Caramelized Fig Crostini with Country Ham and Goat Cheese

Name: Caramelized Fig Crostini with Country Ham and Goat Cheese
Yield: makes 2 dozen crostini
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; Splash of olive oil; 12 small fresh figs, such as Alma, Carolina Dark, or Celeste, halved lengthwise; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 1/4 cup sugar; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 8 paper-thin slices country ham (about 8 ounces); 24 crostini (see Know-how, page 19); 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) soft goat cheese; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

December 14, 2011

Like many Southerners, I have a fig tree—huge, old, gnarled, and prized—that bears bucketfuls of plump, grassy-sweet figs each summer. So sweet, in fact, that they draw not only the usual birds and squirrels, but also a certain stealthy neighbor who must surely keep as close a watch on the fruits’ ripening as we do. Shake it up with a SAZERAC (see page 28)

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