Not only does this appetizer make a beautiful presentation, many steps may be made in advance of your simple celebration. You can either serve this as an appetizer or put 3 on each plate and make it a first course.
Shrimp, Avocado and Sun-Dried Tomato Crostini
Servings 9
Ingredients
- 1 sourdough baguette sliced into 18 pieces
- 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- 18 X-large raw shrimp shelled and deveined
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp fresh dill minced
- 1 tsp red onion diced
- 1/2 ripe avocado sliced into 18 small slices
- 18 pieces sun-dried tomatoes cut into small pieces
Instructions
Baguette (can be made earlier in the day)
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Place 18 slices on baguette on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Put 1 Tbsp olive oil in a small bowl and brush oil over each baguette slice.
- Broil until slices turn slightly brown. This will be a quick 1 -2 minutes.
Shrimp (can be made earlier in the day)
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Add shrimp, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook shrimp until it turns pink and curls, about 4 minutes
- If you are not assembling the appetizer at this point, refrigerate the shrimp and take out about 30 minutes in advance to let it get to room temperature.
Cream Cheese Mixture
- Place cream cheese, dill and red onions in a small bowl and stir.
Assembly
- Place baguette slices on a platter. Spread the cream cheese mixture over each piece.
- Next place a shrimp, avocado slice and sun-dried tomato over the cream cheese and serve.
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Want to make this in advance? Simply freeze the “soup” portion of the recipe and when ready to serve, heat through and pick up the recipe at instruction #6.
French Onion Soup
Servings 8
Calories 285kcal
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 yellow onions halved sliced thin
- 1 leek light green and white part only, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 8 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1/4 tsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 16 slices baguette bread thinly sliced
- 12 oz. Gruyère cheese grated, or similar cheese
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. .
- Add the onions and leek and sauté for about 15 minutes - until the onions and leek are soft and caramelized. Stir often.
- Add wine and simmer until wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place 8 small soup crocks or large ramekins on the baking sheet and fill 3/4 full of soup.
- Place 2 slices of baguette on top of soup and top with shredded cheese.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese has melted
Notes
You can broil for a minute or so if you want a brown crust.
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