Thursday, June 15, 2006

Crostini alla Salsiccia – Crostini with Sausage

Summertime in Italy means great savory foods. Appetizers are as much of a meal as entrees. Crostini are flavorful and their preparation is quick and simple. When the temperature is high and the appetite is light they can be satisfying meal with a bottle of good wine.

Ingredients for 12 crostini:

1 lb. (450 gr.) sausage (I suggest Beer Bratwurst)
75 gr. of Mascarpone
75 gr. Cream of Brie
1 Filone (the filone can be day-old)

I suggest the beer bratwurst because it is the closest to northern Italian sausage even though it does not contain Parmesan cheese. Any soft and creamy cheese can be used as long as it is not sweet.


Preparation:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread in slices about ½ inch thick and place on a baking pan.

Remove the casing from the sausage and place in a skillet over medium heat. Do not cook completely. The meat should turn grey but not braised. This will take about 6 minutes from the first sizzle.

While the sausage is cooking, in a bowl mix the two cheeses with a fork until the consistency is creamy and uniform.

Drain the grease from the sausage and add the sausage to the mixture. Mix together and taste for salt.

Spread the mixture on the slices of bread and place in the hot oven for 15 minutes.

Serve hot.

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7 Comments:

Blogger moderator said...

This sounds wonderful! And what a treat to prepare after a long work day - quick and delicious. For me, at least, a lot of the joy of food is the aromas and textures while the food is being prepared!

6:34 PM

 
Blogger Doll Face said...

one word. YUM

I'll have to print that one and give it a go :-)

9:41 PM

 
Blogger Travel Italy said...

leigh - I so agree, preparing the food, involving all of the senses, somehow makes it more satisfying.

natalie - it is really quick and when we have prepared them for friends they have been overwhelmed thinking it was some elaborate recipe.

6:21 AM

 
Blogger a.c.t. said...

Sounds good. Would never have considered doing crostini wirh sausages, I might give it a try.

9:55 AM

 
Blogger Travel Italy said...

ACT - you know us Lombardi, we will find numerous ways to use salsiccia!

This is really good and your guests will most likely be impressed.

10:57 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Being in the Boston area, we have a ton of Italian import grocers... If I were to look for the norhtern Italian sausage instead of using Bratwurst, does it have a specific name? Or is it just called sausage, and comes from North Italy?

4:34 AM

 
Blogger Travel Italy said...

Jennifer - No it would not have a specific name. I am not sure that legally the store owner can sell northern Italian sausage as "Italian Sausage". The reason is many years ago the FDA defined Italian sausage as having Fennel, when this is only used in two regions in Italy.

The proper ingredients are:

pork with 25% fat; red wine, salt, pepper, ground cloves and Parmesan Cheese;

5:34 AM

 

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