Crostini Appetizers

I was looking through some old magazines and on the internet for appetizer ideas the other night and came up with a few great ones for topping slices of baguette or crostini.  Personally, I feel like the roof of my mouth gets all scraped up when I make crostini so I keep the baguette pieces soft.  We made the salami & fennel (good cheese-free option) and I loved the differences in texture and flavors - yummy!

To make crostini:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush thin slices of baguette with olive oil.  Bake for 5-10 minutes or until slices are crunchy and slightly browned.

Salami & Fennel:  Mix together a cup of thinly sliced fennel with the zest of one orange and a tablespoon or so of fresh orange juice.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little chopped frond from the same fennel bulb.  On the bread, put a slice of salami and then top with the fennel mixture.  Drizzle or spray with a little bit of olive oil.

Bleu Cheese & Apple:  Mix together softened bleu cheese and chopped walnuts.  Spread on bread slices, top with a thin slice of apple and drizzle with honey

Bleu Cheese & Fig jam:  Spread bread with some fig chutney or jam.  Top with crumbled bleu cheese.

Pesto & Radish:  Spread bread with some pesto.  Top with thinly sliced radishes and some sea salt.