Truffled Mushroom Bruschetta

Last week I ate with the roommates at Morandi, a great Italian place in the neighborhood. For an appetizer I ordered their "Bruschetta e ricotta condita -grilled country bread, ricotta & truffled mushrooms". SIMPLY AMAZING. So I knew that I was going to have to try and replicate this and there was no better than this past weekend when I as all alone on Easter...

I went to my favorite place (Chelsea Market) and got all the thing necessary to make the greatest brushchetta of all time.

First, with the help of my friends at Amy's Bread, I picked up a loaf of their "Country Sourdough" bread which was PERFECT. Not to mention that they had artistically put the image of a little bunny rabbit on top of the bread.

Then I went to the little market and picked out some delicious cremini mushrooms which are a personal favorite because they are meaty and stand up to cooking very well, but are affordable.

Once I had those two things it was off to the Italian market for some real ricotta cheese. I know that most ricotta's here are made with cow's milk, and I am assuming that is what I had at Morandi, however I wanted to try something different and chose buffalo ricotta, which had a smoother, creamier texture. Either one will work.

So excited about the deliciousness I was about to consume I ran home (ok and it was raining, but I prefer to think that I would run home for food which seems honestly more logical).

First, I preheated the skillet to about a medium high heat and added about 1 tsp of butter. I quickly cleaned and quartered my mushrooms and once that butter started to brown, I added the mushroom in the pan. Gave it a little toss, then sprinkled some rosemary and thyme.

I let the mushroom cook about 7-9 minutes, then removed from skillet and set aside in another bowl.

Now while the mushrooms were cooking, I sliced up some bread and spread a layer of the ricotta cheese.

Once the mushrooms have cooled off (about a minute or two), drizzle some truffle oil and toss to make sure that everything is coated.

Spoon some mushrooms a top of the ricotta and bread and there you have it. The frugal foodies version of "Bruschetta e ricotta condita"

This is great for entertaining, especially if you want to impress and no one has to know how easy it is. Not to mention its pretty friendly on the wallet. If you already had truffle oil, everything would cost under $10!