Roasted Balsamic Cranberry and Brie Crostini

Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year for discovering and experimenting with new foods - after all, there are so many other good food choices around that even if the experiment flops, it can be quietly scraped into the garbage and it's existence earnestly denied. But when something pops - oh boy does it pop! 
I was a little bored, so I decided to jettison the traditional cranberry sauce this year. But since I refuse to have thanksgiving sans cranberries, I knew I would have to find some new way to put them back on the table - if only for my own benefit. I found this recipe on pinterest, and knew it could either be quite awful, or simply amazing. Since I am an optimist, I went for it. And I won Thanksgiving.


Roasted Balsamic Cranberry and Brie Crostini

• Toasted baguette slices or crostini (I cheated and bought mine, but you can make your own fairly easily. See the original recipe for a good example).

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries

• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 Tablespoon rosemary

• 4 ounces triple cream brie

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. In a small bowl, stir together the cranberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and rosemary. Spread these out on a rimmed baking sheet. (They get pretty sticky, so if you want to avoid scrubbing, line the pan with parchment paper or tinfoil).

1. Place the cranberries in the oven. Roast for approximately fifteen minutes. At this point, the cranberries should be popped open with juices running out. Remove cranberries from the oven and transfer to another bowl before they glue themselves to the sheet.

1. Top each baguette with a slice of brie and a spoonful of cranberries. Garnish with thyme if desired. These can be served while the cranberries are still warm, or you can make the components ahead of time like I did and store them in the fridge. Simply assemble and serve at room temperature when you're ready!

Courtesy of Neighbor Food blog