Crostini with Blue Cheese Butter and Roasted Balsamic Grapes

Can we talk appetizers?

I'm a huge fan of them.  It's always a party when dad gets home for the day, so why not pair his homecoming with a fabulous snack to kick off dinner?  Toasted bread with fine toppings is usually a hit with most folks.  But this crostini is a home-run.  Wowsa.


Crostini with Blue Cheese Butter and Roasted Balsamic Grapes

Favorite baguette sliced to 1 1/2" rounds, lightly toasted
1/4 unsalted butter, softened
sea salt
1/8- 1/4 cup blue cheese (I love English Stilton! and I like the 1:1 ratio!)

1-2 cups grapes, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
approx 1 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper

First mash your butter, sea salt and cheese together.  I will leave the cheese out for a bit to become easier to mold with the butter.  When in doubt, make more.  You can always freeze the leftovers to put on top of steak or chicken.  Oh heaven.

Put your roasted grape ingredients all together on the sheet pan.  Mix with hands to coat the grapes.  I ended up quartering this round because the grapes were massive.

Roast at 425 for 20 min.

When they come out, scrape off sheet pan to unstick them and mash them up a little bit with either a fork or a potato masher.

Toast bread.  Butter immediately.  Top with roasted grapes.  Let your taste buds sing hallelujah.