Girls' Night-in: Grilled Peach Crostini

My closest girlfriends and I get a natural high off of tea parties and dinner parties. It's how we ensure we get together in a quiet space where we can catch-up, eat, and drink to our own merriment.

While my fortes are tea parties and fancy hors d'oeuvres, my friend and artist, Joelle, kills it with her full blown Summer dinner parties.

At one such gathering this past season, she delighted us with a fruit and chicken poppy seed Summer salad, cold cucumber soup, grilled chicken, spaghetti squash with a homemade pesto sauce, sweets, and more. My taste buds fell in love with her grilled peach crostini.

The delicate appetizer tasted both savory and sweet. It caught my eye with the bright orange and greens. An ideal dish for a Summer dinner or appetizer cocktail party. Containing myself so her other guests could bite into the crostinis as well proved difficult, but I managed.

Joelle whipped the peach crostinis up so well, that I was afraid I couldn't recreate it. Plus, she owns the specialty in my book. So, I asked her to let me write-up a little feature of her recipe on my blog. Luckily, for both me and you, readers, she obliged. Serves: About 20-25 pieces Ingredients: - 4 oz goat cheese, softened

- 4 peaches

- 1 baguette loaf

- 3 T Brown Sugar

- 1/2 C Balsamic vinegar

- 10-15 mint leaves

- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Directions:

1. Cut baguette into slices

2. Brush each side of the baguette slices with olive oil

3. Place slices in the oven at 375 degrees for 5-8 minutes (option: cook on grill for 2-3 minutes on each side)

4. Slice peaches in half and remove the pit

5. Grill peach halves for about 3-5 minutes on each side 6. Once cool, slice each grilled peach half into 4 smaller pieces

7. In a saucepan, pour balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in and mix

8. Bring mixture to a boil, then immediately reducing the heat to medium

9. Simmer until the mixture thickens to a honey-like consistency and has reduced by nearly one half

10. Spread the softened goat cheese on the baguette slices

11. Top individually with a slice of grilled peach

12. Drizzle the balsamic reduction glaze over each piece

13. Cut thin, ribbon-like slices of mint leaves

14. Delicately place 2-3 mint ribbons on each slice to serve

#Lifestyle #Food #Recipe #Party #Teaparty #Appetizer #peach #crostini