Crostini, tartines, pinchos!

These are white bean and arugula crostini, a recipe from Jill Dupleix's cookbook Very Simple Food. They're made with brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, which give them a delicious smoky sweetness.

The Italians have their bruschetta and crostini, the French have tartines and the Spanish their pinchos and montaditos. They're all essentially the same thing: mini open-faced sandwiches made with what you have around, such as cheese, cured meats, mushrooms, etc.

Here are some nice flavour combinations that I've found in cookbooks and during travels online:

• white bean and grilled eggplant
• peas, garlic and parmesan
• pear, prosciutto and radish
• artichoke and cannellini bean
• goat's cheese and roasted red pepper
• tomato, basil and bocconcini 
• smoked trout and cucumber
• fava beans with mint and goat's cheese
• smoked ham and coleslaw
• black olive tapenade with tomato and basil
• grilled eggplant and parmesan 
• apple, caramelized onions and thyme
• sauteed mushrooms with garlic and parsley

For further reading:

About.com's page on montaditos tapas

Laura Calder's tartine recipes on foodnetwork.ca

Giada de Laurentiis' 17 crostini recipes on foodnetwork.com

Jill Dupleix's website

Herbed goat cheese balls with crostini

Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Squeaky and Calimocho had a big party last night, the kind where you end up drinking in the hallway with strangers and bond over games of "Who's your gross-celebrity crush?" (Rules: They can't have ever been a heartthrob material and you have to imagine yourself kissing them.) I pondered this with a wonderful mixture of curlers, writers, engineers and advertisers. S and I brought this tasty appetizer, which is a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis's Everyday Italian cooking show. I bought her Extra Easy Italian DVD set over Christmas and have been enjoying watching her again. Since we discontinued cable I've been missing her shows, so I hope they keep releasing more.
 
Ingredients
one baguette
one large log of snow white goat cheese, soft or semi-firm
zest of one lemon
a handful each of fresh herbs (your choice, but I used rosemary, curly parsley, oregano and thyme)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Crostini 
Slice a baguette on the diagonal, then place slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.  

Cheese balls
Finely chop all of the herbs and place in a bowl. Add a sprinkling of salt and some coarsely ground pepper, and the zest of one lemon. Stir well. Form little pinches of the goats cheese into balls with your hands and roll each ball in the herb mixture to coat. Once all the cheese balls are rolled, arrange them in a little pyramid in the centre of a serving platter, and place the crostini on the outside. Drizzle the cheese balls with olive oil and serve.