Crostini with Artichoke Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella:Thanksgiving/Holiday Recipe #3

I really do love hosting Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite cooking holidays as it really is so INVOLVED. I love thinking about all the layers and figuring out how everything is going to go together. I am super precise and planned and actually write out a schedule for my actual cooking days so as to know when things need to get into the oven to make a meal appear on time. Even with the schedule, my meal is invariably 30 minutes late as I have one tiny oven, and stuffing, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and other things need to be reheated in the oven after the turkey comes out. This is why appetizers are so important in our house, because people show up wanting to eat, and they have to wait a bit longer because I only have ONE oven.

The key to great appetizers during the holidays are ones that can be done ahead of time. This can be prepared the day of, while the turkey is in the oven, and assembled as your guests arrive. It is yummy and delicious and easy to make.

I did see at Trader Joe's and Whole Food Markets an artichoke spread/pesto thing pre-made, so you could buy a jar of that, fresh mozzarella and some lovely bread and make it without making your own pesto if you really wanted to speed things up.

Crostini with Artichoke Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella
Serves 10-12

Artichoke Pesto
1/2 cup olive oil (1/4 cup used for cooking and another 1/4 cup will be used in the pesto later)
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained (Trader Joes has the best deal at $1.99)
8 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a fry pan, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add to it the drained artichokes and garlic and cook over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant, about 6 minutes. Put the garlic, olive oil and artichokes into a food processor (or one of those mini prep choppers) and process until roughly chop. Add Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and process again. Allow mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Then add basil and additional 1/4 cup olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. This can be made 24 hours in advance.

Assembly
1 loaf of ciabatta, pugliese or a nice baguette (depending on the size of your bread the appetizer size will change)
2 balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
olive oil
Chili pepper flakes

Slice bread into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush with olive oil and place a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Cool and then store in a ziploc bag.

On top of each toasted bread, add a layer of the artichoke pesto, a slice of the fresh mozzrella and then sprinkle with a few chili pepper flakes. Serve. (Do not make these too far ahead of time as they will get soggy.)

Printable recipe

a yummy yummy bite (or a couple of bites)

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