Last week, we were asked to contribute an appetizer to our Friendsgiving feast. I put together a delish snack with all sorts of flavor: crostini with whiskey-caramelized onions, sharp cheddar cheese, and prosciutto-wrapped apples. They were a huge hit with everyone, including me!
I started with the hardest part of the recipe: caramelizing the onions. It’s not even hard; it just takes a little bit of patience. I sautéed a huge sliced onion in butter with a little bit of salt and a pinch of sugar. After 45 minutes of checking and stirring, the onions had cooked down quite a bit and turned that yummy caramel color. When the onions seemed to be sticking to the pan a bit, I splashed in a little bit of whiskey. After a couple of splashes, I turned off the heat and set the onions aside.
I made my life easy by picking up a pre-sliced baguette. I drizzled a little bit of olive oil over the pieces and popped them into a hot oven for just a minute or two to get lightly browned (but not crunchy). I cut two apples into thin-ish slices and wrapped them with a bit of prosciutto. I didn’t cut the apples until I was ready to put the appetizer together, to make sure they didn’t get brown.
To assemble the crostini, I laid a slice of cheese onto the toasty baguette. Then I spooned some of the caramelized onions onto the cheese. I popped the tray back into the oven to melt the cheese a little bit, then topped each crostini with a prosciutto-wrapped apple. To finish, I added a little pinch of chopped fresh thyme to each one. Beautiful!
At our friends’ home, I took advantage of their already-hot oven to warm the crostini up for a few minutes, but these little snackers don’t need to be served warm. They were the perfect addition to our beautiful spread. There’s a little bit of sweetness from the onion and the apple, and the salty bite from the prosciutto and cheese. There’s a crunch from the baguette and a “Mmmmmm….” usually follows each bite.
It’s the perfect hand-held party food. I’ll absolutely be making them again this season. (You should, too.)
Crostini with Caramelized Onion, Cheddar, and Prosciutto-Wrapped Apples (Krafted Koch)
You’ll need:
- A baguette, sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ onion, sliced
- Salt, pepper, sugar (pinch)
- 1/3 cup whiskey
- Sharp cheddar cheese, cut into slices
- 2 apples, cored and cut into slices
- Prosciutto slices
- Fresh thyme, chopped
In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onions. Add a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Sautee for 45 minutes, stirring often, adjusting the heat if the onions start to crisp. When the onions have turned brown and cooked down, splash in a little whiskey to deglaze the pan and loosen any onions that are sticking. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Set your oven to broil. Lay out the baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Set in the oven for a couple of minutes to very lightly brown the baguettes. Remove from the oven. Wrap each apple slice with a piece of prosciutto.
To assemble the crostini, lay a piece of cheese on each baguette slice and top with some caramelized onions. Set the baking sheet under the broiler for a couple of minutes to just melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and top each crostini with a prosciutto-wrapped apple. To serve, sprinkle thyme leaves over the crostini and watch as they disappear. Yum!
Hungry for more? Check out the collection of recipes on the FOOD BLISS page.
the usual bliss 
Uh, I hope it’s okay with you if I steal this for my office’s holiday appetizer potluck. They look AMAZING.
You will be the new favorite at work. 🙂
YUM 🙂 Have to give this a whirl and try it out. Happy Day!
They’re delish!