Crostini/Bruschetta Ideas Needed Please

[jvalentino]

Ok maybe not technically crostini OR bruschetta but...

As a party snack I like to grill some Italian bread slices rub them with some garlic, and top with the usual suspects (pesto, fresh mozz, tapenade etc). I'm trying to think of some new ideas, and any help would be appreciated. I'd like to give 3 choices or so.

I'm making a green salad, homemade bread, spaghetti w/ meatballs, Rao's Lemon Chicken (from the cookbook), roasted potatoes, broccoli, and dessert for about 20.

Palates at the party will run the whole spectrum, so my main concern is that it can be done at least a little ahead of time, and will hold at room temp. FWIW I have some nice organic dried ceci beans, and a large jar of sundried tomatoes.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Sony]

Personally, I love sauteed chicken livers mixed with caramelized onion, roasted garlic, chopped sage leaves and deglazed with cognac. It might not hold up for as longas you'd like at room temperature, but it doesn't have to be very hot to taste good....

[rooftop1000]

White beans with really good Italian tuna and fresh parsley is a favorite of mine

Thinly sliced beef with carmelized onions also

Fresh ricotta cheese with something sharp like the pesto or tapenade

I know I have more...TBC

tracey

[wallchef]

Roasted beets, chevre, pine nuts and drizzle with a little aged balsamic.

[JAZ]

I also like Italian tuna (in oil) but I mix it with a coarse olive spread -- store bought if you can find a good one, or this is the recipe I use when I make it from scratch:

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1/3 cup sliced green olives with pimento

½ cup roasted red peppers

Pulse these in a food processer, or chop fine. Add:

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of ½ a lemon

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 can light Italian tuna packed in olive oil, with the oil

For color you can top with a bit of parsley.

Another topping I like is a spread made with roasted red peppers and caramelized onions.

[lauraf]

Oh god, I love an hors d'oeuvres base like garlicky crostini:

Blend chevre, some of those sundried tomatoes you have and chopped basil.

Make a creme fraiche, get some cold smoked tuna, serve thin slices on crostini spread with the creme and topped with a light soya drizzle. The smoked tuna will hold for a few hours at room temp.

A spread of cambozola with chopped dried figs, good balsamic.

If you can get your hands on some good grilled Merguez sausage, slice it thin and top with a bit of honey and a shaving of parmesan.

edited for spelling.

Edited February 6, 2008 by lauraf (log)

[merstar]

I love the combination of roasted red and yellow peppers, goat cheese, and fresh basil. Here's a recipe I basically follow with a few minor changes:

Bruschetta with Red Peppers and Goat Cheese

http://www.recipezaar.com/3237

[Poffertjes]

Tuscan white beans with rosemary

Rub a tomato on the toasted bread, top with an anchovie

dried apricots and prosciutto

Prosciutto by itself

Olive tapanade

Oh the possibilities are endless...

[jvalentino]

These are some great ideas! So many are sounding fantastic, I'm going to try the majority of these suggestions(although not all for this party).

I'm liking white beans, tuna,and the cambozola variations so far for the party, and would love to hear some more suggestions.

Thanks again,

Jeff

[lauraf]

BTW, for your spaghetti and meatballs, you could puree those sundried tomatoes for a tomato sauce base, if you want. Recently, I've been pureeing a jar of sundried tomatoes with its oil and capers, plus some roasted garlic, chopped fresh basil and a bit of grated parmesan. It's fast, simple and sooo flavourful that you only need a bit with some really good pasta.

[markk]

For your garlic rubbed toasts:

In one pan, sautee some thinly sliced (washed) leeks in butter and let them cook slowly covered.

In another pan, crisp some cubed (or slivered) bacon and add it to the leeks. Then turn up the heat, add a cup of heavy cream, and after it has thickened, crumble in some goat cheese, stir through, and top the garlicky toasts.

[Tim Dolan]

I'm a big fan of gorgonzola drizzled with warm honey. Add some nice prosciutto to push it over the top.

[Poffertjes]

I'm a big fan of gorgonzola drizzled with warm honey.  Add some nice prosciutto to push it over the top.

←

Stick a halved fig or two in there, maybe run it under the broiler and you have heaven.

[Domestic Goddess]

Broil eggplants until the skin char. Cover the eggplants so that the steam softens the skin and you can peel them easily. Chop the eggplant pulp and mix with minced garlic, salt, pepper and a dash of white vinegar. Great topping for your bruschetta.

[suzilightning]

an olive tapenade like Jaz's then topped with some thinly sliced smoked salmon - i'm partial to Perona Farm's.

[eldereno]

In a tappas cookbook I own there is a recipe for crostini topped with a black olive spread (though any olive tampenade would be great) and a thin slice of a nice blue cheese. Wonderful!

[MikeHartnett]

I made the Ceci Crostini from the Babbo cookbook last night, and it was delicious. You may want to try that.

It's basically chickpeas, EVOO, balsamic, black olive paste, rosemary, basil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. mix them together, and it's delicious!

[ludja]

A simple favorite I've made many times from Kleinman's and La Place's "Cucina Rustica" is one topped with bresaola and arugula. Whiz together room temperature unsalted butter (~ 1/2 cup) with a small bunch of coarsely chopped arugula. Spread on garlic crostini and top with thinly slice bresaola or Bundnerfleish (another cured and aged beef coldcut). I think this would work well with proscuitto as well.

Another good recipe from this little gem of a book is bruschetta made with a zucchini puree and topped with sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil, drained and cut into strips). The zucchini puree has onions, garlic, basil and parsley.

[Daniel]

Brocoli Rabe and Burratta.

[suzilightning]

while thinking about the ceci i remembered the only way i could get johnnybird to eat lima beans. a spread of lima beans(frozen thawed or fresh cooked), olive oil, white pepper and rosemary in a food processor then a sprinkle of a coarse salt on the crostini that had been spread with the beans. he hates limas but will scarf this up.

[deltadoc]

This is my absolute favorite!!!!! Crostini with Roasted Garlic, Goat Cheese and Apple Chutney!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102290

doc

[Henry dV]

How about, Tonno di Coniglio (sp) bunny cooked like tuna.

simmer the rabbit in salted water for 2 hrs. Flake the meat off the bones and layer in a bowl with thyme sage and bay add sliced garlic and cover with olive oil. Leave in the fridge for a week and remove from fridge and allow to come to room temperature, serve on crostini/bruschetta with lemon or balsamic and of course S&P.

[DCP]

Coming a little late to the party, but had to throw in one of our favorites. First seen at Devil's Alley Bar & Grill in Philadelphia, recreated at home many times since.

Half melted cambozola, half fig jam (split down the middle of the slice, lengthwise) and topped with a caramelized walnut half. Sublime.

[blue_dolphin]

Resurrecting this thread with a couple of ideas, both from Russell Norman's Polpo. The Cichèti chapter in the book has a lot of ideas for "stuff on toast".

 

Goat's cheese, Roasted Grape and Walnut Bruschette, recipe available online here (that link takes you to a multi-page excerpt from Polpo with several recipes. This recipe appears on pages 16-17 of that excerpt so you need to click the right arrow 8 times to get to it)

 

Broad Bean, Mint and Ricotta Bruschetta, recipe available online here. 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by blue_dolphin
to fix link (log)

[blue_dolphin]

And two more, also from Polpo. 

Top: Rocket and walnut pesto crostini.  Equal weights of arugula and walnuts go into the food processor with Parmesan, garlic, S&P and enough olive oil to make a spreadable paste.  I added the juice and zest of half a lemon to brighten it up. Since arugula is readily available for much of the year in my area, this is a nice pesto alternative when basil is out of season. 

Bottom: Anchovy and chickpea crostini.  This was one of those recipes I had to try. 10 anchovies + some of their oil go into the food processor with a single can of chickpeas, lemon juice, parsley, a little tahini and olive oil.  I thought it would be anchovy overkill but it was not. 

 

Both of these spreads can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or even freezer for longer term. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by blue_dolphin
to add chickpeas (log)