoy.

I loved this recipe, and I will definitely use it again. It's simple, but will look like you really worked hard on it. It also has a nice combination of sweet & salty with slightly tart. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!