Cooking Competition

I'm entered in a charity cooking competition with a couple other teachers from school. We're excited to be competing on April 15 against 3 other teams. We were hand selected and asked to compete so its pretty cool. Here are two of the recipes we're choosing from:

Bruschetta

Ingredients:
1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick circles
•8 plum tomatoes, diced
•1 cup chopped fresh basil
•1/2 red onion, minced
•freshly ground black pepper
•3 cloves garlic
•1 small container of feta cheese
•1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Combine tomato, basil, feta cheese and red onion in a small mixing bowl; stir well. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

3. Arrange bread on a baking sheet. Place in oven, and bake until well toasted, approximately 5 minutes.

4. Remove bread from oven, and transfer to a large serving platter. Let bread cool 3 to 5 minutes. Rub garlic into the top of each slice of toast; the toast should glisten with the garlic. Spoon the tomato mixture generously onto each slice.

5. Sprinkle each slice with parmesan cheese and reheat for 2-3 minutes.

Artichoke Dip


Ingredients:
•1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
•1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 cup mayonnaise
•2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: diced Roma tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Mix in the artichoke hearts, spinach and Parmesan cheese. Season with garlic and lemon juice. Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.

3. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the cover, and let the dish bake uncovered for 5 more minutes, or until the surface is lightly browned.

Optional: Spread individual portions of dip on toasted slices of baguette. Top each slice with diced Roma tomatoes, basil and shredded parmesan cheese. Place in oven for an additional 2-3 minutes.