Buffalo Chicken Bruschetta

Bruschetta with its mixture of tomatoes, garlic, basil, and mozzerella on a crisp toasted slice of baguette is a summer favorite that brings the flavors of the garden into the kitchen. It is a simple and tasty treat. We make our variations on this base recipe with an occasional slice of fried haloumi on top of the toast for a salty cheese flavor and other herbs and spices. A recent article in cuisine at home magazine discussed having a bruschetta bar for guests. This would be a perfect heavy appetizer spread for a holiday party. I found this concept intriguing and had to find a time to try it out. We did just that at our recent patio party. The bar was a great hit with five varieties of bruschetta and not one of them was the traditional version.

The first bruschetta recipe that we will share is the buffalo chicken recipe. This chicken topping provides the flavors of buffalo chicken wings without bones that you can easily scoop on to your bread of choice. I found the original recipe to lack a bit of flavor so I have made modifications. Our bruchetta bar offered several types of bases for the various toppings. We grilled sliced baguettes, pitas and naan on the grill brushed with a mixture of olive oil, salt and pepper. We also offered toasted garlic baguette slices and crackers. Other suggestions in the magazine article were tortillas and grilled sliced russet potatoes.

This is recipe number one with four other bruschetta topping recipes to be posted shortly. Not only was the variety of the buffalo chicken, greek, melon-prosciutto , shrimp, steaks and zucchini toppings a great hit at the party they also became a great conversation piece. It made for a great table display, but as usual with my parties I forgot to take a picture.

RECIPE

1 lbs Boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup diced celery
3 tablespoons, chopped fresh chives
1/3 cup of hot sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Trim and prepare the chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into 2-3 oz portions. Place 1 cup of water in a medium size bowl and add the kosher salt. Whisk until dissolved. Place the chicken in the bowl and add water so that 1/2 inch covers all chicken. Place chicken in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes for it to brine. After twenty minutes have passed, preheat your grill to medium-high. In a glass measuring cup whisk the olive oil, salt and pepper.

While the chicken is in the brine, chop your chives and celery. Whisk the hot sauce, pepper flakes, honey and butter. I used Franks hot sauce but any buffalo style sauce will do. Set sauce aside.

Once the chicken has completed the brine process, remove from water and pat dry. Brush oil mixture on and grill until cooked. Remove from grill and let cool to room temperature. Chop into small bite size pieces and put in medium bowl.

Add the celery and chives to the chicken. Toss lightly to combine. Whisk the sauce again and toss with the chicken mixture. Serve with blue cheese on the side. You can mix the blue cheese into the chicken mixture if you like.

Modified from Cuisine at Home recipe

Whisk the hot sauce, honey and butter. I used Franks hot sauce but any buffalo style sauce will do.