Crisp baguette slices topped with a mix of goat cheese and green garlic create a lively seasonal appetizer. Recipe below.

Babies and even toddlers have naturally sweet smelling breath. Baby’s breath, as it were. When older daughter Claire was not quite two years old, we were having dinner at the wonderful Blueberry Hill in St. Louis one evening. Marion’s salad arrived, festooned with a heap of raw red onion, which immediately captivated young Claire. She insisted on eating all of it. Carrying her as we left the restaurant later, I noticed that her breath was an amusing mix of baby’s breath and ONIONNNN!

In a way, that describes the taste of these luscious crostini. Goat cheese has a nice, mild, non-assertive flavor, and the green garlic—even used raw, as it is here—offers a much milder version of mature garlic’s big flavor. The end result is a crunchy, satisfyingly savory appetizer that melds the creamy richness of the cheese with a mild garlicky kick. Continue reading “Raw but still refined: Pan-grilled crostini with green garlic and chevre” →