Roasted Pears with Prosciutto and Burrrata: a Rustic App That Packs a Punch

I've tried to meditate many times, but I can't seem to quiet my mind. Still, if I were to take up meditation, my mantra would be "Aaahhh Burrata."

Whenever I walk into Whole Foods, or any specialty food store for that matter, I head straight for the cheese aisle. While I love cheese in any form, especially the smelly, oozy kind, there's one cheese in particular that I'm on the hunt for: burrata. I only find it on occasion, and when it's there, I pounce, reshaping my weekly menu around its creamy curds.

If you've never tried this gift from the gods, let me describe it for you. Burrata is an incredibly delicious fresh cheese consisting of an outer pouch of mozzarella and an inner filling of a combination of mozzarella curds and cream. It can be made from either buffalo or cow's milk, but is richer with buffalo milk. The result is rich and decadent, like popping a little cloud of dairy heaven in your mouth. Burrata actually means butter in Italian. It was created in Puglia in Italy in the 1920s but is now becoming more widely available in the US.

In the summer, when the tomatoes are sweet and fragrant, I don't get fancy. There's nothing better than rough slices of burrata on fresh farmers' market tomatoes. But even in winter, when the tomatoes taste worse than cardboard, I still pounce if I find burrata in the store. And that's when things get interesting.

Last week, I cobbled together a homely looking appetizer that was so good I licked the plate. I roasted some pear slices with honey and balsamic then topped them with a sliver of prosciutto and a dab of burrata. Each messy bite was creamy, sweet, and salty at the same time, heaven in my mouth. Now I just need to refine it so it's not too messy to serve to guests.

Roasted Pears with Prosciutto and Burrata
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes (to roast the pears)
Ingredients:
2 Pears (the harder kind such as D'Anjou)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of honey
3 slice of prosciutto
1 lump of burrata

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peel and slice the pears into 1 inch slices. Toss with the balsamic vinegar and honey.
3. Roast for 20 minutes in the oven until lightly crisp. 
4. Once the pears have cooled slightly, top with a sliver of prosciutto and burrata. Serve with napkins!

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites: the Perfect Thanksgiving Appetizer

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites before Thanksgiving Dinner

When most people think of Thanksgiving, they picture a golden turkey or mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes. but those aren't my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. When I head to my Mother in Law's Thanksgiving dinner, my mouth is watering for her pre-dinner appetizers: her mushroom roll-ups, pigs in blanket, and potato knishes that everyone nibbles on before sitting down to the serious business of eating. We always spend an hour or two just mingling, catching up, reconnecting and seeing what everyone's been up to for the last year. That can take a while as our Thanksgiving party is usually around 40 people.

It might be the conversation more than the finger foods, but those little bites have come to define Thanksgiving for me over the years, especially as there are never any appetizer leftovers. They're here, they're hot, and they're gone until next year.

Assembling the Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites is easy, even fun.

Last week, I made an appetizer that will be a perfect addition to our Thanksgiving gathering: Caramelized Pecan Roasted Squash Bites. The lightly crunchy shell yields to a rich, sweet filling. It's impossible to limit yourself to just one. And I'll probably have to make them again come Christmas time, just to show off my latest party trick.

I made a few variations on the roasted squash and nut base by topping some with a chunk of blue cheese and others with a little prosciutto. The kids loved the sweet plain squash bites and the adults loved the subtle complexity of the blue cheese and the prosciutto ones.

The filling can be made ahead of time and kept either in the refrigerator or the freezer to cut down on your Thanksgiving Day prep. For the dough, I used store-bought wonton wrappers. They were easy to work with and required no dough prep on my part, a great way to cut down on the Thanksgiving Day cooking.

I wrapped the sweet filling in wonton wrappers and pan fried them in batches in a little butter. The wontons can either be assembled ahead of time and kept in an airtight container, or assembled right there before you fry them. They take seconds to assemble. Just fill, wet one side, and press closed like an Asian ravioli. I put my 4 year old to work to assemble them and she had a blast.

Butter working its magic once again with these Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites.

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites
Servings: 30 bites
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes (including roasting squash)
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
2 butternut squash, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
salt, pepper
3/4 cups of chopped pecans
3 tablespoons of salted butter
1/4 cups of brown sugar
For the Bites
1 package of wonton wrappers
3 slices of prosciutto (optional)
1/4 cups of crumbled blue cheese (optional)
a little bowl of water
3 tablespoons of salted butter

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the squash into evenly sized cubes, about 1 1/2 inches in width, removing any tough outer skin and seeds.
3. Mix the squash pieces with the olive oil and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for an hour, or until soft, but not burnt. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. In a medium frying pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the pecans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until lightly caramelized and toasted.
5. Put the squash pieces and the pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse into blended into a puree that still has small chunks of pecans. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the bites.

TO MAKE THE BITES:

1. Remove the wonton wrappers from the package and spread in a single layer on a cutting board.
2. Place a small mound of filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper.
3. Optional - top some or all of the filling mounds with either blue cheese or prosciutto.
4. Moisten two edges of the wonton wrapper with a little water. 
5. Fold the wonton wrapper in a half, in a triangle shape, by putting a dry edge onto a wet edge and squeezing shut. It's important to not put too much filling or it will ooze out and prevent the wonton from sealing properly.
6. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan. Add the wonton raviolis in the pan in a single layer, in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until crispy and light brown. Serve immediately.
7. NOTE: I also tried to boil the wontons to make a quick and easy homemade ravioli dish. They held up and cooked without coming undone, but they looked horrible and tasted chewy. I don't even want to show you a picture. I should have tried to steam them as well, but the pan fried version was just too good and I simply had to eat them all without further experimenting.

Fresh Salsa Inspired by Stress

For the last week or so, we've been busy saying goodbye to friends and wrapping up our lives in Ohio. Last night we had some friends over for a goodbye barbecue, a great excuse to get them to help empty our shelves. I've been on a mission for the past two weeks, pressuring virtual strangers to accept jars of exotic marinades or mint flavored hot fudge, all in the spirit of purging.

When our friends arrived for the barbecue, I was staring at a large bowl filled with our CSA produce for the week, made more ecclectic by the crippling heat wave: one cucumber, a dozen heirloom tomatoes, a tiny melon, one garlic head, and a couple of onions. I wasn't sure what to do with it all, emphasis on all, until I realized that I was staring at the ingredients for a mean bowl of fresh salsa.

A few minutes of vigorous, stress-reducing chopping later, and we were all happily digging into some fresh and vibrant tomato and melon salsa. I didn't reach for a recipe book - that would have meant confronting another room I needed to think about packing up. I went by instinct, tossing in some white vinegar, some cayenne pepper, a little salt, and some fresh parsley, and tasting along the way.

Sometimes inspiration strikes at the most unexpected moments. If I hadn't been completely overwhelmed, staring at the piles of stuff I've accumulated in a year's life, I might never have thought to combine all that fresh produce together, in the perfect summer appetizer.

Homemade Melon Salsa
3 Beautifully Ripe Tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 vidalia onion
1/2 cup of parsley (or cilantro if no one objects!)
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like it hot)
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt

1. Chop all vegetables.
2. Toss veggies together.
3. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper.
4. Sprinkle parsley on top. Taste and season again if needed. If you have time to refrigerate it for an hour, the juices will meld. But you will need some serious restraint to hold off eating all this freshness until then!

Keeping Vacation Going with Fire Roasted Tomato Bruschetta

Every vacation has a price. No, I'm not talking about the cost of the plane tickets, hotel room, and meals, although those can be just as painful. I'm talking about the price you pay when you return and found all that you left behind: the unread emails, the postponed work, the cranky kids, and the unpaid bills. Just one look at it all takes care of any lingering vacation zen.

This morning, after dropping off the kids for school and bidding goodbye to the grandparents who made the vacation possible, I started freaking out, completely overwhelmed by how much I had to do. But then I took a deep breath, and I attacked the to do list, one step at a time. I began with the most important, the weekly menu. It's funny how with some good meals in the near future, all the stress seems to melt away.

Tonight for dinner, I wanted to keep the fun and freshness of vacation going with some bruschetta. Unfortunately the winter supermarket tomatoes are so bland that they seem like a completely different fruit than the heirloom summer beauties I used to make bruschetta last August. Instead, I turned to fire roasted canned tomatoes for some bright flavor.

Bruschetta made from canned roasted tomatoes is definitely not the same as summer bruschetta, but it's just as delicious, in a different way. It's less about the bright acid of zesty tomatoes and more about the smooth caramel flavor obtained from the roasting. Both are deep red, but with distinctive flavor, each well suited to their season.

Just one bite of this winter bruschetta brought all the peace and serenity of vacation rushing back... for a few minutes.

Balsamic Fire Roasted Tomato Bruschetta with Buffalo Mozzarella
Ingredients:
1 baguette
1 can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Organic)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
salt
pepper
1 package of buffalo mozzarella, coarsely chopped into large chunks

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice the baguette into 1 inch thick slices. Layer onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Brush a little olive oil over each baguette slice. Toast in oven for 5 minutes.
4. Drain the canned tomatoes and pour into a bowl.
5. Add the balsamic vinegar and remaining olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Remove the baguette toasts from the oven. Set on a platter.
7. Spoon some tomato mixture over each baguette slice. Top with a chunk of mozzarella.
8. Serve immediately.

Raspberry and Bacon Baked Brie and Pillsbury Crescent Dough Giveaway

There's one party appetizer that I can't resist, not matter how full I am. Once someone brings out that baked brie hidden behind its golden crust, I am done for. I will spend the rest of the night, knife in hand, devouring it slice by slice. Depending on how well I know the other guests, I may let them in to grab a few bites, but not many. That baked brie is mine, and I'm not sharing.

A few weeks ago, the MyBlogSpark team sent me a lovely package containing three white serving platters and some coupons for free Pillsbury Crescent roll dough. (I have the same package available for giveaway... read on). Then they gave me a challenge that I was happy to accept: create a recipe using the dough.

They sent me links to three basic recipes that I could improve upon: Crescent-Wrapped Brie, Crescent Bacon Cheese Tartlets, and Crescent Holiday Tree.

Of course there was no doubt which one appealed to me the most. But I didn't want to just do the regular baked brie with jam, I wanted to make it better, more unusual, more irrestible. In my book, there are really two ingredients that can make anything better: butter and bacon. And as adding butter to baked brie would really be a little too much of a good thing, I chose to add bacon.

The end result was truly sublime. Imagine the salty crunchiness of the bacon paired with the warm creamy brie and then finished off with sweet yet tart raspberry jam... all under a flaky crust. Are you salivating? Don't deny it. You know you'll be right next to me at the next party, fighting me for the last bite of this raspberry bacon baked brie.

Raspberry Bacon Baked Brie
Ingredients:
1 package of Pillsbury Refrigerated Seamless Dough Sheet
4 slices of bacon
1 round of brie
1/3 cup of raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a frying pan, brown the slices of bacon.
   
3. Roll out seamless dough on a silpat or waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Place the brie on top. Spoon the raspberry jam and spread it out to cover the brie entirely. Be generous with the jam as it will diminish in cooking. Crumble the bacon on top.
4. Wrap the dough around the brie. Cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
5. Serve immediately, but don't tell too many others that it's ready or you'll have to share!
   

As I mentioned above, I have the same set of platters and coupons that I received available for giveaway today for one of my readers, courtesy of Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark. For a chance to win, leave a comment here before Friday, February 5. I'll select the winner at midnight that night.

As usual, you can get extra chances to win by:

• linking to this contest on your blog,
  
• subscribing to my Chefdruck Musings feed
• subscribing to my Chefdruck Reviews feed.
• tweeting this contest.
  

Just remember to leave me a different comment to get credit for each extra entry.

Foie Gras, our Once a Year Indulgence

It's been so hectic that I haven't had a minute to blog about Christmas eve, our biggest, most outlandish, most extravagant meal of the year. Christmas in our family has always meant marathon feasts. As a child in France, we alternated Christmas dinner between our house and my aunt's house. Every year, the host family would try to outdo last year's meal, an undisguised rivalry that yielded great dividends for all attending. My mother would tend to focus on top-notch sides and appetizers while my aunt and her husband usually raised the bar with exotic main courses like suckling pig and whole venison. After one gruesome vision of a discarded antler on the kitchen counter one night, I learned to stay put at the table and focus on the dinner in front of me.

Now that my sisters and I live in the States, we still go all out for Christmas eve, cooking all the dishes we enjoyed as kids during the Reveillon de Noel and many American ones that we've added to the roster.

There are many items that make the menu every year. We always begin with a few appetizer courses like freshly shucked oysters and smoked salmon toasts before moving on to turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and carrot souffle. And we always conclude with a chocolatey Buche de Noel (yule tide log) for dessert.  But if you were to ask any of my sisters which is the one item that represents Christmas dinner for them, I know without the shadow of a doubt that they would all answer: Foie Gras.

We each begin our feast with one generous slice of rich, savory Foie Gras terrine. Many Americans don't understand the appeal of foie gras. When I mention how much I crave this expensive treat, they ask, "What's the big deal? Is it pate? Why is it so good? Why is it so expensive?" I certainly don't want to go into the disturbing process of how Foie Gras is made in this post. It's one of those things I've chosen not to dwell too much on. You can call me shallow, you can call me cruel, but I won't give up my Foie Gras, even if they have outlawed it in Chicago.

In years past, we've ordered our foie gras terrine from D'Artagnan, and waited breathlessly for the next day air delivery of the terrine packed in dry ice. But for the last couple of years, we've been disappointed with their foie gras, finding it lacking in seasoning and salt. So this year, I bought a raw lobe at the North Market Poulty and and Game stand, and made my own terrine.

Even with my mother at my side, I was pretty terrified to fool around with such expensive ingredients. Our raw foie gras cost over a hundred dollars, and I didn't want to be the one to ruin the cornerstone of our meal. But thanks to my mother's experience, and the clear instructions of the French recipe site 750 Grammes, our foie gras was as wonderful as we'd hoped, and it was surprisingly easy to make.


Foie Gras Terrine
Ingredients
1 pound of raw foie gras (duck or goose)
5 oz of salt
2 teaspoons of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
6 teaspoons of a sweet wine such as Sauternes

1. Submerge the lobes in room temperature water for an hour.
2. Remove the lobes, dry them, and place them on a cutting board. Separate them. Make three slits in each lobe and delicately remove the dark nerves. These will be very obvious as the bulk of the liver will be yellow, and the nerve will be dark and bloody. Remove as many of the veins as possible. Don't worry too much about cutting up the liver as it will melt back together while baking.
3. Place the cleaned livers in a terrine. Press down on them with the palm of your hand and cover with the salt, pepper, sugar, and wine. Put the terrine in the fridge to macerate for 12 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Boil some water and pour water in a large shallow oven-safe dish.
6. Place the terrine in the simmering water (in a bain Marie), this will ensure even cooking. Place the terrine in the water dish in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. The foie will have shrunk down by 1/2 inch by then.
7. Remove from the water bath and let the foie cool at room temperature for 3 hours.
8. Weigh down the foie with a cardboard covered with foil topped with some cans to really push it down. Place it in the fridge for 24 hours to finish the process.
9. Your foie gras is now ready to eat with some toasted brioche or challah bread.
   

How to Be the Block Party Queen

Chefdruck's Tasty Tuesday

I came out of the blogging closet to my new neighbors last week. Coming out the first time in New Jersey to friends who had known me for years was tough. Coming out to new acquaintances was terrifying, but I wanted to bite the bullet and get it out there before the secret took on a life of its own.

We were standing at the bus stop, waiting for the kids to get home and I just came out with it. My timing could have been better though. You see, last weekend was our block party. My neighbor just smiled and said, "Well, I'm expecting great things from you now that I know you've got some sort of fancy food blog."

FANCY FOOD BLOG?????

The heat was on. I needed to come up with some killer recipes, and I needed them fast.

So I combed through my past posts and my recipe books and I decided to make something fresh, something homey, and something boozy: Goat Cheese Tomato Bruschetta, Turkey Sloppy Joes with cheddar buttermilk biscuits, and White Sangria.

All three were delicious... but the big hit was definitely the sangria. I'm not sure that I helped to give food bloggers a good name, but I definitely brought the sweet caress of alcohol (to quote Nancy Botwin and keep the Weeds buzz going a little longer) to our court.

I've posted about the Turkey Sloppy Joe recipe before so I'll just link to it instead of repeating myself.

Goat Cheese Tomato Bruschetta (adapted from the Muir Glen Organics recipe)
2 cups of strained chopped fresh tomatoes (or 1 can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained)
1/2 cup of kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
salt
pepper
1/2 cup of soft fresh goat cheese
1 baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1. Chop tomatoes, straining to lose most of the liquid.
2. Mix together tomatoes, olives, basil, olive oil, balsamic and salt and pepper.
   
3. Toast bread.
4. Spread each slice with a smear of goat cheese. Top with tomato mixture and serve immediately.

White Sangria
Ingredients: 1 bottle of white wine, preferably on the sweeter side such as Riesling, Vouvray or Sauvignon Blanc 1/4 cup of triple sec 1/2 quart of lemonade - partially frozen 1/4 cup of white grapes, halved 1/4 cup of melon, large dice 1/4 cup of peaches, peeled and diced sprig of mint (optional)

1. Cut up all fruit and place in bottom of large pitcher.
2. Add chillled white wine, triple sec, and partially frozen lemonade. I took lemonade in a carton and froze it for an hour before pouring it in my mixture. It had the consistency of a slushie.
3. Stir well. Taste. Garnish with mint before serving.
   

Tasty Tuesday: Balsamic Goat Cheese Roasted Figs

When I walked in to Whole Foods yesterday, I was greeted by a beautiful sight: ripe juicy purple figs. And to make my discovery even more perfect, each basket of figs was priced at $2.99, an unbelievable bargain. I've seen figs as expensive as one or two dollars a piece.

I love figs plain and raw, love biting into their honey sweet flesh, but I also have a delicious appetizer that I love to make with a basket of fresh figs. I roast them with balsamic vinegar and fresh goat cheese. It's a dish that comes together in less than ten minutes and the flavors complement each other perfectly. To compromise, I make sure to buy enough to sneak a few raw figs while I'm cooking.

Roast Figs with Balsamic and Goat Cheese
Ingredients: a dozen figs balsamic vinegar fresh goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse the figs and slice them in half, lengthwise.
3. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on each fig.
4. Smear a dollop of goat cheese on top of each fig.
5. Drizzle a little more balsamic over the goat cheese.
6. Roast the figs in the oven for 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
   

A Blogging Novice Shares Beef Cooking Tips

Chefdruck's Tasty Tuesday
A few weeks ago, I received an invite from the Beef Council to an enticing event: a cooking demonstration by Chef David Zino at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). I love cooking classes (especially at ICE where I have taken tons with my husband) and I LOVE a good steak, but I was planning on being in France during the event.

So I sent my baby sister to attend in my stead. While not a blogger, Charlotte (or Tiffany as we know her, but that's a story for another day), is a great writer and possibly a bigger steak lover than me.

After you read her post below, I think you'll agree with me that she needs to join her blogging sisters because her writing rocks! And what a trooper - she was the first to jump up and volunteer to try her hand at butchering.

“When people ask me what the most tender cut in beef is, I always answer they all are as long as you know how to cook it properly.”

Teaching us how to do so was exactly what Chef Dave Zino, executive director of the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, had in mind the other morning at the Institute of Culinary Education. Twelve of us sat huddled in a circle around his sizzling pan. Strangers, united by two common threads: a passion for blogging and a love of beef.

The demonstration began. Chef Dave Zino stood behind the counter and showed us how to broil, grill, roast and stir-fry, dispersing little nuggets of his knowledge of beef during the process. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Beef can be “grain fed” or “grass finished.” Grain fed cattle spend most of their lives eating grass and hay in pastures and then move to a feedlot consisting of grain, vitamin and mineral supplements. This increases weight which means more marbling. Grass fed, as the name implies, forage their whole life. This is more rare in North America due to the climate. Most grass fed beef is imported from Australia or New Zealand
2. In beef, fat = flavor. The more marbling, the more favor or juiciness
3. Beef is composed of 72% water, 20% protein and %7 fat. Therefore, it’s best not to salt the meat before cooking as this will draw the water out and remove the juiciness
4. Acidic marinades (citrus juices, vinegar, vinaigrettes, salsa, yogurt and wine) are best suited for tender beef cuts. Only marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Tenderizing ingredients (fresh ginger, pineapple, papaya, kiwi and figs) are best for less tender cuts such as chuck, round, flank and skirt. These can be marinated for 6 to 24 hours. However, beef marinated for longer than 24 hours can develop a mushy texture!
5. Freeze fast but thaw slow! Make sure your freezer is kept at 0°F or lower. Always thaw the beef in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. 

Then came the part that we were all waiting for: lunch! We sat down to an appetizer of Pistachio-Herb Cheese & Caramelized Onion-Topped Beef Tenderloin Crostini followed by a very simple steak & tomato salad, composed of sliced, grilled steak, arugula, tomatoes, parmesan shavings topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.

After 2 hours of slicing, grilling, stiring and tasting, we all made it out the door and back on to the streets of NYC. 100% confident with our beef cooking abilities? Maybe not entirely but we had definitely been given some food for thought.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of the Beef Council:

Pistachio-Herb Cheese & Caramelized Onion Topped Beef Tenderloin Crostini
Total Recipe Time: 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours

1 center-cut beef tenderloin roast (2 to 3 pounds)
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup coarse ground black pepper
72 French baguette bread slices (about 3-inch diameter x 1/2 inches thick)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 cups sun-dried tomato spread
Finely chopped parsley

Pistachio-Herb Cheese Spread:
1/2 cup (3-1/4 ounces) garlic & herb cheese spread
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, toasted, finely chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons half-and-half

Caramelized Onion Relish:
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups thinly sliced onions (1/8-inch thick)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. Prepare Pistachio-Herb Cheese Spread and Caramelized Onion Relish. Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 425°F. Combine garlic and pepper. Press evenly onto all surfaces of roast. Place roast on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is centered in thickest part of beef. Roast in 425°F oven 35 to 40 minutes for medium rare; 45 to 50 minutes for medium doneness.
3. Remove roast when meat thermometer registers 135°F for medium rare; 150°F for medium. Transfer roast to carving board; tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature will continue to rise about 10°F to reach 145°F for medium rare; 160°F for medium.) 
4. Meanwhile, brush both sides of bread slices with oil; arrange on baking sheets. Bake in 425°F oven 6 to 8 minute or until toasted and light golden brown. Cool.
5. Carve roast into thin slices. Spread each bread slice with 1 teaspoon tomato spread; top evenly with beef. Top half of the beef slices with 1 teaspoon Pistachio-Herb Cheese Spread; top the remaining half with 1 tablespoon Caramelized Onion Relish. Garnish with parsley, as desired. 

Makes 72 appetizer servings

Cook's Tip: Caramelized Onion Relish can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.

Cook's Tip: For best results, stir nuts into cheese spread shortly before using.

Cook's Tip: To make slicing onions easier, cut them lengthwise in half first.