CROSTINI****Caramelized Apple and Blue Cheese Crostini

By Unblond1

14/12/13 - Made to accompany Celeriac-Celery Soup. Dan didn't care for the soup but these where super. Try them pre-dinner, with a glass of port for both.
13/11/15 - Had as a dinner, after lunch out at a restaurant, great choice.

Ingredients

• 4 4 8 finely minced fresh sage leaves, plus 8 small leaves for garnish (I thinly sliced several leaves and fried them in the butter before adding the apples)
• 1 1 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, walnut oil or hazlenut oil - for brushing the toasts
• Kosher salt
• 8 10 8 10 4-cheese 8 - 10 thin slices (100 grams) of crusty baguette, multigrain if you have it (I've used 4-cheese semolina, which also works)
• 1 1 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 2 to small apples, cored and cut into thin wedges (last time, I tried a fine dice, thinking it would be easier to eat but it was the opposite so stick with the slices, perhaps cut into halves)
• Small pinch Small pinch of cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Maldon sea salt
• to of honey, to serve, optional
• Dan mentioned he'd like cinnamon so try a sprinkle on his the next time and he really does like the port with this

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from herbivoracious.com

Preparation

Step 1

*Preheat* oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.

*Melt* the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, adding the sage to the cold pan. *Saute* the sage until just starting to crisp then *cook* the apples in a single layer, working in batches if needed, until both sides are golden brown and somewhat tender, about 5 - 10 minutes. *Season* with a pinch of cayenne pepper and several grinds of black pepper. (Can be done ahead and reheated at serving time)

*Brush* the baguette slices with the oil and *toast* on one side on a baking sheet in the toaster oven until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.

*To serve*, top each toast with the slices of apple, a bit of bleu cheese and a drizzle of honey, if desired, and serve.

+Nutrition Facts - 2 Servings+

Amount Per Serving
Calories 415.7
Total Fat 22.6 g
Saturated Fat 9.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.7 g
Cholesterol 45.5 mg
Sodium 720.8 mg
Potassium 160.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 45.6 g
Dietary Fiber 5.8 g
Sugars 16.4 g
Protein 10.4 g