by Esther Serouya

Serve the assorted toppings in small bowls on a tray  in the center of the overlapping toasted crostini.

Your guests will help themselves, and the crostini will stay fresh and crispy.

For the Crostini:

• simply cut a french bread into wedges and brush with olive oil mixed with crushed garlic,  and  a sprinkle of kosher salt.
• Toast for 10 minutes @ 350 degrees
• Helpful tip from Martha Stewart: For an extra layer of flavor, use a garlic- or herb-infused oil. To plan ahead for a party, bake the crostini toasts up to a week in advance, and top just before serving. To store, keep at room temperature in a resealable plastic bag, up to 1 week.

Sun Dried Tomato and Olive Tapenade:

1 cup sun dried tomoatoes soaked and drained

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 tsp capers

1/2 tsp minced garlic

3 tbs olive oil

blend everything in blender till smooth

Homemade Babaganoush:

4 small eggplants

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic chpped

1/2 cup tehini

salt and pepper

Slice the eggplant lengthwise and roast face down on tray till soft about 40 mins.

Discard seeds, scoop out and mash the flesh.add remaining ingredients and mix well.

From Martha Stewart:

Basil Tomato Crostini:

Yields topping for 30 crostini

1 pint chopped grape or cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, basil leaves, olive oil, and red-wine vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Top crostini with topping.

Tehini Miso Dip:

1 cup miso

1 1/4 cup tehini

1 cup shredded carrots

Blend miso in blender with 1 cup of water

Add tehini and shredded carrots season with salt and pepper.

From Jamie Oliver:

Squashed Cannellini Beans with Garlic

Pick the leaves off a couple of sprigs of rosemary and pound them gently in a mortar and pestle with a little salt. Add a glug of extra-virgin olive oil and stir, then put to one side. Fry two sliced cloves of garlic in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Add 1 ¾ cups of good-quality drained and rinsed cannellini beans and continue to simmer gently for seven minutes. Season the beans well with salt and pepper and a swig of red wine vinegar, then mash them up using the back of a fork until you have a coarse purée. Smear your hot crostini with the bean purée and spoon your rosemary oil over the top.