With the holidays soon approaching, it's time to start thinking about appetizers to serve at your fun gatherings. These little crostini rounds are piled high with tasty roasted grapes, goat cheese, pecans and kalamata olives.
16 oz. baguette
2 c. seedless red grapes
1 ½ T. chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 c. pitted kalamata olives
1 c. pecan halves
5 oz. goat cheese
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 -2 t. honey
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place grapes, olives and pecans on a baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, 1 T. oil, and 1 T. rosemary. Drizzle vinegar mixture onto grapes, pecans and olives; use hands to toss and rub in, making sure to keep grapes to one side of baking sheet and separate from olives and pecans since they need to cook longer. Place in oven; bake for 8 – 10 minutes until pecans are toasted, being careful to not let them burn, since they burn easily.
While cooking, slice baguette into ⅓ inch slices, making about 35 rounds. Lay the bread slices on a baking sheet; brush with remaining olive oil or spray with cooking spray instead, if preferred. After 8 – 10 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven. Remove pecans and olives; place pan with grapes back into oven to cook for 10 minutes. Place bread slices on other rack in oven to toast at the same time.
While cooking, coarsely chop olives and pecans; stir together.
Remove grapes and bread after 10 minutes when baguette slices are lightly toasted and grapes are just starting to wrinkle and burst.
Spread a thin layer of goat cheese onto crostini. Sprinkle with pecan and olive mixture. Half grapes; add several grape halves to each crostini. Sprinkle pepper over crostini; drizzle with a slight amount of honey.
12 servings.