Most people think of crostini as nibbles to be served with wine or beer—“cocktail food.”

Crostini the Italian word for “croutons,” which refers to any toast breads. They can be medium or large slices, plain or garnished.

They are not the miniature bread cubes that garnish green salads and bowls of soup. Instead, medium or large crostini, plain or garnished, would be served with the salad or soup.

In fact, Italy’s crostini are appetizer size, for with drinks, soup, and snacking. Cheese crostini are Italy’s “grilled cheese sandwich.” A topping of olive oil and garlic is Italy’s “garlic bread.”

Crostini are a scrumptious breakfast choice, too. We especially like DIY crostini, where we put out toasted bread along with bowls of toppings, and let each person construct his or her own.

First, plan your toppings from the list below, or add your own.

Next, get the best bread you can find. We like thick slices of a crusty rustic sourdough loaf for breakfast crostini. It makes a nicely crunchy toast.

Remember that this is a do-it-yourself recipe, so you can serve sweet ingredients (fresh cheeses, fruits and honey, for example), savory ingredients (bacon, eggs, hummus, sautéed spinach), or some of each.
 
TOPPING SUGGESTIONS

 
PLUS CONDIMENTS

 
PREPARATION

1. SET OUT the toppings.

2. TOAST the bread; cook the eggs and breakfast meats. That’s it!
 
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Photo credits: Top, Fig & Olive restaurant. Second, Safest Choice Eggs. Third: Mixed Greens Blog. Bottom: Locanda Verde Restaurant.

Top: Fresh figs, goat cheese and a drizzle of honey. Second: Mashed avocado and boiled egg with a drizzle of EVOO. Third: Ricotta topped with sundried tomatoes marinated in olive oil and herbs. Bottom: Serve plates of toast and ricotta, and let people top their own.

Top: Red, white and blue Jell-O mold in Mason jars (photo Victoria Belanger | eHow). Bottom: No spoon is needed with these Jell-O fingers. They’re gummy, like Jell-O shots without alcohol. Here’s the recipe from CommunityTable.Parade.com.

Call them Ball Jars, Kerr Jars or Mason Jars, these 19th century inventions enabled the preserving foods for years, while avoiding spoilage and the growth of harmful bacteria.

The original “canning” took place in hermetically sealed glass jars, invented to carry food for Napoleon’s army. Here’s the history of canning and the jars.

The invention created an opportunity for civilians, too: to “put up” foods at harvest time to eat during the winter. But then came tin cans, and

The growth of the artisan foods movement, small producers added charm to their jams and dilly beans by packaging them in Mason jars.

Today, we’re presenting an idea adapted from Victoria Belanger. You can see step-by-step photos on eHow.com.

RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUE JELL-O FOR MEMORIAL DAY & JULY 4TH

Ingredients For 6 Servings
 
For The Red Layer

 
For The White Layer

 
For The Blue Layer

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the red layer. Combine the water and the Jell-O in a bowl, stirring to fully dissolve. Add the cold water and the strawberries. Stir and divide the mixture among the Mason jars. We used a wide-mouth funnel (so the strawberries would fit through) to keep the sides of the jars clean for the other colored layers. Victoria used a different technique.

2. CREATE the “wave” effect by setting the jars at an angle in a muffin tin. First place uncooked rice in the muffin wells to hold the jars at an angle, then refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes. When the red layer is nearly firm…

3. MAKE the white layer. In a medium bowl, evenly sprinkle a packet of unflavored gelatin over the cold water. Allow the gelatin to set for 2 minutes, then add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve, and then the melted ice cream. Spoon into the jars, taking careful to keep the inside walls clean for the blueberry layer. Refrigerate until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. When firm, you can remove the jars from the tin and keep them upright in the fridge.

4. MAKE the blue layer. In a medium bowl, evenly sprinkle 1 packet of unflavored gelatin over the cold water. Allow the gelatin to set for 2 minutes, then add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in the sugar, then the blueberries. Do not add to the jars yet, but first refrigerate the blue mixture until it thickens to the consistency of a gel (otherwise, the blueberries will float to the top of the jar).

5. SPOON the blueberry mixture into the jars and refrigerate until firm. When ready to serve, garnish with whipped cream.
 
MORE USES FOR MASON JARS.

The recipe for a crowd-pleasing Grilled Stuffed Avocado Bar is below. But first:

We’ve written a lot about “party bars” for entertaining, where guests add their favorite fillings or toppings to customize a food. Check out:
 
BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER

 
DESSERTS

 
SNACKS

 
BEVERAGES

 
And now, a…
 
 
DIY GRILLED STUFFED AVOCADO PARTY BAR

The California Avocado Commission sent us the idea, from recipe developer Rachel Matthews of ASouthernFairytale.com. She takes grilled avocados to a higher level by letting each person select his or her favorite fillings.

“A Grilled Stuffed Avocado Bar is so incredibly easy to put together,” says Rachel, “and it’s a great way for people to get creative with their food.”

The concept can be used for sides or appetizers and snacks with beer and wine. Prep time is 1 minute, cook time is 10 minutes, plus prep time for the fillings.

Of course, you can also have a plain DIY Avocado Bar, with uncooked avocados.
 
Ingredients Per Serving

For The Avocados

 
For The Fillings

Consider savory, spicy and sweet options. Some suggestions:

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the grill to medium-high and set out the fillings, plates and utensils.

2. BRUSH the flesh side of each avocado half with olive oil, to keep them from sticking to the grill. Place them flesh side down on a medium-high heated grill. Cook for about 5 minutes. If you want cross-hatch grill marks, change the direction the avocados lie on the grill. Either way, grill them another 4–5 minutes or until you see the skin of the avocado change colors (it’s really noticeable).

3. PLACE the avocados on a platter next to the fillings, and watch your guests enjoy creating their food.

[1] Halved avocados, ready to grill (photo © Tio Gazpacho).

[2] Face down on the grill (this and all subsequent photos © Rachel Matthews | California Avocado Commission). /font>

 
Let us know your favorites!
 
 
> The history of the avocado.

> 40 yummy avocado recipes.

> Find more delicious avocado recipes at CaliforniaAvocado.com.
 
 
AVOCADO HOLIDAYS

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Iced tea should be clear (photo © Mighty Leaf Tea).

[2] Black tea can cloud when you add juice or other flavorings, like this peach iced tea. Herbal teas can also be cloudy. But we got cloudy tea from plain English Breakfast. See the solution, below (photo © Peet’s).

We’re capable of consuming four or five bottles of iced tea per day in warm weather; maybe even more. Given our desire to keep plastic out of the landfill—not to mention the $2 to $3 a bottle, we began home-brewing our iced tea years ago. We pour it into re-purposed beverage bottles, or keep it in a pitcher.

One thing we noticed this season is that our tea, which is clear when we put the bottles into the fridge, is cloudy when they’ve chilled down. It doesn’t taste as “clear,” either.

This was top-quality English Breakfast from Rishi Tea. So we put on our science hat to discover why.

We made hot tea, which was perfectly clear; thus, not a problem with the tea or our kettle. We used a glass pitcher instead of a plastic one to brew. We placed the pitcher in the fridge without pouring into serving-size bottles. We tried distilled water, from which the minerals are removed.

The result: still cloudy.

So we asked our wine editor, Kris Prasad—who happens to be a Ph.D chemist—how to solve our problem. Here’s his response:
 
 
WHAT MAKES ICED TEA CLOUDY?

 
So that’s the “why.” Now, what can you do about it?
 
 
HOW TO AVOID CLOUDY ICED TEA

 
 
ICED TEA VS. ICE TEA

Properly, the drink is iced tea: tea that has been chilled with ice. It is spelled this way in primers on editing and by the line editors* of quality publications.

But, as more and more Americans care less and less about the rules of English, ice tea—tea with added ice—has been making inroads, even among some editors.

There is precedent: Ice cream and ice water were originally “iced cream” and “iced water.” We presume that editors in that era were equally chagrinned.

 
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*A line editor is responsible for reviewing each sentence for consistency, grammar, punctuation, spelling and word usage prior to publication. Here’s more.

[2] Some of the different hues of rosé wines, based on grapes and the amount of skin contact desired by the winemaker (photo © JoTot.com).

In France, more rosé wine is sold than white wine [source]. Rosé is also a popular warm-weather wine, and a great pairing with grilled foods and picnic foods.

So with Memorial Day at hand, how about a rosé tasting party? There are as many different styles of rosé wines as with other varietals. A tasting is an opportunity to get to know the different producers and identify some favorites.

Here’s how to have a wine tasting party, although you can simply set out the bottles and let people do their own thing.
 
 
WHAT IS ROSÉ WINE?

Unlike Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the other grape varietals, there is no “rosé grape.” Rather, a rosé wine can be made from any red wine grape*. White Zinfandel, for example, is a sweet rosé wine, also called a blush wine. Most rosé wines, however, are dry wines. First:
 
 
ROSÉ WINE TERMS

 
ALSO TRY SOME…

 
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*“Red grape” skins can be black, purple or red, depending on the varietal. A rosé can also be made by blending red and white wines, although this is less common.

†The skin contact phase of winemaking is known as maceration. In this phase, the phenolic materials of the grape—tannins, coloring agents (anthocyanins) and flavor compounds—leach into the must (the newly-pressed juice) from the grape skins, seeds and stems. Maceration is a food and wine term that means to soften by soaking. Here’a more about maceration.