Goat Cheese Crostini with Grilled Nectarines

These Goat Cheese Crostini with grilled nectarines are the perfect summer appetizer because they're a little bit sweet, and a little bit savory.

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2014. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today for Goat Cheese and Grilled Nectarine Crostini is an absolutely delicious appetizer and it leads me to a little story I'll share with you about my overcoming a food fear head trip...

For a long, long time I was afraid to try goat cheese. I remember several years ago, as goat cheese was becoming all-the-rage, we were at a friend's backyard BBQ when the hostess had said that one of the guests had brought an appetizer that included goat cheese, and that it tasted like, what else? Goat!

Needless to say, this left a bad taste in my mouth and baaaaad (LOL, sorry, goat humor) fears in my head about what that must taste like.

But, just recently I decided to put my fears aside and I added goat cheese to my Roasted Golden Beet Salad and Broccoli Salad.

Well, guess what? I simply fell in love with that creamy, mellow, non-goat tasting cheese and now wonder why in the world I wasted so much time letting someone else's food preference dictate my own! Let that be a lesson to you kids!!!

Funny thing is, now I can't seem to get enough of goat cheese so I hope you're ready for more and more goat cheese recipes here on the blog. If you're anything like me and have been afraid to try it, I hope to persuade you that goat cheese truly is a uniquely mild cheese and it's even easier to digest than cows milk cheese for those of you with lactose digestive issues.

Now, before I get any further into this post, let me tell you that this is not my own original recipe. I found it in the June/July edition of Taste Of Home magazine and tweaked it ever so slightly by adding black pepper, a honey drizzle, olive oil on the bread, and a few sliced strawberries when I ran out of grilled nectarines.

GOAT CHEESE AND GRILLED NECTARINE AND STRAWBERRY CROSTINI
Makes - 12 - 15 servings       Prep Time:  15 minutes
{PRINT THIS RECIPE}

1 French baguette, sliced on an angle about ½" thick slices
2 nectarines, sliced into wedges
4-5 medium strawberries, sliced
1 cup fresh goat cheese, softened
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
black pepper
Honey for drizzling
6-7 large basil leaves, thinly sliced (i.e. chiffonade)

-Heat an indoor grill pan over high heat.
-Grill the baguette slices on each side until both sides have a nice color and grill marks. Remove.
-Reduce the heat to medium and place the nectarine slices on the grill pan, grilling both cut sides until each side is nicely marked  *Note - This should only take 45 seconds to a minute, depending on how ripe your nectarines are. Remove and set aside to cool.
-Drizzle each bread slice with a little extra virgin olive oil (one side only).
-Sprinkle each slice with a little black pepper and spread each slice with about a tablespoon of goat cheese.
-Arrange the grilled nectarines (and strawberries, if used) on top of the goat cheese and press lightly.
-Drizzle each crostini with a little bit of honey and sprinkle with the sliced basil.
-Eat immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

HOW TO CHIFFONADE BASIL:
-Stack several large basil leaves.
-Roll the leaves to form a tight cylinder.
-Thinly slice the leaves width wise forming thin, even basil strips.

See if you can resist. I know I can't!

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Dang, that was good! I hope you've enjoyed this recipe as much as I did and have learned a little something in the process. Don't take for granted that you don't like something until you've tried it. Be your own person, try new things, and make your own decisions. Like me, you'll be glad you did!

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