Chocolate Sea Salt Crostini....Bringing It Out With Nutella!

This Chocolate Sea Salt Crostini is all the rave.  It was on the MSN home page the other day and then I Googled it and EVERYONE who is ANYBODY is making it.  Surely I should have a plate of these savory appetizers for my holiday party!  But wait!!!  I always burn things in a broiler.  And is it sweet-n-salty but not too sweet because it is bittersweet chocolate but still good?  I was skeptical but I was also intrigued!  Baguettes and olive oil with chocolate?  Suddenly I was walking down the Champs-Elysées in Paris with the coolest sunglasses and trendiest bag to gather my ingredients for my fine guests.

And then I woke up and realized I was on a military base in Japan.  Nice.

I will link to the video of this fabulous recipe at the end of my post but first, you have to see how I tried.  I really tried.  I tried to buy the finest chocolate and sea salt and fresh baked bread.  I love my Air Force life but you can’t always find exactly what you need in a military commissary.  So, instead of Maldon sea salt and the finest finest bittersweet chocolates I improvised with Morton and several different chocolates….Lindt, Hershey’s, and (oh my goodness....), Nutella! 

Chocolate Sea Salt Crostini

Slice a baguette into even slices, about ½ an inch thick.  Remember when I said I always burn things in a broiler?  Well, that includes the bread in this recipe.  Don’t worry though.  It isn’t the fancy bakery French baguette.  I couldn’t find one here.  This is what I found for bread…..

Yes it was actually called a "crusty sub roll".  This is how I sliced it and the salt I used.

It is classy…I know.  The thing about the “crostini video”, is that it doesn’t say how long you should broil the bread, just that you should cut it evenly.  You really should cut it evenly, but  I am going to vote for the common housewife on this one and guess that, maybe we need an exact time to plug into our Pampered Chef timers, and an exact temperature. I will tell you, through trial and error,  that you put your broiler at 500 degrees (260 C)and you broil the bread for 2 minutes on each side.  If you smell the bread sort of burning…it is already burned.    This is what it should look like if you don’t burn it….

Turn the oven off.  Now drizzle the toasty bread with extra virgin olive oil.  Then press a piece of chocolate in the center.  I did a piece of 85% cocoa chocolate, a Hershey’s Special Dark, a Hershey’s milk chocolate, and a schmear of Nutella on different pieces.  I just didn’t believe that a bittersweet chocolate would work for this….no matter how “savory” the recipe was supposed to be.  Now put the chocolate covered bread into the cooling oven.  After one minute take it out and sprinkle each piece with a pinch of sea salt. 

How did the recipe work for me?  The video said that the higher the % of cocoa the better.  He is a picture of my husband when he tasted the crostini with the 85% cocoa chocolate….

I tried it and the look on my face was even worse (that is why I didn’t post it.) It was really bad.  We then both tried the other chocolates.  The plain Hershey’s chocolate covered ones were too sweet but the Special Dark was really good and the Nutella was even better.

We say Nutella….the reviews on YouTube say all sorts of things!  Read them.  It is funny.  I would serve these to guests with the Nutella or even the Special Dark.  The video says to serve with red wine, but I say no amount of red wine would make the bittersweet chocolate taste good. Do a blob of Nutella like this...

Here is the link I promised to the Food Wishes-Video Recipe .  They are the masterminds who came up with the recipe.  I posted a comment asking them what sort of chocolate they used.  We'll see if I get a response.

Please please please if you get the chance enter my Christmas cookie and craft contest.  I am feeling pretty pathetic because NO ONE has entered yet and it is for a $25 Visa gift card.  Click on this Santa link to enter and win!

I'm linking this recipe here: