Italian Market Crostini (Lamb Sausage And Dried Cherries)

When my best friend moved to San Francisco, I drove with her
from San Diego all the way up the coast. We stopped along the way to meet her
Grandma at Anderson’s Pea Soup Restaurant; you may recognize it by its
trademark windmill, but this location is historic for another reason. Within
its walls I consumed, yes at the age of 27, my first ever chicken pot pie. (This
is also where we picked up a frozen tray of lasagna (which remained on my lap
for the rest of the drive, because naturally, the car was packed) and about
three million bite size chocolate cupcakes). (Do you like how I did that, that
was a parenthesis INSIDE a parenthesis)(!!!)(I am pretty sure this is totally illegal).
So, back to my chicken pot pie story, Tanya and Grandma harassed me until I
ordered it, and I did and it was good.

You know, this story reminds me of an episode ofAlways
Sunny in Philadelphia where everyone is trying the get Charlie to leave Philly
for the first time, and he reveals that he also never eaten a pear. They take
him directly to the Italian Market where he eats his first pear. Like, the whole entire thing. Scene HERE.

THAT reminds me of when my sweet boyfriend took me to
Philadelphia and we got a recommendation for an amazing sandwich which could be
found at a deli in the Italian Market. On our way there we saw a
fruit/vegetable vendor pick an onion out of the soggy marsh of the street
gutter and PUT IT BACK with the other onions. (As if it was contaminated with
the plague) I mean, he didn’t even blow on it. We decided we didn’t want to eat
somewhere where they also sold gutter onions.The amazing sandwich had lamb sausage and dried cherries and
I imagine it tasted a little something like this…

Italian Market Crostini

makes 8 crostini

Ingredients

8
Slices of baguette

2
Links of Lamb Sausage

1
Cup Whole Milk Ricotta

½
Dried Sweet Cherries

Zest
from 1 Orange

½
Olive Oil

A
few sprigs of fresh Thyme

Salt
and Pepper

Instructions

Remove
the zest from one orange and simmer in a pan with the olive oil. I recommend
using a peeler to remove big pieces of zest instead of a microplane this time –
we want to be able to remove the pieces from the oil after they infuse their
flavor and not actually eat it. After about 20 minutes, remove the zest and pour
most of the oil, leaving a little in the pan, over the dried cherries, allowing
them to plump.  Toast the slices of baguette and top with about two
tablespoons of ricotta each. Turn the heat up to the pan (with the remaining
oil) and add the lamb sausage. I crumbed it and cooked without the casings, you
can definitely slice and sauté with the casings as well.  Once the sausage
is cooked through spoon on top of the ricotta covered toasts and then top with
cherries, a drizzle of orange zest olive oil and fresh thyme leaves. Serve to
someone you love.

**My sweet boyfriend and I did go on to have the most amazing
sandwich we have both ever had in our independent lives. Replica recipe to follow
soon.