Recipe Corner! A Favorite Holiday App
Because the starter is always the best part.
Hey there,
How are you doing in your kitchen? Are you gearing up for holiday festivities? I am! So many celebrations this time of year are centered around big, somewhat formal sit down meals (at least for my family!), but I cannot lie: while I love a good holiday main dish (we do honeyed ham for Christmas and brisket and latkes for Hanukkah, how about you?), for me, this time of year is really all about the apps. But are we at all surprised? My allegiance to a light bite is heavily documented.
So for the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my very favorite very festive recipes for starters that will help you kick your holiday gatherings off right. Let’s get into it!
Today, I’m sharing my recipe for Celery Toasties.
Move over bruschetta, there’s a new it crostini in town! This recipe is inspired by the sweet, very special, sadly since-closed spot where I did my culinary externship, Prune Restaurant. After my stage (pronounced *stahje* and roughly translating to a very stressful combo job interview/tryout session) there, the executive chef invited me to take a seat at the bar and order myself something on the house. I didn’t want to be presumptuous, so I ordered one of the least pricy and seemingly least assuming dishes on the menu: celery toast. I don’t know why I was surprised—Prune had a reputation for making the most of very humble ingredients—but it was love at first bite.
I know, I know, a celery/toast combo may sound strange, but trust me on this one and this mini version of the toast I had that evening will soon enter heavy rotation at your gatherings. It has at mine!
Party-Worthy Celery Toasties
Ingredients
1 baguette, sliced thinly into rounds, about 1/2 inches each
3-4 small radishes, sliced paper thin using a sharp knife or mandolin
3-4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup parsley, destemmed and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt to taste (at least a large 4 finger pinch)
High quality salted butter, softened at room temp
Procedure
Toast your thinly sliced baguette to make crostini. You can do this in your standard oven on a baking sheet at 325 for 10-15 minutes (watch closely, everyone’s oven is slightly different) or in your toaster oven in multiple rounds. Allow the crostini to cool to room temp.
Meanwhile, assemble your celery topping. Toss together the radishes, celery, blue cheese, parsley, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Taste and adjust for additional salt and vinegar as necessary. Set the celery topping aside.
Spread each crostini with a generous amount of room temperature butter, then top each with a hearty scoop of the celery topping (see note for any leftover topping). Serve to guests and enjoy!
Note: If you’re left with any additional celery topping, it’s absolutely delicious and stands alone as a salad for a few days after you make it.
You can watch me making a small batch of these toasties for one of my micro dinner parties here! Otherwise, we’ve covered it, but stay tuned the next couple weeks! I’ll be sharing a very unexpected holiday salsa and the cheese dish that’s made an appearance at my family’s festive gatherings for over 10 years.
Okay, we’ve covered it. Again, stay tuned for the next few weeks and as always, wishing you a lovely, well-fed week ahead.
With love and a tip of my chef’s hat,
Erica
Want more? I’m so flattered! You can also follow me on Instagram or TikTok, or check out my tips-laden e-book collection. The newest addition, Meal Prep Made Simple, is available to order now!