Crostini with mushrooms, prosciutto and bleu cheese

3 tablespoons butter

½ pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps chopped

½ pound cremini mushrooms, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup whipping cream

½ cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

½ cup chopped thinly sliced prosciutto (about 2½ ounces)

18 ½-inch-thick diagonal bread slices cut from 1 sourdough baguette

Chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté until mushrooms are cooked through and brown, about 10 minutes. Add cream and boil until liquid is completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add bleu cheese and stir until cheese melts. Mix in prosciutto. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer mushroom topping to a bowl. The mushroom topping can be made one day ahead. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Bake until just golden, about 5 minutes. Mound 1 generous tablespoon of the mushroom topping on each slice. Return to the oven, and bake until the topping is heated through, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Makes 24 servings

Bonnie Wilkens Metully, Cincinnati, Ohio, Bon Appetit December 2002