FNCCC Week 8 - Brian Boitono

I'm linking this to 12 Days of Bloggie-mas at A Moderate Life

This week the featured chef was Brian Boitono, figure skater turned FN chef/host. His show is really new and has only aired 4 episodes, so the pickin's were slim (unless you opted to do another recipe from a previously featured chef, or maybe one you missed). I didn't think I would be able to choose one from Brian that would fit my family but decided to give this one a shot. It was a winner. Everyone ate it (some things were picked out by the girls) but overall it was very tasty and I would make it again. The croutons themselves were WONDERFUL!

Tomato and Garlic Crouton Salad
Recipe courtesy Brian Boitano 2009

Serves:
6 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 pints red and yellow, grape and pear tomatoes, sliced in 1/2
1 cup halved, sliced kalamata olives (I didn't add these because everyone would have picked them out)
1/2 pound perlini mozzarella (couldn't find this specific so used fresh mozzarella, cubed)
8 basil leaves, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small skillet over medium-low heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook to infuse the butter and oil with the garlic, about 4 minutes.
Add the cubed bread to a large bowl, pour the butter and garlic mixture over the bread and toss to coat. Transfer to a sheet tray and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
In a small bowl whisk together the remaining olive oil and red wine vinegar and set aside.
In a large serving bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, croutons, basil, and the oil and vinegar mixture. Gently toss to coat all the tomatoes and croutons. Let the salad sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Can't wait to see what you are cooking. Link your recipe posts below. Next week we will be cooking and posting recipes from Cat Cora, who has a ton of recipes to choose from. She was the first female Iron Chef. Neat.