Zippy Crostini

I had to clean out the refrigerator this weekend before putting away the “we’re ready for the isolation” COVID-19 grocery store run. We do a pretty good job of eating our leftovers here at Glover Gardens, so it wasn’t that onerous. No relics from Christmas in March. Well, except for that eggnog I threw out…

Toss or Keep?

There were a couple of bread items in the refrigerator that were at that almost-stale “toss or keep” stage. You’ve been in that dilemma, Dear Readers, so I know you know what I’m talking about: toss the bread and feel an inherited depression-era guilt for wasting food, or keep it, use it for a fabulous sandwich, and then bitterly regret that your bun resembles a recycled Amazon box.

Thankfully, there’s another option in the almost-stale decision tree beyond “toss or keep”: repurpose. So that’s what I did.

Zippy was a Natural Choice for the Crostini

I made croutons out of one of the buns, and what I’m calling Zippy Crostini out of the other. It uses my Zippy Southwest spice mix, the very first recipe I published here in the blog, on March 1, 2015. Wow, that was 5 years ago! I’ve learned a lot since then, but Zippy remains a staple here.

I’m sharing about the Zippy Crostini before the croutons, because so many of you out there either have some of my Zippy Southwest seasoning mix, or make it yourselves from the recipe. Keep sending me those pictures of the dishes you make with Zippy Southwest, folks, they inspire me!

A Quick Appetizer

The beauty of having these crostini toasts on hand is that you can make an instant appetizer. In less than 5 minutes, I topped the Zippy Crostini with a little avocado ranch dressing, tiny pieces of leftover chicken, red and green onion, and slices of grape tomato, making a perfect starter for our dinner.

Zippy Crostini Recipe

My mom used to make little toasts like this, but the recipe has been lost, so I made up a new one. The Grill-Meister was a big fan.

Time: 20 minutes; Yield: about 25 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 large stale or almost-stale bolillo roll or other long bun
• 3 tbsp butter
• between 3/4 and 1 tsp Zippy Southwest (recipe here) or other southwest seasoning (depending on your spice tolerance)

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to °375.

Slice the roll very thinly and arrange on a cookie sheet.

Melt the butter and add the Zippy Southwest seasoning, mixing well. Use a pastry brush to cover the bread slices with the Zippy/butter mixture.

Bake for ten minutes. Cool, then store in an airtight container.