Stephanie of “The Happy Sorceress” has hosted a Blog Party for 3 years now and I just got lucky enough to get to know her through the Daring Bakers and a chat/baking group a few of us have gotten together. I am now pleased to say that I will be on hand for her 3rd anniversary Blog Party.

I first came across it awhile back when she hosted a Buffy the Vampire themed party…I really wanted to attend as I am a huge Vamp fan but truly I have never watched Buffy a day in my life!!! So I thought I would wait …the only requirement for attendance is that you must bring an appetizer/finger food and a bev!!!! That’s pretty easy and from what I hear well worth it for the fun to be had!

For her 3rd anniversary party she is allowing our contributions to be our choice, usually these shindigs are themed but sweetie that she is we are allowed our hearts content on this one.

I decided on a twist on a simple italian Bruschetta for my app. I have seen quite alot of cool things being done with watermelon as of late….grilled, in savory salads…all kinds of different takes on this summer classic!!! Easy as all get out and and mighty tasty.

Simple and basic recipe is to replace watermelon for tomato in your favorite bruschetta topper.

My bruschetta is a baguette cut on the diagonal and grilled, rub with a clove of garlic, top with a shaving of dried mozzarella then a mix of watermelon dice, balsamic/olive oil blend, red onions (sm dice) and torn basil. ( I found regular basil to be a bit overpowering with the watermelon on my first go round, so I have since used a cinnamon-basil I got from the local farmer’s market). Top all that with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

As for my beverage/cocktail….yes, I am definitely bringing a cocktail, it’s been a hectic week!! I had made candied orange peel and had quite a lot of leftover syrup from it and thought that it might be a nice sweetener for iced tea. Ok, so let’s keep the Italian thing going on here, what to do…..

In keeping with the simple thing as well, I basically made a strong brewed tea, sweetened it with a bit of the leftover syrup, gave a few hefty glugs of limoncello and then garnished with orange and lemon slices. Now I am no bartender but I would think a more proper recipe would be…

  • Fill an 8 oz rocks glass with ice
  • Add 1.5 oz limoncello
  • Top off with sweetened tea
  • Garnish

Can’t wait to arrive and get a sampling of everyones fare. Looking forward to meeting some new folks as well. I think the invite is still open, so if you have the time and have the desire drop Stephanie a line and I hope to see ya there!!!