Short•cut noun: a shorter, quicker, or easier way to do something
This holiday season, my survival plan involves taking some short cuts. I’m not talking about traveling the back roads (although all Wilmington locals know this is how we roll). I’m talking about cooking short cuts… to make healthy eating… and entertaining less stressful. It occurred to me, last week when I made my ‘colder weather red berry sauce’, this could be doubled and frozen for putting together festive appetizers like these red berry crostini.
This simple short cut allows you to serve your family and friends appetizers with the same standards you have for the rest of the meal: made with fresh ingredients, superb in taste, and stylish. Join me in making a double batch of this healthy and delicious red berry sauce for Thanksgiving, freezing half, and making festive Red Berry Crostini in December. What cooking short cuts are you taking to survive the holidays?
Festive Red Berry Crostini
Cranberries and raspberries are used to make a fruit sauce in the slow cooker that’s served over goat cheese and toasted baguettes for a delicious crostini appetizer.
Ingredients
for the slow-cooked red raspberry cranberry sauce
- 12 ounce package of frozen red raspberries
- 12 ounce pakcage of fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup water
for sweetening, option 1/Traditional
- 1 cup sugar
for sweetening, Option 2/Reduced Sugar
- 1/3 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw Bakers Bag
- 1/3 cup Stevia in the Raw
- 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar
for the crostini
- 1 French baguette, sliced into 1/4 inch slices (about 60)
- 3/4 cup olive oil(for brushing)
- sea salt
- 2 cups red raspberry cranberry sauce (recipe below)
- 12 ounces goat cheese
- 1 cup chopped pistatchios
- 1/2 cup parsely, chopped
Instructions
for the slow-cooked red raspberry cranberry sauce
1. Add frozen red raspberries, fresh cranberries and water to a 3 or 4 quart slow-cooker. Stir to combine. Place the lid on slow-cooker and set on low for 8 hours.
2. Stir once or twice during cooking; replace lid to cover completely.
3. At the end of cooking, the berries will have cooked and formed a sauce. Now add either sugar or alternative sweeteners. Cool and use as topping for crostini.
For the crostini
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange baguette slices on two large rimmed baking sheets; brush both sides with oil and season with salt.
2. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. (If undersides are not browning, turn crostini over once during baking.) Let cool on baking rack.
3. Spread each crostini with goat cheese and top with a spoonful of red raspberry cranberry sauce. Sprinkle with parsely and chopped pistachios. Serve immediately.
I love repurposing recipes for another use! Some of my shortcuts are to make recipes that freeze well in advance and to use premade frozen crust for pies.
It’s helpful to have a plan. Sometimes I don’t think of it until it’s too late. Premade pie crusts sound like a great idea.
This crostini looks so delicious Diane, and I love that you gave both a traditional option and a lower sugar version as well! We are going to my in-laws for Thanksgiving, and I have signed up to bring desserts. My shortcuts are #1 Getting my daughter to help me (she loves to bake!) and #2 Using store bought gluten-free pie crusts from Whole Foods, which taste just as good as anything I would make 🙂
Perfect, involving your children is not only helpful to you, they begin to learn some ‘survival’ skills and can appreciate how food gets to the table! Hope you have a wonderful holiday, EA. Looking forward seeing some of your pics on social media sites.
Love your shortcut! I need to start thinking about holiday short cuts cause I definitely tend to overdo it on the holidays and spend about 72 hours straight in the kitchen!
Seventy-two hours? You are a culinary goddess!
Thank you for this – I would LOVE to have this stashed away for those busy days – I don’t think I’ve ever had raspberries and cranberries combined – but am so digging the sweet and tart combo! Perfect on pancakes or crostinis!!!
I have enjoyed this combination in every way: taste,color and aroma.
Especially with all the cooking during the holidays, short-cuts are always appreciated 😉
Thank you, Rebecca.