Monday, July 21, 2008

Salsiccia, goat cheese, and 'Mostarda di Beddu' on Crostini

One of the best outcomes of a weekend full of cooking (just take a look at my & Tagert's recent posts!) is good leftovers to take to work. I was able to pull this delicious & simple lunch together from pieces of meals I'd prepared over the weekend. The ingredients included:

I've become a fan of Mark Sanfilippo's artisan Italian salumi. The only current retail location for Salume Beddu, as his company is called, is the Tower Grove Farmers' Market and supplies are limited, so you have to get there early to get any of his hand-crafted meats. Alas, I arrived late this past Saturday and he & his wife were already sold out of everything except two spreads - 'Mostarda di Beddu' & 'Cannellini alla Toscana.' I went with the 'Mostarda' because it was a sweet, savory, & salty (my favorites!) spread featuring dried figs & other fruits, red chile, white wine, and mustard seed. I knew it would pair well with the goat cheese I had on hand, so into my lunch bag it went.

Mark may have been out of salsiccia but luckily Manzo's Importing was not. If you've never made the journey to Manzo's at Macklind & Devonshire in South St. Louis then you're missing out on one of the more interesting speciality shops St. Louis has to offer. I've known owner Pete Manzo for years, and have been a fan of the salsiccia he & his family produce for just as long. They do several different kinds of salsiccia, all good, but I'm a fan of their Traditional Salsiccia which has a wonderfully subtle fennel flavor. I had grilled some salsiccia for an appetizer that I took to a dinner on Sunday and luckily had some leftover. I threw those in the lunch bag, too.

I also had a chunk of Baetje Farms' Coeur de la Creme left from a few days back. I've blogged about this fantastic chevre-style goat cheese before, which I still have no qualms about declaring as one of the best cheeses I've ever had. One of my favorite aspects of their cheese is that it keeps really well - up to 2 weeks in the fridge...although I've never been able to keep it for more than a few days because I can't stop sampling!

I rounded out the "nibbly bits" lunch with some sundried tomatoes I had from Schnucks and some herbed crostini I'd made on Sunday with some 2-day-old baguette. Assembly was a snap - I spread the goat cheese on the crostini, layered on a sundried tomato & a slice or two of salsiccia, and topped it all off with a spoonful of the 'Mostarda.' The result was fantastic - crunchy, creamy, meaty, salty, tangy & sweet in every bite! Everyone should have leftovers this
tasty at work!!


Salsiccia, goat cheese, and Mostarda di Beddu on Crostini

Chris
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com

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