Something Sweet and Savory to Nibble On - Nectarine and Serrano Ham Crostini

If you are a fan of crunchy nectarine, also love something sweet and savory all together, this crostini might be shouting out your name.

Nectarine and Serrano ham crostini - 

Ingredients (about 8 servings)?

• 1 nectarine
• 1 medium ball mozzarella cheese (burrata even better)
• 1 pack Serrano or prosciutto ham
• 1 medium baguette
• 1 small bundle sweet basil
• Some honey
• Some extra virgin olive oil

How?

Slice the baguette. You might find this being the most strenuous work to put together a fancy crostini plate.

Drizzle one side of the baguette slices with some extra virgin olive oil, simple olive oil is fine too. Use a pan or a skillet and switch to medium heat. Transfer baguette slices over with oiled side down.

Sear till the edges appear a bit charred. It's up to you if you would like to toast the other side too, but by just heating up the oiled side already gives a good crunch to the bread. Once done, remove from heat.

Core and slice the nectarine to wedges, preferably 8 wedges for our recipe. There is no need to remove the skin. Wrap each wedge with one or half slice of the ham.

Transfer ham-wrapped nectarines to the pan and use medium heat to sear. Cook till the bottom turns golden brown, flip and sear the other side till the same. Once ready, remove from heat too.

I prefer browned side up for the baguette slices. Break the cheese and lay on top of the bread, then lay down the ham-wrapped nectarine, one to each baguette slice. Drizzle some honey then garnish with chopped sweet basil.

You can use mint leaves too, but I do like that distinct gentle kick from the basil.

Personally I also love to drizzle a bit more honey in order to satisfy my sweet cravings. By the way, if you are looking for an extra punch, use hot honey instead. A little spicy note can further enhance the sweetness of the fruit. 

Other crostini recipes:

• Smoked sardines and stracciatella cheese crostini
• Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey

Cheesy Garlic Bread - For All The Oozing Goodness Lovers Out There

Usually I would recommend people to check on recipes that were published within the recent two years, because cooking techniques or amount of seasonings might change over time, more so improved. However, back in 2019 I had a recipe post for garlic bread, oh man that was delicious, and even until today I still think that recipe holds. 

So to extend that yummy garlic bread recipe, here's one other variation with lots of cheese involved for all the oozing goodness lovers out there.

Cheesy garlic bread - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium baguette
• 200 grams mixed shredded cheese
• 120 grams high quality unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves
• Some aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• Small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

How?

Halve the baguette lengthwise, so you'll have like two long bread slices in the end. Note that I also slice the baguette in half in order to fit in my baking sheet lined with foil.

Use room softened room temperature butter, transfer the butter to a bowl and mix that with peeled and chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs, and 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder.

Spread the butter mixture all over baguette on the cut-side, then generously top that with shredded cheese. 

Use high heat and shuffle the baking sheet into the oven. Wait till the cheese has been melted and even slightly browned.

Remove from heat. Slice the baguette to individual serving pieces. Grate some aged Parmigiano Reggiano all over and sprinkle some chopped flat leaf parsley. Enjoy while still hot.

It's a very simple recipe, which means the quality of the ingredients become the key to success. Common butter and cheese found in the grocery store will still give you a pretty satisfying cheesy garlic bread. But if using very high quality butter, you'll be amazed by even more intensified buttery aroma in the end.

The final touch of Parmigiano Reggiano matters a lot too. Definitely steer away from the powdered green bottle version. The aroma is just differently and far from the real aged Parmigiano Reggiano grated on the spot.

Extended reading:

• Irresistible garlic bread

Less Oil Fried Cream Cheese Wontons

As much as I love fried food, making it at home can be quite a challenge. How so? First it's the smell and aftermath cleaning, then there's tremendous amount of oil involved. 

So to remedy the hard work after frying anything at home, I've decided to use half the amount of oil this time with deeper pot instead. But it only works for frying food that are thinner or flatter shaped. If I'm going to fry big meatballs or thicker cut of chicken, using less oil might not give you the best texture in the end.

Less oil fried cream cheese wontons - 

Ingredients (about 10 big or 20 medium small ones)?

• 10 big or 20 medium small wonton wrappers
• 200g cream cheese
• 1 string scallion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Some preferred frying oil
• Some powdered sugar (optional)

How?

Destem and chop the scallion. We only need one string here, not the entire stalk. The scallion is used for final decoration and a tiny bit aroma pop. Line a big plate with paper towel.

Have a medium bowl ready and mix in softened cream cheese. Also add in white section of the chopped scallion, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder. Mix till evenly blended.

Have a wonton wrapping station ready. I like to have a small bowl of drinkable water, some paper towel standing by, and a plate for wontons.

Scoop the cream cheese filling to the center of wonton wrapper. About 1 tablespoon for big wonton wrapper, use smaller amount for small wrapper. Wet the edge of all four sides with drinkable water then fold and seal to triangular shaped wonton.

Repeat till all the cream cheese filling is gone. It's better to have leftover wonton wrappers than cream cheese filling. If only a few wrappers left, perhaps cut them into strips and fry in oil in the end. You'll have something crunchy for salad later on. Or just dust with powdered sugar and enjoy as a simple snack.

Once all the wontons are ready, pour in some oil to the pot and switch to medium to medium high heat. Only need to pour enough oil till about half inch high.

Wait till the temperature rises. You can test it out by dipping the edge of the wonton and see if it starts to sizzle. If so, the oil is ready and go ahead to transfer the wontons over.

Don't overcrowd the pot, make sure all the wontons have enough room without overlapping one another. Fry in batches if needed.

Once the bottom appears golden brown, flip to the other side and fry till golden brown again. Remove to the plate lined with paper towel. The paper towel will help absorbing excess oil.

When ready to serve, transfer the wontons to the serving plate and dust some powered sugar on top. Garnish with chopped scallion greens. 

Some prefer to serve the cream cheese wontons with sweet chili sauce. That works too, but I personally like the powered sugar for a gentle sweetness boost. It's like a slightly sweet yet savory snack in the end.

If somehow you can't finish all the fried wontons and you had to store them in the fridge, I would suggest simply eat the leftover without reheating the wontons. The wrappers actually stay crunchy even after storing in the fridge, no need to risk loosing that bite trying to bring up the temperature again. 

A very important end note, even though we already use less oil and deeper pot to fry the wontons, the occasional hot oil splashing might still occur. One way to prevent that is to really make sure no water drips into the hot oil.

Also when frying the wontons, some might start to puff up in the center. When that happens, don't move the wonton or don't even attempt to flip it because any extra movement might cause the wonton to break. And when wonton breaks, the fillings will be in direct contact with hot oil, that's when the serious oil splashing happens.

I had like a couple of wontons broke during the process, and all I can say is that I'm glad I use deeper pot to do the job. The tall side at least blocked half of the hot oil from landing on me.

Extended reading:

• Seared corn and seaweed fritters
• Salted seaweed flavored Chinese yam fries

Smoked Sardines and Stracciatella Cheese Crostini - Hurray Store Bought Ingredients

Fancy crostini doesn't have to be a hassle to put together all the time. If you can source quality store bought ingredients, it'll only take you 10 minutes to put together something nice for the crowd, or why not just for yourself?

Smoked sardines and stracciatella cheese crostini -

Ingredients?

• 100 grams canned smoked sardines 
• 125 grams stracciatella cheese
• 1 medium baguette
• Some pickled red cabbage
• Some fresh dill

How?

Slice the baguette. Usually I would drizzle some olive oil over and perhaps rub garlic on it before toasting. However, the canned smoked sardines I used was smoked over beech wood and preserved in rapeseed oil, so I'm going to keep the main focus on that and keep other ingredients as simple as possible.

So toast the baguette slices as it is. Once the texture turns slightly crunchy on the edges, remove from heat.

Drain out excess liquid from the stracciatella cheese. Tear a small portion then lay on the baguette slices. Top with some pickled red cabbage then add the smoked sardines on top.

Lastly, garnish with fresh dill then it's good to go. I think 10 minutes total to put together the whole thing?

I got the smoked sardines during my trip to Denmark, but you can use whichever varieties of your liking, preferably pick something smoked for this recipe.

After trying one crostini, I actually added more dill than the ones showing in the pictures for myself. Simply love the flavor of dill, the more the merrier, it does really well with the smoked sardines I'm using here.

Extended reading:

• Crostini with serrano burrata and hot honey

Crostini with Serrano Burrata and Hot Honey

Is it just me or hot honey has becoming a trend recently? I kept seeing it online and on the menus of many fancy restaurants. Luckily, it's so easy to put together and works really well as a dressing for finger food, like the crostini we're going to make here.

Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium baguette
• 10 slices Serrano ham
• 1 ball/2-4 oz burrata cheese
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 garlic clove
• Some olive oil
• Some chopped flat leaf parsley

Hot honey:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce
• Some red chili flakes (optional)

How?

Add all the ingredients under the "hot honey" section to a small saucepan. Use medium low heat to bring it to a simmer. Keep it warm for about three minutes then remove from heat for later use.

Usually you won't see Thai sweet chili sauce used in hot honey recipe, it's more like a variation of my own. Also some people will add a little bit vinegar in the end. Considering the crostini I'm going to put together, vinegar won't be necessary. 

Slice the baguette and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle some olive oil over then transfer to the oven. Turn to high heat and wait till the edges look slightly darkened and crunchy. Take it out before the slices over-hardened.

Peel and halve the garlic. If using whole tomato, cut in half because we're going to use the cut side to rub against the baguette slices.

Rub the cut side of garlic to one side of baguette slices, the side with olive oil drizzled on. Make sure to apply some force while doing so, after few slices you'll notice that the garlic really gets smaller and smaller.

Once done with garlic, use cut side of the tomato to rub the baguette slices, like adding on top of garlic. 

Drain the liquid from the burrata container. Finely chop the flat leaf parsley. 

To assemble, take one prepped baguette slice and top with small chunk of burrata cheese.

Top the cheese with 1 slice of Serrano ham and drizzle some hot honey over. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. 

This recipe is not hard to make and pretty delicious, at least I enjoyed it a lot. It got that savory umami from the high quality ham and luscious cheese from the burrata. These two further bound together by sweet and spicy hot honey with added pop of herbal touch from parsley. I mean, as good as it sounds, no way it doesn't taste yummy right?  

Extended reading:

• Irresistible garlic bread

Addicting Finger Food - Peas and Crispy Pancetta Crostini

Crostini or bruschetta? Even though my gut feeling told me this is a crostini appetizer, but still want to dig a little deeper.

Bruschetta comes from the Italian word bruscare, meaning "to roast over coals." So basically the bread is grilled, perhaps over file, and usually rubbed with garlic plus a little drizzle of olive oil. One source also mentioned that bruschetta is usually made with whole or wide slices of rustic bread.

In the case of crostini, it's usually made with baguette slices, or some other type of smaller bread slices. It usually comes with a topping, and the bread gets heated up in the oven.

So I guess my gut feeling was right?

Peas and crispy pancetta crostini -

Ingredients?

• 1 medium baguette
• 110 grams pancetta slices
• 3/4 cup peas
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some olive oil

How?

Blanch peas and pat dry with paper towel.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/218 degrees Celsius. 

Spread pancetta slices on the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or till pancetta turns crisp and slightly darkened. Remove from heat and set aside till cool enough to handle by hand. 

Slice the baguette and lay on top of another prepared baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil over and bake in high heat till warmed up. The baguette slices should be slightly crunchy to the bite but not hard as rock, that usually happens when heated up too long in the oven.

Use a food processor, add in 1 peeled garlic clove, 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice. Blend till smooth, but some tiny chunks are fine too.

Spread some pea purée to the toasted baguette slices then top with some crispy pancetta pieces.

It makes a great party finger food. There's this tiny kick from the pea purée, just one clove of garlic gives such power and bring the whole taste up a notch. Don't even mention that savory note from pancetta slices, the flavor is further condensed thanks to the oven heat. I was going to save some for my family, but oops...It was way too addicting...  

Shrimp and Grits (Serves as a Hearty Side Dish for 4 to 6 People)

Who else is a fan of grits? I've always fond of grits ever since I discovered the hearty cuisine of southern food. Whenever grits was spotted on the menu, soon after it'll show up on my table. However, I didn't start cooking it myself till a couple of years ago, and fell even deeper in love with such easy to handle ingredient. 

My all time favorite variety will always be a simple cheese grits. It's warming, fulfilling, and what's even better is the creamy cheese melted throughout the naturally sweet grits. But for this shrimp and grits recipe, grits is more like a supporting roll for the flavorful toppings. So the seasonings for the grits are toned down, but providing volume, in a way kind of like rice served alongside of broccoli beef stir-fry.

Shrimp and grits -

Ingredients?

Grits -

• 1/2 cup coarsely ground grits
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese

Toppings -

• 8 to 12 whole shrimps, peeled, deveined
• 3 chorizo or spicy sausages
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• Some chopped scallion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Some salt
• Some freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

How?

Pour 1 1/2 cups water along with 1/2 cup grits to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Make sure to whisk the mixture once a while to prevent the grits from lumping and sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Simmer for a short moment then pour in heavy whipping cream, keep whisking constantly and still keep the mixture at a simmer. Cook till the grits turn soft and creamy with texture similar to Chinese porridge. Set aside and wait till the topping is almost ready before adding the Cheddar.

Meanwhile, marinate peeled and deveined shrimps with lemon juice and smoked paprika, just simple seasonings. Marinate for about 10 minutes. The shrimps will suck in that refreshing lemony aroma, even after cooking with other heavy tasting seasonings.

Peel and slice the onion. Prepare the yellow bell pepper and slice it too. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. 

Prepare another pan or medium pot, drizzle in some oil and turn to medium high heat. Once the oil turns warm, add in the sausages and sear till slightly browned. Scoop out the sausages and set aside.

Using the same pan or pot, add in sliced onion, bell pepper, chopped garlic, small pinch of salt, and small pinch of black pepper. Drizzle a little bit more olive oil if not enough oil left when searing the sausages. Give it a quick stir and cook till the onion turns slightly browned. Transfer the sausages and shrimps to the mixture and cook till nearly done.

Meanwhile, prepare a small or medium saucepan and add in the butter. Using medium heat to melt the butter then pour in the flour. Cook the floor till it forms a paste, continue to stir and cook till the mixture turns medium browned. Keep an eye on it because this roux can get burned easily. Lower the heat a little if needed.

When the roux is ready, add it to the shrimps and sausages mixture. Also pour in the chicken stock and the Worcestershire sauce. Gently mix together all the ingredients, the texture should start turning gravy-like. 

While tending all these pans and pots in the kitchen, take a moment and pay attention to the grits. Add in the sharp Cheddar and keep whisking or stirring till fully incorporated. Taste and adjust the flavor with salt, about 1/2 teaspoon should do the trick. 

Scoop some grits to the serving plate then transfer the toppings over. Sprinkled some freshly ground black pepper and garnish with chopped scallion.

This recipe can serve as a side dish or even as a hearty brunch on the weekend. 

There are so many more grits variations and I already set my mind onto something, a savory grits bar, that way I can munch on grits with my fingers!


Other grits recipe:

• Swapping out mashed potatoes, give cheese grits a try

Mixed Pâté and Caramelized Onions Served on Toast

Storing a couple canned pâté has becoming a recent habit over the past year. It's such a great helper when I'm trying to come up with a quick and semi-fancy dish or even just indulge a little by myself. 

This recipe still use store bought canned pâté, but I'm seriously thinking about making my own version of chicken pâté or pâté de foie gras in the future, can't wait for it to happen!

Mixed pâté and caramelized onions served on toast -

Ingredients (for 4 servings)?

• 1 small can/80 grams pâté
• 4 big slices/6 medium slices simple bread (rye or sour dough preferred)
• 1/2 medium onion
• Short section cucumber
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Some rainbow peppercorn
• Some fleur de sel

How?

Peel and slice the onion. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium pot. Add in 1/2 sliced onion along with 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Give it a quick stir then turn to medium heat, cook for another 15 to 16 minutes. Remember to stir the onion once a while.

When the onion is about ready, add in 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and cook till fully absorbed, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

The canned pâté I got was made with 20% goose meat, 15% goose foie gras, and 15% pork product. Other variations such as chicken liver pâté can be a great alternative.

Slice the bread, toast or grill till hot and crunchy on the edges. There's no need to brush with olive oil or garlic before heating up the bread slices.

Top the bread slices with generous amount of pâté. Add some caramelized onion on top of pâté then garnish with thinly sliced cucumber. Sprinkle some freshly ground rainbow pepper on the plate, also sprinkle some fleur de sel on each toast before serving.

Just wait, next time it'll be homemade pâté on the plate. 


Other tapas and bar food recipes:

• Quick side dish: sautéed button mushrooms with balsamic vinegar
• Super easy way to jazz up sliced salami - how about crispy chips?
• Bar food 101 - spicy pork sausages with cremini mushroom and lots of garlic

Quick Side Dish: Sautéed Button Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar

First time finishing up a blog entry while waiting for my ride at a train station cafe. Passersby curiously peaked through behind since I was the only one popping out the laptop (while others chatting and playing with smart phones). Hope these mushroom pictures made them hungry somehow. *Wink.

Sautéed button mushrooms with balsamic vinegar - 

Ingredients?

• 12 button mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Some red chili flakes

How?

Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Halve the button mushrooms. Combine water and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.

Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil and add in one tablespoon of unsalted butter to the pan. Turn to medium heat and wait for the butter melts a little. 

Add in minced garlic and cook till the aroma comes out, but not burning these little pieces. Add in halved mushrooms along with some salt and black pepper.

Sauté for about 30 seconds, pour in the water/balsamic mixture and give it a quick stir. Keep cooking till the liquid has been reduced, somewhat glaze-like coated on the mushrooms. The size of the mushrooms should also reduce from 1/3 to 1/2 after cooking.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle some red chili flakes. 

This recipe works well as a fancy meal side dish. The earthy and semi-heavy sauce also pairs well with red wine. A more staple pairing calls for Pinot Noir, but Barbera can be another fun match. 


Other tapas and bar food recipes:

• Super easy way to jazz up sliced salami - how about crispy chips?
• Bar food 101 - spicy pork sausages with cremini mushroom and lots of garlic