Neighbor's Favorite: Tricolor Pepper and Gorgonzola Bruschetta

For some people, cooking is a chore; for others, it's a profession; and for others, it's a way to show they care.

For Sharen Cornils, it's all about the love, because, "Italians cook to show they love you."

On the day I went to her home, Sharen prepared her Tricolor Pepper and Gorgonzola Bruschetta. But she wasn't making it just for the story — she had family coming over that evening to enjoy the hors d'oeuvre.

I don't know if food and eating are the usual topics of conversation for Sharen, or if it was because I was there to do a recipe — but whatever the reason, I listened as she told about a recent Julia Child-themed dinner she put on for her book club, where everyone wore pearls and she prepared Boeuf Bourguignon with extra flair.

She also told me about last year's Thanksgiving, when she cooked stuffed leg of lamb with baked yams sweetened with Splenda brown sugar for her family. "We stayed at the table for over an hour because the food was so good. The food brought us together."

And she said one of her favorite food memories was when she and her sister went to Italy and rented a villa. She said they made friends with the residents of the little village of Castellina in Chianti, Tuscany, and decided to host a wine tasting and meal. They had to start the feast inside because it was raining, but that didn't dampen their spirits. "We ate and drank until 8:30 at night."

Sharen's bruschetta isn't just a hors d'oeuvre. She said it also works well as a first course or, paired with a salad, it can make a good light meal.

Sharen freely admits the bruschetta is not strictly her own recipe. She explained it came to her after watching the cooking show "The Barefoot Contessa." She said she likes the show because the Contessa does interesting and pretty foods — and Sharen's bruschetta fits firmly in both categories with its red, yellow and green bell peppers, toasted bread and white gorgonzola cheese.

The first decision with the bruschetta is what bread to use. Sharen said you can use any type of French bread, but she likes to use a baguette.

From there, it's simple.

After cutting the baguette into 15 or 20 slices, Sharen set them aside while she sliced the red, yellow and green bell peppers into long pieces, chopped the shallot and began heating the olive oil in her sauté pan.

Once the oil was hot, she placed the bell peppers, shallot, garlic, kosher salt, pepper and sugar into the pan and stirred them. Once the peppers were soft and caramelized, she took them out of the oil and set them aside.

Turning to the bread, Sharen placed the slices onto a cookie sheet that had been sprayed with olive oil. She then used her pastry brush to brush the top side of the bread with olive oil.

Then it was into the broiler to toast. Sharen said to watch the bread closely to be sure it doesn't burn. Once the bread is golden brown, turn the pieces over (don't brush oil on the second side) to toast the other side — again, watch it closely to make sure it doesn't burn.

Once both sides were browned, Sharen used tongs to artfully place the sautéed bell peppers onto each slice of toasted bread. She was careful to use each color of pepper on each slice of bread. She then sprinkled the crumbled gorgonzola, capers and herbs de Provence (a traditional blend of aromatic herbs that flourish in the hills of southern France during the hot summer months) on each slice.

One complaint I usually have with bruschetta is that the bread is overcooked and so hard, it scrapes the roof of my mouth when I eat it. But that's one complaint I definitely didn't have with Sharen's bruschetta. In addition to being very tasty, it was toasted to perfection, and Sharen's husband, Cal, agrees with me. "It's fabulous," he said. I hope when I make it, it's as toasted to perfection as hers was.

The final steps are to place the colorful slices on a serving dish and enjoy.

• TRICOLOR PEPPER AND GORGONZOLA BRUSCHETTA

Makes 15 to 20 hors d'oeuvres

Preparation time: About 40 minutes

Estimated cost: Less than $5

Ingredients

1 baguette of French bread

3 bell peppers: yellow, green and red

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 shallot bulb, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons capers, drained

3 ounces gorgonzola cheese

Pepper, to taste

Herbs de Provence

Putting it together

Cut baguette into 15 to 20 rounds.

Clean and slice the peppers into uniform sticks about 2 inches long.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to sauté pan over medium heat. Add sliced peppers, garlic and chopped shallot. Add salt, pepper and sugar to peppers. Sauté peppers slowly until soft and caramelized.

Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Using a pastry brush, brush top side of each slice lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place baguette slices under broiler until lightly browned. Watch closely so they don't burn.

Remove bread from broiler and turn slices over. Do not brush second side with olive oil. Return bread to broiler until lightly browned.

Once peppers are softened, using tongs, place about 1 tablespoon of peppers on each baguette slice, making sure to use some of each color on each slice.

Crumble gorgonzola and add about 1 teaspoon of cheese to each slide of bread.

Using a small spoon, sprinkle a few capers and herbs de Provence on each slice.

Place bruschetta back under broiler until cheese is melted (about three to four minutes).

Transfer bruschetta to serving platter and serve as an hors d'oeuvre, a first course or as a light meal with a green salad and a good bottle of red wine.

Enjoy.

• • •

Sharen Cornils moved to Yuba City from Sacramento a little over eight years ago to be closer to her family, which includes her twin sister, Karen Cartoscelli (former Yuba City mayor), and her husband of three years, Cal Cornils, from Napa.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Hollis at 741-2400 or jhollis@appealdemocrat.com.