Italian and Asian Crostini

It's been a long while since I've written a recipe. Not because I haven't wanted to. Not because I haven't cooked. In fact, I've been cooking a ton. So much so, the backlog is too much for me. Hopefully I'll catch up at some point, but it's doubtful. I read recipes all the time, but haven't followed one in years. Actually, that's not true. I follow the recipe for my crepes because I can never remember the proportions. But other than that, I don't. The problem is, I can't remember how to make things I cook. Truth be told, I often forget by the time I sit down to eat. Now that sucks.

But this is a simple one. A handful of ingredients and you can pretty much see them in the picture, so it's easy to remember.

Funny thing about this recipe is it's the midnight snack, although it's only 9:30p and that's been my cutoff for eating for the past three years. For a midnight snack, you need to make things with things you have on hand. Nothing serious, not too much prep. But you can't need anything you don't have. You must use as much of what you have on hand and be creative. That's the ticket.

Asian Crostini:

1 bunch of spinach, blanched 30 seconds in heavily salted water, roughly chopped
Thinly sliced watermelon, pan seared with olive oil
Ginger-Garlic Vinaigrette: small amount of fresh ginger, minced; 1 clove garlic, minced; dashes of chili oil, couple tablespoons of brown rice vinegar, tablespoon or so of Ponzu. Mix well.
Toasted crusty bread with olive oil. I lather both sides of the bread with olive oil and broil on high until browned.

Lay the breads out, arrange watermelon on top, pinch some spinach on top, and give it a dose of vinaigrette.

Italian Crostini:

Blackened corn: drained can corn, 1/2 small onion, chopped, 1 clove garlic. Add some olive oil to a pan and heat til smoking. Add the corn and onion, and let it turn black before a quick stir. Blacken the other side. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, remove to a bowl.
Sun-Dried Tomato: If they're in oil, drain and chop. If they're dry, put in some hot water for 10 minutes, drain and chop.
Stock corn and tomato on crostini and top with a bit of olive oil and finishing salt. I had some truffle salt on hand, and that was good.

Oh yeah, I shaved a little pecorino over.

I think the Italian version would have been much better with a small amount of meat. Maybe fried pancetta or regular bacon.

Enjoy!

~ Brock