Crostini With Prosciutto and Brie

Glen and I had a wonderful invitation to a dinner at a friend's house. There would be 3 couples with the hosts cooking a fabulous roast lamb dinner. The other couple offered to bring some drinks, so I offered to bring an appetizer. I quickly hit the internet looking for ideas.

As the oven would be in serious us not be available, It needed to something that wouldn't need heating It was just 3 couples and we would be having a big dinner, so it didn't need to be a lot. I was drawn to a recipe where you made your own crostini and topped it with prosciutto, brie, honey and a basil leaf. YUM.

The baguette I purchased was extra long, which was great as I burnt the first batch of slices. I am working with a new oven and hadn't used the broiler much. Turns out it was much more efficient than my previous range. I managed the second batch just fine, then added the layers of meat and cheese and drizzled on honey.

On a whim, I decided it would be even more interesting with a drizzle of thick balsamic syrup. I zig-zagged the honey one direction and the syrup another so they cross-hatched. It looked so nice. I took a picture, then remembered I need to top with basil. When I got back, the balsamic had spread through the honey and disappeared. The flavor was still there, but it lost the beautiful cross hatching.

Next time I make these, I will drizzle the honey on the prosciutto layer, add the Brie, then drizzle the balsamic syrup on top of the cheese. Hopefully that will keep the drizzle of balsamic syrup in place as it made the presentation so much more attractive. I will also roll any larger basil leaves and cross slice into shreds. This will make them easier to sprinkle on top and eat.

Everything is listed below, but I didn't give amounts as it really is adaptable for bigger or smaller amounts.

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Crostini With Prosciutto and Brie

Ingredients - 

1 - 2                         Fresh baguette (s) cross cut into 1/2" thick  slices

Olive Oil
1                              Brie (medium to large), cut into 1/4" thick pieces the size of the crostini
1-2 pkgs.                 Prosciutto with wafer thin slices
Honey
Thick balsamic syrup
Fresh bay leaves     Small leaves, or large leaves rolled and crossed sliced into shreds

Instructions - 

Preheat broiler.  Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet. Brush or spray with olive oil (I love using olive oil spray as it is a lighter end product - but when you brush with oil more soaks in and that is nice too. Just depends on what you prefer).  Broil on first side until lightly toasted. Turn slices over, brush or spray with olive oil, and then toast lightly on second side. 

Remove the crostini to a serving plate and let cool.  Fold a wafer thin slice of prosciutto (I personally remove the little line of fat along the edge first) to the right size and place on a crostini, repeat with all slices.  Drizzle with honey in a zig-zag pattern.  Place a piece of brie on each crostini. Drizzle with thick balsamic syrup in a zig zag pattern, then place a small basil leaf or a little pile of basil leaf shreds on each.  

Enjoy!