Friday Flavor ~ Mid-Summer Peach Basil Crostini

As promised, we are featuring our first Friday Flavor recipe by Kate Riley today!  I am so excited!  Kate is the chef and owner of Gather Catering in Boston, Massachusettes.  The concept behind Gather is so simple and sweet, and is just one of the reasons that I am honored to have Kate as part of the team here at aperfectpeach.  Kate is extremely creative, uses seasonal and local ingredients, and is completely motivated by the idea of being able to inspire some of life's sweetest moments by sharing food with your family and friends.  Thanks for being here, Kate! 

Hello aperfectpeach readers!  I am so happy to be here and to be sharing the first of many recipes - Mid-Summer Peach Basil Crostini.  Here is a little info on how the recipe was inspired.  

My family has a summer house on an island in a lake in Maine, and I try to make it up a least a couple of times every summer. The lake is huge and spotted with little neighborhood sandy beaches where everyone flocks to take a dip. Each beach has a personality of sorts, and Beach #8 across from my parents’ house is known for its happy hours. Nearly every day at 5PM, neighbors start heading up from the beach to go back to their tiny little cottage kitchens and whip up a snack to share at happy hour. Everyone returns to the beach, tables are dragged from their hiding spots in the woods and everyone dives in.

This past weekend while I was there, I was caught unprepared. I hadn’t planned out my snack for happy hour! So, I poured through my mother’s kitchen to see what I could put together. I found a loaf of walnut bread and set the wheels in motion- thinking it was the perfect base for some kind of savory/sweet crostini. I grabbed a just-ripe peach from the counter and remembered the HUGE pot of basil my mother grows every year on the sunniest park of the deck. I thought “peaches are sweet… basil is sweet…” and got to work! From this was born my Mid-Summer Peach Basil Crostini!  Here’s what you need:

For the crostini base:
Half a loaf of nutty bread (It can be walnut, pecan, whatever you’ve got!). Slice into bite-sized pieces and toast.
3 tablespoons cream cheese

For the Peach Basil topping:
1 ripe peach, chopped
A handful of fresh basil, torn into small pieces
1 teaspoon of red-wine or blush vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
A pinch of salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Spread the cream cheese onto the toasted bread. Toss the topping ingredients in a bowl. Spoon over the top of the bread, making sure to include the juices at the bottom of the bowl. Serve immediately!

Enjoy and have a great weekend! Can't wait to see you again next week!  Kate

Happy Friday, everyone - what a great way to end our first week as a blogger!  Thanks so much for reading!