Get a last minute call? Guests are coming over unexpectedly? If you have 10 minutes and these simple ingredients, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen making complex appetizers. A quick appetizer to serve that will delight and entertain your guests. This cheese and fruit crostini is a classic example of allowing your grocery store to do all the heavy lifting while you get to simply assemble the dish! For the bread, I like to use a freshly sliced baguette because the pieces are bite size, versus my other favorite bread, ciabatta which makes large slices, which are not ‘bite sized’ friendly. You can also buy pre-toasted baguette slices. This is an example of crostini more than bruschetta. The difference between crostini and bruschetta is, crostini are smaller slices of bread (like French baguette) with toppings and bruschetta are made with large slices of bread (like Ciabatta) and served with toppings. Hence the translations: Crostini ‘little toasts’ and bruschetta ‘to toast’. Fruit and cheese is a classic flavor pairing and this combo is actually something I enjoy regularly for breakfast. A good sharp, white cheddar is simply the best flavor with apricot (I know; I’ve tried many different types of cheese!). When it’s apricot season, you could even use freshly sliced ones. Another good option which I also enjoy is a hearty blackberry jam with sharp cheddar. Now, I know you’re thinking it’s just simply toast, cheese and jam (and it is!). But… a delicious hors d’oeuvre doesn’t have to be difficult to look elegant. For presentation and a dash of color, I garnish with a bit of micro greens.
Fruit and Cheese Crostini pairing
I recently served these alongside Baked Brie with Pistachios, Pomegranate and Rosemary (very festive) and Cheese, Chive and Rosemary Puffs. This was all washed down with a Smoked Christmas Manhattan and Christmas Cosmopolitan that I premade in pitchers and served chilled. So easy!
