Thursday: panzanella is basically just uncooked pizza

I finally went to the doctor today to attempt to get this perma-cough to go away.  They gave me some antibiotics after a pile of tests, and as I picked them up, the pharmacist let me know that I should avoid dairy.  That kind of shot down the idea of making a pot pie with a thick rich dairy sauce.

Therefore, I went with my next (totally not stolen at all) idea: panzanella.  I've never made it before, but I did have all the necessary ingredients from yesterday's bruschetta.  My synthesis recipe based on some google results:

• Six slices of baguette, sliced into six cubes
• A giant local tomato (it was about three inches in diameter), sliced into wedges and then halves.
• A clove of garlic, minced
• A few chunks of mozzarella.
• Olive oil/balsamic/pepper/salt/red onion (minced)
• A bunch of basil
• A bit of salami

Toss the bread with the salt, pepper, garlic, and enough oil to coat (I didn't use enough, because my bread was particularly thirsty), and then throw them into the oven at 400 to roast for about 8 minutes.  Yes, basically "make some croutons."  I just used the same bowl, made the dressing, and then dumped everything else in, using the measurement system of "that looks about right."  Shake-y, shake-y, shake-y to coat, and then take a few minutes for the tomato/vinegar liquids to soak into the bread.

As I was pulling into my apartment, I saw the pizza hut guy getting into his car.  Then, due to my luck, I got the elevator that the pizza had ridden up in.  The smell was so obvious, that the other person that got on on the fourth floor immediately said, "oh, wow, pizza."

Panzanella isn't really pizza. But it is made out of pretty much the exact same ingredients, but put together in a way that you can argue that it's totally a healthy choice.  It does have pretty much the same level of deliciousness.  

I'm not sure what tomorrows plan will be for dinner.  I'm tempted to make this again, but I think I want to add a bit more to it.  I'd have to get a new tomato anyway, so getting a few more ingredients wouldn't hurt.  I think some mushrooms would work well, and I suspect a tiny dash of tomato paste in the dressing would boost the flavor nicely.  I'm also thinking that trying to puree the garlic (with a bit of shallot or onion) into the oil would help, as my minced garlic was largely left behind when the bread soaked up the olive oil.