Herbed Focaccia Crostinis with a Carmelized Onion Sweet Corn Relish

I'm away on vacation this week down on the Eastern shore of Virginia at Chincoteague Island! 

I've never been to the Island before but have always grown up knowing it existed (I remember reading the book Misty as a little girl) and had heard so many wonderful things about how lovely the beaches are and how cool it is to see the wild horses roaming around freely.

So far the island has lived up to all of the hype I've heard extremely well and I'm enjoying a fabulous vacation of not really doing a whole lot of anything.  I've laid on the beach, I've laid on a dock, I've laid on the deck of the house I'm staying at, I've laid on the couch....I've been doing a lot of laying around :)

I've also been doing a bit of cooking though as well! I love volunteering to cook for a meal or two when I go on vacation with others because I can pick recipes that involve a little extra prep work because I have the time to devote to make it.  I'm planning on making some yummy fish tacos later this week but I tried out a new crostini idea as an appetizer for us all on Monday night and these little "Chincoteague Crostinis" were the fabulous result.

I've nicknamed them the "Chincoteague Crostinis" because to adequately describe them they would have to be called "Herbed Focaccia Crostinis with Prosciutto, Sharp Cheddar and a Sweet Corn Caramelized Onion Relish" which sounds fabulous....but maybe is just a little bit of a mouthful? 

But maybe we can handle a mouthful for the name...because you can DEFINITELY handle a mouthful of this delicious little appetizer because they were fabulous. It starts with a deliciously fresh piece of focaccia bread pre-seasoned with garlic, thyme, and various other herbs that I melted an extra sharp white cheddar cheese on top of.  Add a thin slice of prosciutto before a fresh relish made with grilled sweet corn, carmelized onions, and just a hint of a squeeze of lemon....oh god.  I'm literally drooling remembering how delicious these little crostinis were!

So, call them whatever you want, but DEFINITELY plan on making your own version and giving this recipe a go!

 Herbed Focaccia Crostinis with Prosciutto, Sharp Cheddar and a Sweet Corn Caramelized Onion Relish

Ingredients

• Herbed Focaccia Bread (I bought mine from Wegmans)
• Prosciutto
• Sharp White Cheddar
• Four Ears of Sweet Corn
• One Vidalia Onion
• Lemon Juice
• Thyme
• Parsley Flakes
• Olive Oil

 Optional ingredient: reisling to drink while cooking :)

Steps

Chop up the onion

Slowly cook until caramelized on the stove top with some olive oil

Grill four ears of sweet corn with the husks left ON to protect the corn kernels 

 Slice corn kernels off the cob

Prepare the sweet corn relish by mixing the corn, onions, and juice from half of a lemon. Season to taste with fresh ground salt and pepper.

Slice focaccia bread into thin slices and cut each slice in half for the crostini base

Slice off some thin slices of the white cheddar

Line crostinis up on a cookie tray

Brush with olive oil

Top with some cheese

Then pop it in the oven and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes

Now time to spice things up a bit...slice up some thin strips of prosciutto

Place on top of the melted cheddar

and then spoon a bit of the sweet corn relish onto each crostini!

Sprinkle a little extra thyme and parsley flakes over each crostini and then ENJOY!

These little bites were just amazing. Sweet corn is still so in season right now so the sweetness of the corn mixed with the hint of lemon juice was such a perfect topper for this yummy focaccia bread! I made two whole cookie trays of these goodies and they were ALL eaten. A new favorite for sure, and a fun little memory from my first stay in Chincoteague.

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Herbed Focaccia Crostinis with a Carmelized Onion Sweet Corn Relish

by Rebecca Grafton from My Girlish Whims August-17-2016

Nick-named the "Chincoteague Crostini" this little appetizer features Prosciutto, Sharp Cheddar and a Sweet Corn Caramelized Onion Relish

Ingredients

• Herbed Focaccia Bread
• Prosciutto
• Sharp White Cheddar
• 4 Ears of Sweet Corn
• 1 Vidalia Onion
• Lemon Juice
• Thyme
• Parsley Flakes
• Olive Oil

Instructions

Chop onions and cook in a frying pan over medium heat with olive oil until caramelizedGrill ears of corn, husk left on and let cool. After cooled cut kernels off of the cobCreate sweet corn relish by combining the corn kernels, onions, juice from half of a lemon, and add freshly ground salt and pepper to tasteCut focaccia bread into thin slices and then cut each slice in half to create the crostini base. Line a cookie tray with the crostinis and brush lightly with olive oilSlice thin slices of the sharp cheddar and top each crostini with 1-2 slicesBake crostinis at 350 degrees until the cheese melts, about 10 minutesCut thin strips of prosciutto and place onto the melted cheddarSpoon a bit of the sweet corn relish onto each crostiniSprinkle crostinis with some thyme, dried parsley flakes and serve!

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: Around 50 Crostinis