Mandarin Orange and Prosciutto Crostini Recipe

Impress your guests with this delicious and easy prosciutto crostini recipe. Perfect for any occasion, these bite-sized appetizers are bursting with flavor and will leave your guests begging for more. Learn how to make them in just a few simple steps.

We have been loving our nativity dinner tradition and a few years ago we added this crostini recipe to the menu. It has been on repeat ever since. It is totally irresistible. This holiday appetizer is from one of my favorite cookbooks from my friend, Tara.

This savory crostini consists of toasted (or grilled) baguette slices topped with caramelized shallots, prosciutto, mandarin oranges, toasted hazelnuts and fresh thyme. The combination of flavors and textures is everything an irresistible appetizer should be!

What Do I Need to Make Prosciutto Crostinis?

Before you head to the grocery store to pick up all your holiday ingredients, be sure to add these items to your list:

• Baguette
• Olive oil
• Shallots
• Kosher Salt
• White Balsamic Vinegar
• Brown Sugar
• Bay Leaf
• Coriander Seeds
• Mandarin Oranges
• Prosciutto
• Toasted Hazelnuts
• Fresh Thyme

The measurements of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post so keep scrolling for all the details.

What is Prosciutto and Where Can I Find It?

Prosciutto is a dry-cured ham of Italian origin that is not cooked. It is usually very thinly sliced, very delicate, perfectly fatty and extremely elegant.

It can be found in the specialty meats area of your grocery store.

Does Prosciutto Need to Be Cooked?

No, it is cured using salt which draws out all the moisture and blood in the meat which makes it safe to eat without cooking.

How to Make Prosciutto Crostinis

Crostinis look so fancy and boujee, but they are really easy to make! You can even buy baguette slices that are already toasted if you want to eliminate a step. Here are the step-by-step directions:

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 375ºF and thinly slice a baguette.
2. Bake: Brush each slice of baguette with olive oil and place them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and bake until toasted. Let them cool completely.
3. Sauté: Heat a skillet over medium heat and sauté the shallot with the salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until the shallots are translucent – around 20 minutes.
4. Simmer: Add the vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaf and coriander seeds to the shallots and simmer until the vine

Holiday Pomegranate and Asparagus Salad

This delicious asparagus salad recipe is a refreshing and healthy addition to any holiday meal. Tossed with pomegranate arils and fresh oranges, it is the perfect balance of flavors and textures.

I’m always trying to find new ways to use asparagus because it’s pretty much the best vegetable ever. Don’t you think? It tastes so good! So I experimented with some fresh holiday flavors and colors and created this festive holiday salad.

Serve this side dish alongside your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast and it will be a bright burst of fresh flavor at your holiday meal. The asparagus, orange wedges and pomegranate are such a tasty trio. You’re going to love it!

What Do I Need to Make Pomegranate Asparagus Salad

Sometimes salads have tons of different ingredients, and sometimes salads are just a few perfectly paired ingredients. This salad recipe is the latter and this is all you will need:

• Asparagus
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Orange
• Pomegranate Arils
• Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola Cheese
• Butter
• Panko Breadcrumbs
• Balsamic Glaze

The measurements needed of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Substitutions for Blue Cheese

I know there are strong feelings out there about blue cheese, or other strong cheeses like gorgonzola. If you are opposed, go with feta cheese or even parmesan cheese would be a great option.

How to Make Asparagus Pomegranate Salad

You’re just a few simple steps away from a bold holiday salad that will be talk of your family gathering. Here are basic steps:

1. Roast: Place the asparagus spears on a sheet pan and toss them with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast under the broiler for a few minutes, rotating as needed.
2. Cool: Don’t overcook the asparagus. You want it to have some crispiness left to it. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.
3. Toast: Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small sauté pan and then add the Panko bread crumb. Let them get toasty brown stirring as needed. Then let it cool completely.
4. Toss: Slice the asparagus into bite-sized pieces and toss with the orange segments, orange zest, blue cheese and pomegranate seeds in a large bowl.
5. Drizzle: Add a drizzle of balsamic glaze and top with the toasted Panko. Serve and enjoy!

These instructions can also be found in the recipe card down below so keep scrolling for all the details.

What to Eat with Holiday Asparagus Salad

While this salad would be great any time of year, I envision eating it during the holiday season so here are some ideas for what to serve it with:

Read more

Grilled Flank Steak- My Favorite Balsamic Marinade

There’s nothing quite like a perfect grilled steak and so I’m sharing my secrets on Grilled Flank Steak and my favorite balsamic marinade. 

We went over to one of our friends’ home the other night for dinner. We brought the meat and salad and they supplied side and dessert (oh my gosh it was the most delicious strawberry shortcake. A true favorite of mine!)

I got this recipe from a girl I went to Elementary and Junior High School with. Fast forward 5,000 years, we became friends on facebook and the rest is history! 

Anyway, this is hands down our new favorite way to cook flank steak. If there is one meat recipe you try from me this weekend, make it this one. You will love it forever.

What is Flank Steak?

Flank steak is a somewhat tough but lean cut of beef that is long and flat. It is still quite flavorful but it mostly benefits from a marinade that tenderizes the meat.

Prepared this way, marinated, cooked quickly at high heat, and thinly sliced, flank steak practically melts in your mouth.

What’s in the Marinade?

At first glance, this flank steak recipe might look like a lot of ingredients, but you’ll likely have most of them in your pantry or fridge already. Here is everything you will need…

• Soy Sauce– This adds a lot of flavor and a touch of salt to balance out the sweetness in the marinade.
• Oil– Vegetable is what we use, but you could use olive oil.
• Dark Brown Sugar– Dark brown sugar gives a touch of sweet and balances the salty of the soy sauce, but we prefer dark brown sugar to add a little more depth of flavor.
• Worcestershire Sauce– Umami is the flavor you forget about. Yes, there’s sweet, salty, bitter, sour but did you know umami is that earthy goodness? Worcestershire enhances that in a beef marinade.
• Dijon Mustard–