Mini Croustades Recipes

MUSHROOM CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter (or spray with butter-flavored Pam) 48 mini-muffin tins.
• Cut a 2-inch round from each slice of bread and press into muffin tins. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until tender and the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. Sprinkle with flour; stir thoroughly, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add cream and stir constantly while bringing to a boil. Add wine, reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and stir in cayenne pepper, parsley and green onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spoon mushroom filling into croustades and place on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Heat in oven for 10 minutes or until bubbly.

LITTLE CROUSTADES FILLED WITH GRAVADLAX AND SOURED CREAM

Steps:

• Begin by placing the slices of bread on a flat surface and rolling them with a rolling pin to make them as thin as possible. Next stamp out rounds using a 2¼ inch (5.5 cm) plain cutter. Melt the butter in a small pan containing the garlic and a seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper. Now brush the little bread rounds on both sides with melted butter and then press them into the tins firmly. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes or until crisp and brown. Cool them on a wire rack and store them in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks. To fill them for serving, simply pile the finely chopped gravadlax into each one and top with a little of the sauce that comes with it. Add a blob of soured cream and a dash of cayenne pepper.

CROUSTADES WITH DUXELLES

Steps:

• Croustades: with a pastry brush, coat the inside of two miniature muffin pans (24 total muffins) with the melted butter.
• With a plain or fluted 2 1/2" cutter, cut rounds from the 24 slices of bread; carefully fit them into the muffin tins, pushing the center of the bread into the well and gently molding them around the bottom of the tin Push the tops of the bread rounds into petal shapes; each bread round should form a little cup Bake the croustades at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until they brown slightly on the rims, then remove them from the tins and let them cool.
• Duxelles: In a heavy 10-inch skillet, slowly melt the butter; add the shallots, stir them and cook over moderate heat for about 4 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and stir thoroughly to coat them with butter In a few minutes, they will begin to give up a good deal of moisture Stir them from time to time and continue to cook until all the moisture has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes; remove pan from heat; cool slightly.
• Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir until not a trace of flour is visible; pour in the cream.
• Put pan back on heat and stir constantly while bringing to a boil; simmer 5 minutes Remove from heat; add salt, parsley, chives and lemon juice.
• Cool filling.
• Use a small spoon or a decorating bag to fill the croustades, mounding the filling slightly; sprinkle each one with a little bit of parmesan cheese.
• Before serving, heat the croustades at 350° for about 10 minutes.

BREAD CUP MUSHROOM CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Bread Cup: Preheat oven to 400°F Cut a 2-3 inch round from each bread slice. Gently fit bread rounds into each mold of a mini-mufin pan to form a cup. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and set aside.
• Filling: In a heavy skillet, saute shallots in butter for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and simmer, uncovered until all liquid has evaporated; about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir flour into mushrooms. Pour cream over and return to heat.
• Stirring constantly, bring to boil and cook another minute or so while mixture becomes very thick. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
• Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until cool.
• Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F Fill cups with mixture and sprinkle with minced parsley and parmesan cheese of desired. Bake 10 minutes on ungreased baking sheet.
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• NOTE: Appetizers can be made in advance and then frozen for future use. Follow the Bread cup and Filling directions above. Freeze the filled cups in the mini-muffin pan. Once frozen, you can place them in plastic bags for easier storage. When you remove them from the freezer, allow to thaw completely before baking them.