Party with cheese, bean crostini

If the holidays have you scrambling for party-worthy grub, consider crostini (Italian for bread with stuff piled on it).

The beauty of crostini is that the components often can be prepared ahead of time. The bread, for example, can be sliced, drizzled with olive oil and toasted up to a day in advance. Just let the slices cool completely and store them in an airtight container until needed.

With the bread out of the way, all you need to do is sort out what to put on it. You can go the easy route and smear some soft goat cheese over each slice, then sprinkle them with fresh thyme leaves and drizzle them with honey.

Or you could top each with a folded slice of prosciutto and a sliver of Parmesan cheese. Pop them in a 300 F oven for 5 minutes, or until just warmed through (but don't let the cheese melt).

Sweet and savory work well, too. Try a smear of cream cheese topped with pepper jelly and thinly sliced scallion. Or substitute a bit of smoked salmon for the jelly for a bagel-and-lox treatment.

This recipe for crostini topped with mashed white beans, Gorgonzola and honey is easily done ahead. Toast the bread as directed above. Prepare the beans as directed, then let them cool, cover tightly and refrigerate up to a day. Before serving, reheat the beans in a saucepan over low (you may need to add a tablespoon or so of water), then assemble.

Gorgonzola and white bean crostini with honey

From start to finish, this recipe takes 25 minutes, and it makes 30 crostini.

18-inch baguette, cut into 30 slices

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

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