This Wednesday feels so different from last Wednesday -- this week certainly has flown by, I don't actually know how it is Wednesday already! And to make matters more interesting, I am gearing up for my first marathon this Saturday in Washington DC -- I'd definitely say that I am a mixture of nerves and excitement, but that is probably a good way to be.
Instead of doing a green recipe in honor of St. Patty's Day, which I am not celebrating, partially because I'm not drinking in preparation for Saturday and partially because I am most certainly not Irish, I thought I would do a quick and delish crostini for all of you wanting to enjoy the nice weather and have an outdoor picnic and even a quick snack for those of you wanting to go out and celebrate the Irish!
Sometimes something simple is what you want, something delish, that does not require a lot of prep work but that will be satisfying and today's crostini is meant to do that. Our crostini starts out with a toasted baguette with a light brushing of grape seed oil, a vegetable oil that is pressed with a variety of vitis vinifera grapes, the by-products of winemaking, that give the oil a hint of grapeyness. On top of the grape seed oil, we put a few dried currants, then a few slices of young goat gouda, a lighter and creamier version of the more well known cow's milk Gouda, which would not go with our crostini, so make sure to get Goat Gouda! On top of the slices of goat gouda, place a few roasted almonds and then on top of that, a little bit of orange rind. Your crostini is ready to serve and guess what, you have managed to pack onto that one crostini, five different elements typically displayed separately on a cheese plate, however now they exist all in harmony on one piece of crusty, crunchy baguette. Most people wouldn't necessarily think to combine all of these ingredients on one piece of bread, but trust me it certainly works.
As a closing statement, should you be drinking your fair share of Guinness tonight, let me recommend a cheese that would work with that dark and thick beverage: Stilton! Stilton is one of the English's best inventions if you ask me. It dates back to 1720 when the cheese was first produced at the Bell Inn in Stilton and quickly caught on throughout England and worldwide. The cool and different thing about Stilton is that its veining comes from puncturing the cheese wheel up to300 times after one month of aging, allowing the blue to develop in the cheese with the introduction of oxygen. What you get is an earthy, punchy, unique blue that will definitely hold up with to your beverage of choice today on St. Patty's Day, Guinness!
Happy St. Patty's Day folks!
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