Mushroom Parmesan Crostini

A tasty appetizer which does not have to be made from scratch - thats how I would describe this tough sounding appetizer. It was really tasty with the universally loved flavours of bread- pizza sauce- mushrooms sauteed in olive oil- parmesan cheese! Whats not to love about this appetizer! The pictures are not so great because we all were impatient to get our hands on them and so I couldnt try better presentations. The kitchen was filled with a good aroma of the sauteed mushrooms and who could resist that! The bread was crisp against the soft sauteed mushrooms. I would like to suggest increasing the amount of sauteed mushrooms (double it) because I found the amount specified in the recipe to be not enough for all the crostinis. So I had to make a second batch in the middle of assembling them. I am posting the original recipe below. Make changes to the recipe according to your tastes.

Recipe (Makes 12 crostinis) :

White button mushrooms - chopped, 1 cup

French bread - 1 loaf, cut into 12 slices and toasted

Pizza sauce - 3/4 cup

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Garlic - 1 clove, chopped finely

Parmesan cheese - grated, 3/4 cup

Italian seasoning - as needed

Method:

Pre heat oven to 375F.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook garlic for 30 seconds.

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

On a baking sheet, arrange the bread slices.

Evenly spread the pizza sauce over the toasted bread slices.

Then top with sauteed mushrooms, cheese and seasoning.

Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Serve warm.

Source: Simple 1-2-3 Appetizers.

Tips:

1. Italian bread loaf can be used instead of french bread.I used pasta sauce instead of pizza sauce.
2. Mushrooms like shiitake, portobello and cremini are suggested in the book, but white button mushrooms worked just fine!
3. Fresh or dried basil leaves are suggested as the seasoning but I used Italian seasoning (a small pinch on each crostini before baking).
4. The bread, once sliced, can be easily be toasted in a toaster.

I made them around lunch time, but no one would wait to eat it (even I couldnt resist)! We had just 4-5 left by the time we had lunch. Since it was over the long weekend, we decided to do some grilling. Both of us are amateur grillers, but it was a safe bet since we didnt have any guests over! Here's a picture of one of the remaining crostinis that we had for lunch along with some grilled food on Memorial day. Enjoy!