Crispy Cheesy Toast

Inspired by Ace Bakery's Cheddar mini crisps and the need to do something useful with a dry baguette...came the creation of Crispy Cheesy Toast.  They are tasty and incredibly addictive, but also simple to make.  Good as a snack or at a party.  They don't last long at home, I can barely keep myself from devouring it all right out of the oven.

CRISPY CHEESY TOAST

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 10min

INGREDIENTS:

Well Aged Cheddar (I prefer 5 year old Balderson cheddar, if you are using younger cheddar that is not a strong, you may need to add a bit of sea salt to the top.)

A baguette

Olive Oil
Sea salt (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

2) Slice old baguette into 1/4 inch slice toasts

3)  Grate a mound of cheddar

3) Brush both sides of the toast with olive oil and lay flat on a baking sheet

4) Sprinkle the toasts lightly with grated cheddar cheese, sprinkle sea salt if needed.

5) Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges of the toast is slightly brown

Oven Roasted Chestnuts

You know it's the holiday season when chestnuts show up in grocery stores.  And while I do love chestnuts roasting on an open fire....(queue festive songs that annoy Nick because I only know the tune and have made up the rest of the words), alas...I live in a condo where a fireplace is not readily accessible so an oven will have to do.  

 

Roasted Chestnuts

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 20min

INGREDIENTS: 

1lb of Chestnuts (Pick ones that are not shriveled up and do not have holes in them)

HOW TO MAKE IT: 

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2) Wash chestnuts in a bowl of water

3) Find the flat side of each chestnut and cut a large "X" with a sharp paring knife all the way through the skin.

4) Place on a baking sheet with X side up and bake for 20-30 minutes, until cooked.  It usually means I can crack the shell open by squishing it in a towel.

TIP: 

More of a warning -- Cut a large defined X on the chestnut or else they could explode if the steam is unable to escape from within the chestnut.  Some of my "X"s were not sufficiently large and it caused 2 chestnuts to explode in the oven (makes for an annoying cleanup, and a burnt chestnut smell the next time I used the oven), and one chestnut targeted Nick as he took them out of the oven spraying a fine mist of chestnut debris all over the kitchen.  We still occasionally find bits of it stuck on the fridge or a cabinet door.