This time of year, I run into two cooking woes. 1) What to make when I’m too tired and lazy to chop and prep and use every one of my pots and pants, and 2) what’s a quick and easy bite to make/bring to one of the many holiday parties popping up on my calendar? This quick, easy, farm-fresh dish is the perfect solution to both! It takes 10 minutes, makes very little mess, and is an absolute crowd-pleaser! Enter: The Pawlet & Honey Crostini.
During my Saturday shopping excursion at McCarren Park in Brooklyn for my Honey Roasted Carrots, I picked up a few additional items for my crostini. From Vermont’s Consider Bardwell Farm, I perused a variety of delicious cow and goat cheeses. I was specifically searching for something that was soft and easy to melt, so I was directed to the “Meltlet” cheese, which is a version of their Pawlet. It was nutty and mild and perfect for a sweet and savory recipe. I bought 1/4lb ($5).
I picked up a fresh baguette ($3) from New Jersey’s Baker’s Bounty. The outside felt nice and crusty, but the inside was soft and pillowy. The perfect type of bread for a crostini! The honey, which I picked up for my Honey Roasted Carrots last week, came from Nature’s Way ($6.25/honeybear).
There’s something about fresh cheese that brings on an unstoppable craving for wine, am I right? Luckily, Borghese Vineyard was set up just across from the cheese stand, so I made my way over to pick my poison :). They had so many delicious bottles straight from their Long Island vineyard, but I settled on an easy-drinking red wine, the Petit Chateau ($17).
Time to head home and assemble my delicious and festive treats! Here’s how I did it:
INGREDIENTS:
Fresh baguette
Butter (about 4 tbsp or 1/2 a stick)
Soft melting cheese, about 1/4 lb (I used Consider Bardwell “Meltlet Cheese” – you could use gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella, etc.)
Local honey (2-3 tbsp)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Turn on the broiler in your oven. Slice the baguette into 1/2″ toasts. Evenly butter the top of each toast from crust to crust. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.
- Thinly shave the cheese and layer 3-4 pieces onto each toast. Feel free to add more or less. It’s important the layers are shaved very thin so they can melt quickly under the broiler.
- Drizzle the top of each with honey to taste. Arrange on a baking sheet with a smear of butter beneath each crostini. They don’t need much space in between.
- Pop the baking sheet under the broiler until the honey and cheese create a bubbling, golden top to the crostini. This should take less than 5 minutes, so don’t walk away from the oven! Serve warm, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy.
Once your cooking is complete, start planning your weekend getaway to support these amazing farms! Not only can you visit both Consider Bardwell Farm, Nature’s Way Farm and Castello di Borghese, but you can also support them from your own home! These are just three of the 13 local farms that are featured in our Farm Animal Calendar for 2018. Each calendar purchase directly benefits these farms as well as GowNYC’s amazing nonprofits and educational initiatives like Grow to Learn and Project Farmhouse. Take a moment and make someone’s holiday with the gift that keeps on giving — purchase here.
You can also visit these fabulous farms year round for weekend getaways!
Located in Washington County in the rolling hills of Vermont’s Champlain Valley, 300-acre Consider Bardwell Farm was the first cheese-making co-op in Vermont, founded in 1864 by Consider Stebbins Bardwell himself. Rotational grazing and pesticide-free and fertilizer-free pastures produce the sweetest milk and tastiest cheese. The cheeses are made by hand in small batches from whole, fresh milk that is antibiotic and hormone-free. Visit the farm to see cows and goats, attend farm dinners, tours, and workshops, the June annual Pig Roast, and September cheese tours — or stay overnight onsite! TRANSIT: Amtrak to CNV + half-hour cab ride. Check out lodging options for a weekend getaway.
Located in Suffolk County on Long Island, Castello di Borghese is Long Island’s first vineyard. Dedicated to delivering elegant, nuanced, Bordeaux-style wine. With a microclimate comparable to the Bordeaux region of France, the East End of Long Island provides a lush environment to grow some of the world’s best French grape varietals. They prune, pick, bottle, cork, label and distribute every bottle of wine by hand. A part of the North Fork Wine Trail, visit the winery for a CSA, wine tasting, and tours. TRANSIT: LIRR to Mattituck + 5-minute cab. For lodging info, click here.
Located in Chemung County in the Finger Lakes, Nature’s Way Farm is a 350+ Hive Apiary selling a wide range of honeys, bee pollen, and beehive-sourced skin care products at a dozen farmers markets in NYC, at their farm store and online. For three generations, their bees have foraged in one of the cleanest regions in the country because, as a family business, Nature’s way only wants the best on your table and theirs. Visit the farm for honey tasting, group farm tours, quarterly bee-keeping classes, and on-site beehive experiences. TRANSIT: CoachUSA to Elmira + 15-minute cab. More on lodging here.
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