Bruschetta with sliced grilled sausage and peach salsa. OMG…Good!

Do you find it frustrating to try and please everyone at the dinner table? Sometimes it seems you end up pleasing no one because everyone has different preferences. You feel like screaming…”This is not a restaurant where everyone gets to choose something different!”

But what if you could…please everyone? And what if you could do so easily and make dinnertime really fun?

Growing up my kids where exactly opposite in their food tastes. One loved seafood but hated red meat. The other loved red meat and hated seafood. What was a mother to do? Well, at the time, I did have a restaurant so I’d let them come in and order what they wanted, but when cooking at home…sometimes, I would want to scream, so I had to get creative.

Toppings on pizza would be sectioned; sauces on pasta would always include a neutral sauce like plain tomato sauce or butter and cheese; and sometimes I’d make something like this….

Bruschetta

With a smorgasbord of toppings (starting at the top and going clockwise)

Fried Broccoli – I made a batter of scrambled egg with a bit of milk and a few spoonfuls of cornmeal, dipped the broccoli spears in it and deep fried them.

Grilled Shrimp & Scallops – tossed with a mix of olive oil fresh herbs & garlic (see below)

Peach Salsa – One diced ripe peach with diced jalapeño, red onion, & the herbed oil

Grilled Sausage & hot dogs

Tomato Mozzarella Salad – with olive oil and basil

Slivered Romaine Salad – with the herbed oil & a splash of balsamic vinegar

Grilled Zucchini – tossed in the herbed oil

…and of course

Bruschetta – Sliced Italian bread brushed with the herbed oil and grilled

Of course your family may prefer other toppings…but you get the idea…they can be anything: salads, salsas,  spreads, jarred vegetables, fresh sliced vegetables, sliced cured meats, along with whatever you want to throw on the grill.

So choose your protein and vegetables and throw them on the grill along with the sliced bread. Brush them all with this:

Simply add some extra virgin olive oil to a cup.  Dice up some of your favorite fresh herbs and garlic. I used these…

Starting at the top: rosemary, lemon verbena, basil, thyme, and sage in the center. But you can use what you like, including dried herbs.

Chop them up into a fine dice, along with some garlic and add them to the oil. Add just enough of this herbed oil to coat your veggies and protein (can be done ahead of time, even overnight). Get the grill nice and hot and load it up!

I would love to know if this is helpful to you and what ideas you may have to top a bruschetta.

Talk to me in the comments below!