Acronym awesomeness: the CB&J

When it comes to odd flavor combinations, this is nothing short of a revelation. Holding a tray of these out to my fellow party-goers on Christmas Eve, reactions ranged from “what the heck is cashew butter?” to “Blech. Figs. I hate figs.” Others just stared, smiling and nodding unconvincingly as I promised that, as weird as it sounded, these would be the best things to ever cross their taste buds.

I set the tray down next to the usual suspects—Spinach dip, shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers—sure these melty beauties would go untouched. Fortunately, I was wrong.

“What are these?”

(right?)

“Is that BACON I taste??”

(no bacon, just cheese, fig and cashew AWESOMENESS)

“Are they all gone?!?”

(no, we hoarded a stash in the basement by the bar)

I have to admit, I can’t take creative credit for this recipe. The flavor combo is courtesy of Hopleaf in Andersonville.

CB&J crostini

You’ll need:

1 jar cashew butter (I made my own by blending one lb. of salted cashews on high until creamy)

1 jar fig jam or “fig butter” (I got the Trader Joe’s Fig Butter and it was perfect)

8 oz cheese (either raclette, morbier, comte or mild gouda—any other quality swiss-type cheese would probably be good too)

1 sourdough baguette

3-4 tablespoons butter, melted

Slice sourdough baguette into crostini-sized slices. Brush generously with melted butter. Toast under broiler until they begin to turn golden—careful, it only takes a couple minutes. Remove and allow to cool enough to spread ingredients on toasts.

Start with a layer of cashew butter, then fig jam, then a small slice of cheese.

Toast under the broiler again for a few minutes, until cheese is nice and melty.

Serve hot. Next time, try this combo as a grilled cheese as Hopleaf does. Or  on a cracker! Or as a flatbread!! The possibilities are endless.