‘Crostini’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Baby Bella & Sausage Crostini with Bleu Cheese

August 26, 2014 · Narrative

Tasty little mushroom and sausage nibbles that are a perfect light appetizer when entertaining.

For me, recipe development is a very stream of consciousness type of thing, with one thought leading to another and before you know it, here we are with a new recipe. Inspiration can come from anywhere … a season, fresh produce, something random I saw on tv, farmer’s market goods, or a craving. Yesterday, while grabbing a few things off my grocery list at the store, I spied a basket of warm baguettes. And all of the sudden, I wanted crostini.

But not your every day summer crostini of mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and basil.

Something a little left of that.

How about a nice thin, crispy slice of baguette topped with sauteed baby bella mushrooms, sausage, and bleu cheese?

Oh yes.

Truth be told, I am forever looking for more ways to use bleu cheese.

The sausage I used was a pork sausage roll from Jones Dairy Farm. All natural ingredients and very gently spiced, it goes perfectly with the woodsiness of the baby bella mushrooms, and needs no extra spices or fancy ingredients. And because neither of my kids like mushrooms, this is an appetizer recipe I don’t have to share. Ok, well, I shared with friends next door. A little topping of melted bleu cheese, and it’s a nice little savory bite that comes together in about 15-20 minutes, give or take interruptions from little people.

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Recipe: Peach Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini

July 24, 2012 · Narrative

So here’s the thing.

I’m really not a fan of peaches.

Every year, a town not too far from us has a big peach festival.

For that, I’ll make an exception.

Because I don’t know what it is about their peaches, but they’re seriously amazing.

Or in blogger speak > ah-may-zing.

They slice them and put them on top of vanilla bean ice cream.

And serve warm peach pie.

And it is, truly, the best way to spend a summer’s day.

But outside of that event? I just don’t care for them.

I think it’s mostly a texture thing. And it’s certainly a “me” thing.

Fo’sure.

But for whatever reason, I spied a recipe for Peach Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini on Joy the Baker’s web site, and I was hooked.

Like enough that when planning tonight’s dinner, I bought the ingredients I’d need to make it.

I already had homegrown basil and tomatoes fresh from the local farmer’s market, so with half the ingredients on hand, it seemed rather kismet, no?

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Strawberry and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

September 14, 2010 · Narrative

The name for this tasty little appetizer is all wrong. It really should be called a Crostini, because the only thing that resembles Bruschetta is the fact that it includes a piece of toasted bread. After that, the path from this picture to Bruschetta sharply diverge. But I digress.

As I planned the menu for our guests for Sunday night’s dinner, I started going through a stack of clippings on the kitchen counter, and once this recipe caught my eye, the appetizer was a done deal.

To be quite honest with you, I am not a fan of plain old naked strawberries. The kids, however, go through a ridiculous amount of them, pint after pint, devouring their juicy goodness when they’re in full season. As for me, while I don’t like them on their own, strawberries, as part of something else, are quite alright. And in the case of this recipe, they’re more than alright, they’re magical.

There’s something unique about strawberries that, when added to other ingredients that just don’t make sense, they come alive. Such is the case of the Strawberries Pazzo that I love so much, and this Crostini (as it will be henceforth known) is exactly the same thing. I mean, really, who thinks to put goat cheese with strawberries? I’ll tell you who… the folks at Better Homes & Gardens magazine. Thank you and amen!

Between the creaminess of the goat cheese, the sweetness of the strawberries, the peppery bite of the arugula and the crisp bite of the toasted baguette … well, eating this well for only a few minutes worth of work should be criminal. But since it’s not, there’s no reason (well aside, from gluten and allergen issues) that you shouldn’t make these. Do. Celebrate the last little bits of what’s left of summer strawberries and give these a go. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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